History, knowledge and growth in economic sciences

Economic sciences prize 2024

Differences in prosperity between nations

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity.

Economic sciences prize 2023

Key drivers of gender differences

Claudia Goldin explained gender gaps in the labour market.
Economic sciences prize 2018

Knowledge as a driver of long-term economic growth

Paul Romer: the integration of knowledge into economics.
Economic sciences prize 1993

Renewed research in economic history

Douglass North: the role of institutions in economic growth.
Economic sciences prize 1987

Factors on sustained economic growth

Read Robert Solow’s lecture Growth Theory and After.

More theories that altered economic sciences

Economic sciences prize 2017

Economic decision-making
Economic sciences prize 1994

Game theory

Fighting repression

Nobel Peace Prize 2010

Struggle for fundamental human rights

Liu Xiaobo fought for a more open and democratic China.

Nobel Peace Prize 1983

Freedom to organise behind the Iron Curtain

Lech Wałęsa struggled for free trade unions in Poland.
Nobel Peace Prize 2011

Freedom of expression and democracy in Yemen

Tawakkol Karman fought for women’s rights in Yemen.
Nobel Peace Prize 1980

Non-violent activism in Argentina

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel lit a candle of hope.
Nobel Peace Prize 2022

A symbol of political imprisonment in Belarus

Ales Bialiatski dedicated his life to fighting for democracy.

Nobel Peace Prize 1960

“for his non-violent struggle against apartheid”

Albert Lutuli became the spokesman of a campaign of civil disobedience directed against South Africa’s policy of racial segregation.
Nobel Peace Prize 2023

Fight against oppression of women in Iran

From captivity, Narges Mohammadi stood at the forefront of major protests against the Iranian regime.

More peace laureates that changed the world

Nobel Peace Prize 2011

Mobilised women for peace
Nobel Peace Prize 1964

Advanced racial equality
Nobel Peace Prize 1993

Ending apartheid

3 literature prizes that impacted the world

Nobel Prize in Literature 1993

Challenged racial and historical narratives
Nobel Prize in Literature 2015

Gave voice to people in times of trauma
Nobel Prize in Literature 1913

Bridged the east and west

Making molecules

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 – Popular information

“for the design and synthesis of molecular machines”

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1981 – Presentation speech

“In chemical reactions new compounds are created”

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1913 – Presentation speech

“It has been called the most important discovery in chemistry in recent times…”

More discoveries in chemistry

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964

Mapping molecules
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1961

Carbon dioxide assimilation
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018

Enzyme revolution

Delve deeper – Nobel Prize lectures in physics

Nobel Prize lecture in physics 2003

Superfluid 3-He: The early days as seen by a theorist

Nobel Prize lecture in physics 1973

The discovery of tunnelling supercurrents
Nobel Prize lecture in physics 1972

Microscopic quantum interference effects in the theory of superconductivity
Nobel Prize lecture in physics 1933

The fundamental idea of wave mechanics
Nobel Prize lecture in physics 1996

The extraordinary phases of liquid 3-He

More advances that changed physics

Nobel Prize in Physics 1901

X-rays
Nobel Prize in Physics 2009

Camera technology
Nobel Prize in Physics 2014

Energy efficient lamps

Nobel Prizes and the immune system

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018

Unleashing the power of the immune system to fight cancer

For more than a century, scientists searched in vain for way to unleash the natural power of the immune system to fight cancer. Their dream is now a reality.

Illustration of T-cells attacking a cancer cell

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1996

Double-checking cells

“for their discoveries concerning the specificity of the cell mediated immune defence.”
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1980

Seeking signs of compatibility

Read more about the complex system uncovered by the 1980 medicine laureates.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1960

Raising self-awareness

What prevents the immune system from attacking any cells and tissues that belong to its host?
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1908

Multiple lines of defence

They revealed how our internal defence system is armed with more than one protection tactic.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011

The gatekeepers of the immune system

The immune system has an incredible ability to detect enemies of all kinds swiftly and to launch a suitable counterattack. But how does it all work?
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1901

Passive aggressive treatment

Emil von Behring’s method of treatment, passive serum therapy, became an essential remedy for diphtheria, saving many thousands of lives every year.

More Nobel Prize-awarded work in medicine

A century of medical breakthroughs

Over the years, Nobel Prize-awarded advances in medicine show that remarkable progress is possible.
Their work revolutionised cancer care

Read about how scientists found ways to use the immune system to treat cancer.
The discovery that reversed the diabetes death sentence

The story behind insulin, that helps some of the over 400 million people around the world with diabetes.

Women who changed science

19 remarkable scientists and their stories

Explore the contributions, careers and lives of 19 women who have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their scientific achievements.

A woman in a laboratory — Photo: Johns Hopkins Medicine

The unseen enemy: navigating antimicrobial resistance

The hunt is on to find new antibiotics with the potential to save millions of lives.

Antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, 3d illustration.

Credit: Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Listen to the podcast series Nobel Prize Conversations

David Baker: a true believer in collaboration

The 2024 chemistry laureate believes that progress in science is made by working together and sharing ideas. Listen to him talk about how he sees mentoring as one of the most essential parts of his job.

Geoffrey Hinton on the dangers of AI

Hear the 2024 physics laureate talk about the development of AI, his fascination with understanding the human brain and how his family legacy of successful scientists put pressure on Hinton to follow in their footsteps.

Daron Acemoglu shares his advice for young researchers

“Asking is hard. Once you realise there’s an interesting question to develop answers to, it is even harder.” Listen to the 2024 economic sciences laureate.

For curious learners

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1930

Finding the key to safe blood transfusions

Today, we take it for granted that people have different blood types. But not so long ago, it was believed that all blood was the same – a fatal misunderstanding.

Close up of A positive blood in bag.

Credit: ER Productions Limited/Getty Images

Family matters

Meet the families with Nobel Prizes.

Read the story

Aage Bohr and Niels Bohr on the occasion of the defence of Aage's doctoral thesis, 1954.

Photo: Niels Bohr Archive, Copenhagen.

Nobel Prize-awarded breakthroughs

A century of life-changing discoveries

Electronic devices help us in our daily lives, while innovations in medicine make life more manageable for people with chronic conditions.

An icon in the world of modern science

Marie Curie is the only individual to receive the Nobel Prize in two different science categories.

Read her story

50 years on: discover the 1975 Nobel Prizes

Medicine

Insights into how cancer can arise

David Baltimore, Renato Dulbecco and Howard Temin showed how the virus does its job, the interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic material of the cell.

Physics

What does an atom look like?

Aage Bohr, Ben Mottelson and James Rainwater.
Chemistry

The shape of a molecule

John Cornforth and Vladimir Prelog.
Economic sciences

How can resources be best used?

Leonid Kantorovich and Tjalling Koopmans.

Literature

A singular poet

Get a taster of Eugenio Montale’s poetry.
Peace

Championing human rights

Andrei Sakharov’s struggle for human rights in the Soviet Union.

11 prizes that help us understand and value our Earth

From understanding climate change to using AI to better protect our planet.

An unrelenting opposition to Earth’s most dangerous weapons

A number of Nobel Prize laureates have worked to highlight the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and to strengthen international efforts to ban testing.