The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1997
In 1997, Aarhus University had its first Nobel Prize winner. The prize was awarded to the retired Professor Jens Christian Skou, DrMedSc, for his description of the sodium-potassium pump. The sodium-potassium pump is a small but vital mechanism located in all the cells of the body. By pumping sodium ions out of the cell, the pump helps regulate the salt balance that is necessary for muscles and nerves to function.
Although Professor Skou was not awarded the Nobel Prize until forty years after describing the sodium-potassium pump, his research results quickly attracted international attention and they triggered extensive scientific work at Aarhus University. Studies of ion pumps continue today at the PUMPKIN basic research centre.
- 1997: Jens Chr. Skou forelæser om natrium-kalium-pumpen.Foto: Polfoto.
- 2008: 90-årige Jens Chr. Skou er stadig aktiv som forsker. Foto: Lars Kruse / AU-Foto.