"Illegitimate Child and Formerly Gay → 7th Father-Son Nobel Prize"… Who is Svante P??bo? (Comprehensive)

Nobel Foundation to Announce 2022 Physiology or Medicine Laureates on the Afternoon of the 3rd
Svante P??bo Selected for Unraveling Human Evolution Through Genetic Analysis
Swedish Archaeogeneticist, Current Director of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Notable Achievements Include Revealing Relationships Between Neanderthals and Modern Humans
Seventh Father-Son Pair to Win the Prize, Following Father's 1982 Award
Open About Extramarital Child, Fluid Sexuality Including Homosexuality and Bisexuality

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "(When I first heard the news of the award) I thought it was a prank newly devised by my colleagues." This was what Svante P??bo (67), a Swedish archaeogeneticist, said shortly after being selected as the 2022 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine on the afternoon of the 3rd (Korean time). The award was so unexpected that even he was surprised.

P??bo, who serves as the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, is an archaeogeneticist who elucidates the process of human evolution through genetic analysis. This field investigates genomes preserved in ancient artifacts or skeletal remains to study the past. It is unfamiliar to the general public and, unlike previous laureates in Physiology or Medicine who focused on disease eradication and other practical achievements, it is not ‘practical.’ He had never been mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize before.

P??bo was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1965 and earned his Ph.D. from Uppsala University. After working in the United States, he was appointed professor at the University of Munich in Germany in 1990, and since 1999, he has been the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. He is also the seventh Nobel laureate in history to come from a wealthy family. In his book, "In Search of Lost Genomes," published domestically in 2015, P??bo revealed that his father was Sune Bergstr?m, the 1982 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, and that he was an illegitimate child born to an Estonian mother. His father was a distinguished Swedish scholar who jointly won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on biologically active substances related to prostaglandins. He also served as chairman of the Nobel Foundation from 1975 to 1987. In an interview with the Nobel Foundation, P??bo said, "My father sparked my interest in scientists, but the person who had the greatest influence on me was my mother," adding, "It is somewhat sad that my mother, who was a great source of encouragement and inspiration to me at that time, cannot share in today's joy." It is also known that after graduating from graduate school, while completing his postdoctoral studies in the United States, he enjoyed a free-spirited personal life, exploring homosexuality and bisexuality.

After learning the then-novel genetic analysis techniques during graduate school in the 1980s, P??bo made a name for himself as a geneticist who completely overturned the understanding of human evolution by analyzing DNA from bones found in ancient graves or caves and comparing them with the genomes of modern humans. In a 2010 paper, he announced research results showing that interbreeding occurred between Neanderthals and modern humans, and that Europeans and East Asians have 1-4% of their genes derived from Neanderthals, causing a major stir. In 2008, he also discovered that a 40,000-year-old finger bone found in a cave in southern Siberia belonged to a completely new ancient species called the Denisovans.

Based on P??bo’s research results, scientists have confirmed that many chronic diseases in modern humans, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, largely originate from ancient extinct species like Neanderthals and Denisovans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, P??bo also published research suggesting that the high number of infections and severe cases among Europeans was due to the influence of Neanderthal genes.

P??bo, who gained tremendous fame and social impact, surpassed the developers of the COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA), who were considered strong candidates. The existing principles for selecting laureates, which emphasize ‘fundamental principle elucidation’ and pioneering new fields over ‘practicality’ and media attention, were upheld. P??bo’s award is the first in Nobel history for an archaeogeneticist.