"The Guardian" prays for the British Sir Martin Evans, a professor of mammalian genetics at Cardiff University, who shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine

Nobel prize for scientist who gave the world the knockout mouse

· Animals' DNA modified to develop human diseases
· Technique used to test new drug therapies

• Ian Sample, science correspondent
• The Guardian
• Tuesday October 9 2007

A British scientist whose pioneering research led to the creation of legions of "knockout" mice that are genetically modified to develop human diseases was awarded a Nobel prize yesterday.

Sir Martin Evans, a professor of mammalian genetics at Cardiff University, became the first scientist to isolate stem cells from mouse embryos in 1981. The research paved the way for a technique called gene targeting, which allows scientists to alter the genetic code of an animal with exquisite precision.

By knocking out specific genes, researchers have designed mice that develop a range of medical conditions including cancer, cystic fibrosis and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

The modified mice give researchers unprecedented insight into how some of the most debilitating human diseases progress in different tissues and organs over a lifetime, and have proved invaluable in testing new drug therapies. More than 500 different diseases have been recreated in mice using the technique.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/09/2