Nobel Highlights Key Role Of DNA Repair

The group that gives out the Nobel Prizes says the winners of the prize in chemistry have helped researchers explore how to beat cancer by stopping cancer cells from repairing their DNA. And at least one new cancer drug is being developed using that technique.

The prize today went to Tomas Lindahl of Sweden, American Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar - a U.S. and Turkish scientist who teaches at the University of North Carolina.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says work by the three "has provided fundamental knowledge of how a living cell functions."

Lindahl says his work on how cells repair damaged DNA can be used to prevent serious diseases but says he doesn't believe in eternal life.

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences member Peter Brzezinski adds he doesn't think "the goal is to prevent aging" but that the new information can lead to a "better life when we are old, simply just by understanding the diseases that are linked to aging."