The 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine was given to three European researchers who discovered viruses that cause cervical cancer and AIDS.
German virologist Harald zur Hausen discovered that HPV causes cervical cancer. This discovery eventually lead to the creation of the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer.
Two French virologists, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, shared the other half of the award for discovering H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.
The Nobel Foundation has complete coverage of the awards.