American researchers James Rothman and Randy Schekman shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine with German-born Thomas Sudhof for their "discoveries on how hormones, enzymes and other substances are transported within cells," The Associated Press reported.
All three men are part of universities in the U.S., as Rothman is a professor at Yale, Schekman is at University of California/Berkeley and Suedhof joined Stanford in 2008, news reports said.
The Nobel committee said that their research on 'vesicle traffic,' which is the transport of cells, helped scientists "understand how cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time." The disturbances to the system can contribute to diabetes and neurological and immunological disorders, according to researchers.
Schekman's research led to greater advances and success of the biotechnology industry, adding that the professor studied normal and defective yeast in order to identify the process of vesicle transport, The AP added.
"These discoveries have had a major impact on our understanding of how cargo is delivered with timing and precision within and outside the cell," the committee also said.
Rothman revealed how proteins "dock with their target membranes like two sides of a zipper. Sudhof found out how vesicles release their cargo with precision," The AP reported.
Rothman and Schekman previously won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their research in 2002.
The Nobel Prize awards' different categories include physics, chemistry, literature, economics and peace, with each worth $1.2 million a piece. Winners receive their awards every year on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
The medicine award last year went to Britain's John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, of Japan, for their contributions to stem cell research, The AP also reported.
