Nobel week!

Okay, in my general blogging malaise recently, I've gotten behind in the most exciting week for science geeks. Better than March Madness, better even than Shark Week, it's Nobel week! Monday (okay, it was a day ago, I missed it), is Physiology or Medicine Day. The 2013 prize was jointly awarded to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof. These three scientists have done groundbreaking work in examining how molecules are moved around in the cell. Molecules are wrapped up in membrane bound parcels called vesicles. These three looked at how the transfer of these parcels and their unwrapping to release their contents is regulated in the cell. Essentially they worked out how the cellular post office works (this picture is of an official DUPLO set, btw).