American trio share Nobel prize for hot area in pharma research

The Nobel Prize for Medicine was won by three American scientists Monday. The trio won the coveted award for answering some of the most basic questions in life, further deciphering one of our building blocks -- the human cell.

The three Americans joining the long list of Nobel Laureates in their field are (see photo below) British-born Jack Szostak, 56, a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston; Carol Greider, 48, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; and Australian-born Elizabeth Blackburn, 60, a professor at the University of California in San Francisco. They will shares a prize of 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.42 million).