Two French scientists Luc Montagnier, director of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, of the Institut Pasteur, discovered the AIDS virus. They won half the prize of 10 million Swedish crowns (US$1.4-million) for discovering the deadly virus.

The rest of the prize money was awarded to Germany's Harald zur Hausen, who was honored for finding human papilloma viruses that cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. Zur Hausen, of the University of Duesseldorf and a former director of the German Cancer Research Center, received half of the 10 million kronor (US$1.4 million) prize.

The award quiets the long-running dispute between Montagnier and Dr. Robert Gallo, then of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, over who discovered and identified the AIDS virus. The two scientists accused each other of working with contaminated samples.