HONG KONG: The scientists behind Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, were on Tuesday announced as the winners of the Shaw Prize, the million-dollar award known as the Nobel Prize of the east.

British scientists Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell were awarded the life science and medical prize along with Japanese professor Shinya Yamanaka for their work in stem cell research, organisers said in a statement.

“(Their work) advances our knowledge of developmental biology and holds great promise for the treatment of human diseases and improvements in agriculture practices,” the statement said.

The Shaw Prize for Astronomy was awarded to German Reinhard Genzel for his proof that the Milky Way contains a supermassive black hole at its centre.

The Shaw Prize was established in 2002 under the auspices of Run Run Shaw, a renowned Hong Kong film producer and philanthropist. The award in each category is one million US dollars.—AFP