Independent Swedish scientific society guiding Nobel science and research
Winners have been named in medicine, physics and chemistry, with a total prize pool of 12 million Swedish kronor. Medicine highlights optogenetics; physics advances neutrino research; chemistry recognizes work on mirror-image molecules. The literature prize and economics prize will be awarded later this week and next week respectively.
Belgian-born physicist Francis Halzen has won the Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which uses Antarctic ice to detect high-energy neutrinos and illuminate the universe’s distant processes. The award recognizes a monumental, collaborative effort that has revealed neutrinos as cosmic messengers.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has recognized Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai for discovering nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, solving a century-old mystery about how homochirality emerges. The winners have reshaped how scientists design reactions used to make pharmaceuticals, with the work spanning decades from the 1980s to the early 2000s, and the prize money totaling 12 million kronor.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Kagan and Soai for discoveries in nonlinear effects and autocatalysis that drive selective production of one molecular mirror image. The work advances understanding of homochirality and underpins drug design. Other Nobel prizes this week include medicine and physics.
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Hall and Woodford for creating microeconomic foundations that stabilize macro policy. Their models support central banks and governments in dampening economic swings and guiding responses to shocks like energy crises.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has recognised Robert Hall and Michael Woodford for developing microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation, enabling policymakers to smooth business cycles. The prize highlights New Keynesian models that connect household and firm decisions to policy tools, with forward guidance becoming a central instrument.