The extraordinary life of Alfred Nobel: The Nobel prizes may be one of the most famous and prestigious awards in the world – but who was the man behind them? As I explain in my lectures about Alfred Nobel, the inventor and entrepreneur has left a lasting legacy with the annual prizes he established in …
‘The data on extreme human ageing is rotten from the inside out’ – Ig Nobel winner Saul Justin Newman: From the swimming habits of dead trout to the revelation that some mammals can breathe through their backsides, a group of leading leftfield scientists have been taking their bows at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the …
Narges Mohammadi: 2023 Nobel peace laureate on hunger strike after being denied medical treatment over hijab ban: Narges Mohammadi, the recipient of the 2023 Nobel peace prize for her long fight against the oppression of women in Iran, is reported to have started a hunger strike. Her family told CNN this week that she began …
Becoming a Nobel laureate: Louis Brus on his discovery of quantum dots – podcast: Imagine a particle so small that it’s the same relative size to a football as that ball is to the planet Earth. That’s the size of a quantum dot – a type of nanocrystal that changes colour depending on its size, …
Nobel prize in economics: Claudia Goldin’s work is a goldmine for understanding the gender pay gap and women’s empowerment: Women stirred up a “quiet revolution” in the labour market, according to Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. She is the 2023 winner of the Nobel prize in economics for her …
Nobel peace prize 2023: award for Iranian women’s rights protester highlights fight against declining democracy around the world: One hundred days after Iranians first protested the killing of 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini for wearing her hijab incorrectly, Narges Mohammadi sat down in her prison cell to write a letter to the country’s women. She …
Nobel peace prize: Narges Mohammadi wins on behalf of thousands of Iranian women struggling for human rights: Prominent Iranian women’s rights advocate Narges Mohammadi has won the 2023 Nobel peace prize for her long fight against the oppression of women in Iran. Mohammadi is serving multiple prison sentences in Evin prison in Tehran on charges …
Jon Fosse: Nobel prize in literature winner is a playwright who puts outsiders centre stage: When Jon Fosse receives this year’s Nobel prize in literature in December, it will be collected by a playwright and novelist whose work examines the lives of ordinary people on the outer reaches of society, trying to cope with the …
I helped select the Nobel laureates in physics – here’s how our committee decides: The author, Mats Larsson, on the right during the 2023 announcement. Kungliga Vetenskapsakademin, CC BY-SA I am serving my ninth and final year in the Nobel Committee for Physics, which is an absolutely fascinating job – albeit hard. The best bit …
Nobel prize in chemistry awarded for ‘quantum dot’ technology that gave us today’s high definition TVs: The 2023 Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to a trio for the discovery and development of particles so tiny they were once thought too small to be possible. They are widely used in television screens, LED lights …
How we hired 2023 Nobel laureate Anne L’Huillier – and why we knew she was destined for greatness: L'Huillier and her husband at the Nobel prize celebration in Lund. Sune Svanberg, CC BY-SA Most of the atomic physics division at Lund University were assembled in a spacious room with a big screen to await the …
Nobel prize in physics awarded for work unveiling the secrets of electrons: Screenshot at Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach, CC BY-SA The 2023 Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists for pioneering tools used to study the world of electrons. Electrons are sub-atomic particles that play a role in …
Nobel prize in medicine awarded to mRNA pioneers – here’s how their discovery was integral to COVID vaccine development: Billions of people around the world have received the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The rapid development of these vaccines changed the course of the pandemic, providing protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But these vaccines would …
Nobel economics prize: insights into financial contagion changed how central banks react during a crisis: Left to right: Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig. The Nobel Foundation This year’s Nobel prize in economics, known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, has gone to Douglas Diamond, Philip Dybvig and former Federal Reserve Chair …
Nobel peace prize goes to Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian human rights activists: On the 70th birthday of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Nobel prize committee has recognised the work of three winners who are all battling against Putin or pro-Putin regimes. The peace prize has gone to imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights …
Nobel prize in literature: Annie Ernaux and writing from experience: Marco Destefanis/Alamy The French author Annie Ernaux has won the 2022 Nobel prize in literature at the age of 82. Of the 119 awarded, Ernaux is only the 18th woman Nobel laureate in literature and the first French woman to have won the prize. The …
Nobel prize awarded for ‘click chemistry’ – an environmentally friendly method of building molecules: The 2022 Nobel prize for Chemistry has been awarded to a trio for developing click chemistry, an environmentally friendly method for rapidly joining molecules to develop cancer treatments, create materials and illuminate the workings of cells. Carolyn R. Bertozzi from Stanford …
Nobel prize: physicists share prize for insights into the spooky world of quantum mechanics: Members of the Nobel Committee for Physics announce the winners of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics (L-R on the screen) Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger TT News Agency / Alamy Stock Photo The 2022 Nobel prize for …