The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2003 is shared between two USA scientists in honor of their discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes. Agre discovered water channels of the cell membrane, and clarified important properties such as the selectivity for water molecules of the water channels. MacKinnon clarified the 3D structure of the K⁺ channels with high resolution, and elucidated its functional mechanisms such as ion selectivity in detail. The two scientists utilized their high sensitivity for the top scientific research and methodology. They started their work from the basic research of biochemistry, and made excellent contribution to the post genome study, which is the top area in the field of life sciences.