October 6, 2013, Updated October 7, 2013

Biochemists Chaim Cedar and Aharon Razin. (Photo: Hezi Hojesta)

It’s not the first time Hebrew University biochemists Prof. Howard (Chaim) Cedar and emeritus Prof. Aharon Razin have heard their names come up as potential Nobel laureates. But now Thomson Reuters, which has accurately forecast the names of 27 Nobel laureates since 2002, predicted that Cedar and Razin are the front-runners for the 2013 honor in medicine or chemistry.

Cedar and Razin are world famous for their fundamental discoveries concerning DNA methylation and gene expression.

The award for Physiology or Medicine will be announced on Monday, Oct. 7 and the award for Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Israel has 10 Nobel laureates, four of them in chemistry.

“Just a prediction is a compliment,” Cedar told The Jerusalem Post. “We have a chance. Everybody has been hugging us since the prediction was made.”