The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year to Ales Bialiatski, a jailed Belarus rights activist, the Russian group Memorial, and the Ukrainian organisation Centre for Civil Liberties. Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced the laureate on Friday in Oslo.
The prize in medicine honouring a scientist who unearthed the secrets of Neanderthal DNA started off a week of Nobel Prize announcements on Monday. Three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for demonstrating that even when separated, small particles may maintain contact.
Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing methods of joining molecules that can be used to construct more tailored medications.
The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to French author Annie Ernaux. The 2022 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded on Monday, October 10.
In the past, the prize has drawn attention to organisations and activists working to avert conflicts, alleviate misery, and promote human rights.
Last year’s winners have had a difficult time after obtaining the award. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa have been fighting for the survival of their news organisations, rejecting government efforts to suppress them. Last year, they were honoured for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
A week of Nobel Prize announcements began on Monday, with Swedish scientist Svante Paabo earning the honour in medicine for revealing secrets of Neanderthal DNA that provided critical insights into our immune system.
On Tuesday, three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Physics. Alain Aspect of France, John F. Clauser of America, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria demonstrated that microscopic particles may maintain a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, which can be utilised for specialised computing and encryption.
The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Americans Carolyn R. Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless, as well as Danish scientist Morten Meldal, for creating a method of “snapping molecules together” that may be used to explore cells, map DNA, and design drugs that can target diseases such as cancer more precisely.
The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to French author Annie Ernaux on Thursday. The panel praised her for fusing fiction and autobiography in books that bravely exploit her experiences as a working-class woman to examine life in France since the 1940s. The economics Nobel Prize for 2022 will be awarded on Monday.
The monetary rewards total 10 million Swedish kronor (almost USD 900,000) and will be awarded on December 10. The funds come from a bequest made in 1895 by the prize’s originator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.