Two Americans and a British scientist have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of “how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.”

The Nobel Committee said Monday the award is shared by William Kaelin, Gregg Semenza and Peter Ratcliffe.

They will each get an equal share of the $918,000 cash award.

The committee said the men “established the basis for our understanding of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function.”

It said the advances will help lead to new ways to fight anemia, cancer and other diseases.

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