Question

Name the scientists who won the Nobel prize for isolation of Insulin in 1923.

• A. Banting and MacLeod
• B. Banting and Mering
• C. Banting and Thompson
• D. Banting and Minkowski

Hint:

While Banting and Best are often famously mentioned together in textbooks, the official Nobel Prize in 1923 was formally awarded to Banting and MacLeod, highlighting the complex history behind this major medical discovery.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The discovery and purification of insulin was one of the most revolutionary breakthroughs in medicine, turning a once-fatal disease (Type 1 diabetes) into a manageable condition.
This achievement was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
In the early 1920s, Frederick Banting, a Canadian surgeon, conceived an idea to isolate pancreatic islet secretions by ligating the pancreatic ducts of dogs to cause degeneration of acinar tissue while sparing the islets of Langerhans.
He partnered with J.J.R. MacLeod, a professor of physiology at the University of Toronto, who provided Banting with laboratory space, equipment, and an assistant, Charles Best.
Together with biochemist James Collip, who joined later to help purify the extract for human use, they successfully isolated insulin.
The Nobel Committee awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Frederick Banting and John MacLeod for the discovery of insulin.
Banting, feeling that MacLeod's contribution was administrative and that Charles Best deserved the recognition, shared his prize money with Best, while MacLeod shared his with Collip.
The other names listed (von Mering and Minkowski) made earlier, highly important discoveries proving that pancreatectomy causes diabetes in dogs, but they did not isolate insulin.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The Nobel Prize was awarded to Banting and MacLeod, which corresponds to option (A).