US scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian on Monday (Oct 4) won the Nobel Medicine Prize for discoveries on receptors for temperature and touch.
"The groundbreaking discoveries... by this year's Nobel Prize laureates have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world," the Nobel jury said.
The pair's research is being used to develop treatments for a wide range of diseases and conditions, including chronic pain.
Julius, who in 2019 won the $3-million Breakthrough Prize in life sciences, said he was stunned to receive the call from the Nobel committee early Monday.
"One never really expects that to happen... I thought it was a prank," he told Swedish Radio.