Hospital in Berlin-Köpenick. Photo: Wiki Commons.

JNS.org – Two American Jews, along with their German partner, have been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

The three scientists, Yale University professor James E. Rothman, 64, University of California, Berkeley professor Randy W. Schekman, 64, and German-born Stanford University professor Thomas C. Südhof, 57, were awarded for their “discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells,” according to the Nobel prize committee.

“Disturbances in this system have deleterious effects and contribute to conditions such as neurological diseases, diabetes, and immunological disorders,” the committee said.

“This is not an overnight thing. Most of it has been accomplished and developed over many years, if not decades,” Rothman told the Associated Press.

The trio beat out two Israeli contenders, Hebrew University professors Howard Cedar and Aharon Razin, who were considered to be the frontrunners leading up to the announcement.