Robert F. Furchgott of the State University of New York, Ferid Murad of the University of Texas Medical School, and Louis Ignarro of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine. Their contribution to medicine was the discovery of the medical applications of nitric oxide, a compound once thought too toxic to be used by living things. NO has been found by these men to be responsible for regulating the dilation of blood vessels and relaxing muscle tension. But its functions do not stop there. White blood cells release bursts of this gas to kill infections and even cancer.
Nerve cells use it to communicate with one another.
Doctors now use to stimulate blood flow to underdeveloped lungs in premature infants. Not bad for an air pollutant that comes from nitroglycerin. These three men now share a prize of close to a million dollars and the satisfaction that they've opened a new avenue of research in all fields of medicine. I am pleased to say that there has been a good turn out in membership this year. We're really open to suggestions on that last one.