Thomas Weller, Who Won Nobel for Polio Work, Dead at 93

Work paved way for Salk, Sabin vaccines
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2008 3:12 PM CDT
Thomas Weller, Who Won Nobel for Polio Work, Dead at 93
Pakistani volunteers wait for children to administer polio vaccines at a roadside in the troubled area of Swat valley in Pakistan on Wednesday, July 30, 2008.    (AP Photo/Sherin Zada)

Thomas Weller, whose research on polio won him a share of a Nobel Prize in 1954, died this weekend at 93, the Boston Globe reports. Weller, along with colleagues John Enders and Frederick Robbins, discovered that the polio virus preyed on muscles, not nerve tissue as had been previously thought. Their cultures paved the way for the Salk and Sabin vaccines. (More polio stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X