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Nobel Prize awarded discoveries

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906

The foundation of modern neuroanatomy

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.
Various types of nerve structures

Various types of nerve structures. Illustration by Santiago Ramón y Cajal from the book Die Retina der Wirbelthiere, Tafel II.

Source: U.S National Library of Medicine, History of Medicine Division Photographer unknown Kindly provided by U.S National Library of Medicine

Nobel Prize laureates share their stories

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1986

From bedside to bench

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.
Rita Levi-Montalcini

Rita Levi-Montalcini

© Nobel Media

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012

”Science was one of my favorite classes at school”

“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.
Shinya Yamanaka lab

Shinya Yamanaka in his laboratory.

Photo: Gladstone Institutes/Chris Goodfellow, Kindly provided by Gladstone Institutes

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.

Questions and answers

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

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.
The Nobel Prize medal.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

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News

Nobel Prizes 2023

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023

Vaccine development

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.”
A blue background with COVID-19 virus and a yellow strand of modified mRNA. Also shown is the chemical structure of pseudouridine, an RNA base that was important in the prize-awarded discovery. The graphic represents the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Katalin Karinkó and Drew Weissman who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

© The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén

Watch Nobel Minds

2023 Nobel Prize laureates in discussion

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.
Nobel Minds 2023

Nobel Minds 2023.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

2023 Nobel Prizes

Crash course – 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.
Students with illustrations behind.

Nobel Prize lessons

Easy to use lessons about the 2023 Nobel Prizes

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.
Illustration of all 2023 Nobel Prizes

© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, © The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén, Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Alfred Nobel – Established the Nobel Prizes

Scientist and inventor

Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 342 million dollars) to fund the Nobel Prizes.

A bust of Alfred Nobel, surrounded by a beautiful wall of flowers

Alfred Nobel's early years

When Alfred was five years old his father Immanuel, an inventor and builder, moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred joined him a few years later.

Alfred Nobel 1853

Inventing dynamite

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.

Nobels Dynamite 10 Nov 1906

A controversial will

In his will of 27 November 1895, signed in Paris, Alfred Nobel specified that the bulk of his fortune should be used for prizes.

Alfred Nobel Will

Play a game!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1930

The Blood Typing Game

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!
Blood typing game
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904

Pavlov's Dog

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.
Pavlov's Dog Game

Peace Builders

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.
Minecraft peacebuilders

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Nobel destinations

Stockholm, Sweden

Nobel Prize Museum

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.
The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World (3)

The museum showcases the discoveries and creativity of the Nobel Prize laureates.

Photo: Åke Eson Lindman

Oslo, Norway

Nobel Peace Center

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.
NPC Nye Nobels Hage 10

The story of each peace laureate is told at the museum.

Photo: Johannes Granseth/Nobel Peace Center

In memoriam

Herbert Kroemer 1928‒2024

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
Herbert Kroemer

Daniel Kahneman passes away at 90

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
Daniel Kahneman

Neuroscientist Roger Guillemin dies

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
Roger Guillemin