Why Was the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded for GPCR Research?

[Serenie]

The topic in the prize is about GPCR and from what i have researched, the research is about biology. I want to know why it was rewarded to the field in chemistry.

 

[f95toli]

Because there is no prize for biology?
Work in biochemistry has lead to prizes being awarded in both chemistry and medicine; it is not always clear which category a certain discovery fits into.

 

[.Scott]

The topic in the prize is about GPCR and from what i have researched, the research is about biology. I want to know why it was rewarded to the field in chemistry.

Probably because they were working at the chemistry level with methods methods that were as much chemistry as physilogy or medicine.

Lefkowitz started to use radioactivity in 1968 in order to trace cells' receptors. He attached an iodine isotope to various hormones, and thanks to the radiation, he managed to unveil several receptors, among those a receptor for adrenalin: β-adrenergic receptor. His team of researchers extracted the receptor from its hiding place in the cell wall and gained an initial understanding of how it works.

That same year (2012), the Physiology and Medicine was awarded as shown below:

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 was awarded jointly to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent"

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Chemistry is about achieving a molecular-level understanding of phenomena in nature and applying that knowledge to build useful new molecules like drugs or materials. Some of the most difficult and important questions in chemistry are in understanding the molecular basis for biological phenomena. The work by Kolbilka and Lefkowitz to understand the molecules and mechanisms involved in GPCR signaling as well as elucidate their atomic structures certainly fits in this category.