Nobel Prize awarded discoveries
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906
As a teenager, Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal had a passion for drawing and wanted to become an artist. Instead, however, he started studying medicine. He proved that each nerve cell is an independent entity and nerve synapses transfer nerve impulses from one cell to another. In 1906, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Nobel Prize laureates share their stories
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986
Many Nobel Prize laureates have often faced times of enormous disruption. Rita Levi-Montalcini faced many challenges on her road to the Nobel Prize. Born in Italy in 1909, her father did not believe in professional careers for women and did not let his daughters enroll at university. But Levi-Montalcini insisted on studying. The long road to the Nobel Prize included having to build a laboratory in her bedroom during World War II.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012
“I liked reading a monthly scientific magazine for elementary school children. This magazine came with various kits for children to do experiments. I remember one time I was doing an experiment with an alcohol lamp that came with the magazine. It dropped onto a kotatsu heater table and the quilt over it caught fire. I was severely scolded by my mother.”
Read medicine laureate Shinya Yamanaka’s full life story.
Read medicine laureate Shinya Yamanaka’s full life story.
Nobel Prize laureates share their thoughts
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
“I dreamt about doing research, not getting an award”
Join Emanuelle Tavares, a biomedical student at the University of Skövde as she talks to 2023 medicine laureate Katalin Karikó, whose work led to the development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. She explains how despite being terminated from her position and considered ‘unsuccessful’ she always tied success to what she was learning in the lab – and describes how it feels to see your work having a real impact on people’s lives.
Creating our future together with science
Nobel Prize Dialogue
Serge Haroche: ”Scientists are more like explorers”
Nobel Prize laureates Serge Haroche, David MacMillan and May-Britt Moser delve into the essence of creativity in science. In this discussion they explore how scientists are akin to explorers, envisioning a world beyond what we know.
Watch more discussions and panel talks from Nobel Prize Dialogue in São Paulo, Brazil.
Watch more discussions and panel talks from Nobel Prize Dialogue in São Paulo, Brazil.
Questions and answers
The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.
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Nobel Prizes 2023
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.”
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexey Yekimov “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.”
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 was awarded to Jon Fosse, “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.”
The Nobel Peace Prize 2023
The Nobel Peace Prize 2023 was awarded to Narges Mohammadi “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.”
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023 was awarded to Claudia Goldin “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.”
Watch Nobel Minds
Watch the laureates in a discussion about their discoveries and achievements, and how these might find a practical application. Nobel Minds is hosted by the BBC’s Zeinab Badawi.
2023 Nobel Prizes
How much do you know about the discoveries awarded the 2023 Nobel Prizes? Take our one-minute crash course on each of the prizes and find out how each have changed our world.
Nobel Prize lessons
From nanotechnology to the development of effective mRNA vaccines. Now you can bring the discoveries and achievements made by the 2023 Nobel Prize laureates into the classroom.
The lessons are free and easy to use. They include a slideshow, manuscript and student worksheet.
The lessons are free and easy to use. They include a slideshow, manuscript and student worksheet.
Alfred Nobel – Established the Nobel Prizes
Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 342 million dollars) to fund the Nobel Prizes.
When Alfred was five years old his father Immanuel, an inventor and builder, moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred joined him a few years later.
Based on Alfred’s work and patents a whole new industry developed. Within ten years, 16 explosives producing factories had been founded in 14 countries.
In his will of 27 November 1895, signed in Paris, Alfred Nobel specified that the bulk of his fortune should be used for prizes.
Play a game!
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1930
How much do you know about blood types? Did you know that human blood groups were discovered by Nobel Prize laureate Karl Landsteiner in 1901?
Learn more about the way to find out about the human blood groups, blood typing and the importance of safe blood transfusions. See if you can save the lives of the patients in the game!
Learn more about the way to find out about the human blood groups, blood typing and the importance of safe blood transfusions. See if you can save the lives of the patients in the game!
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904
Is it possible to train a dog to drool on command? Learn about conditioned reflexes in this interactive game!
With this animated game, teachers are able to illustrate classical conditioning in the classroom. The object of the game is to train Pavlov’s dog to respond to a signal that it will associate with being fed.
In 1904, Ivan Pavlov was awarded with Nobel Prize for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works.
With this animated game, teachers are able to illustrate classical conditioning in the classroom. The object of the game is to train Pavlov’s dog to respond to a signal that it will associate with being fed.
In 1904, Ivan Pavlov was awarded with Nobel Prize for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works.
Step into the shoes of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and learn about the legacy of Alfred Nobel in this immersive learning experience from the Nobel Peace Center. All Minecraft players can now journey alongside Desmond Tutu, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jody Williams and Carl von Ossietzky to bring their vision of a more democratic, peaceful world to life.
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Nobel destinations
Stockholm, Sweden
The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, illustrates a century of creativity, where visitors can follow the changes of the 20th century through the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Prize laureates.
Oslo, Norway
Located in the heart of Oslo, Norway, the Nobel Peace Center is a place where you can experience and learn about the various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
In memoriam
Physicist Peter Higgs passed away on 8 April 2024, age 94. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 for the theory of how particles acquire mass.
Biography
Biography
Physicist Herbert Kroemer passed away on 8 March 2024, age 95. He was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics.
Biography
Biography
Daniel Kahneman passed away on 27 March, age 90. He was awarded the 2002 economic sciences prize for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty.
Biography
Biography
Roger Guillemin passade away on 21 February, age 100. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1977 for discoveries concerning the peptide hormone production of the brain.
Biography
Biography