2024 Noble Prize Winners

Nobel Prize 2024 Physiology or Medicine

On October 7^th, 2024 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA and its crucial role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

Major Findings: microRNAs are a class of small molecules essential for gene regulation in cells. The research uncovered the complex relationship between specific genes and microRNAs.

• The microRNAs can bind to messenger RNA and influence the production of proteins critical for cellular functions. This way they have a significant regulatory role in cells.
• The research has uncovered how these microRNAs contribute to various health challenges, including cancer and heart disease by influencing cellular behavior and functions.

Significance: As the understanding of these tiny regulators increases, the potential for innovative therapeutic approaches to complex medical conditions also increases.

• Their work is truly fundamental for physiology and will help development in most of its branches, helping breakthrough discoveries in the field of medicine.
• Their findings also opened new avenues for understanding genetic communication within cells.

Nobel Prize 2024 Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics, announced on October 8th, 2024 went to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton  for the use of statistical physics concepts in the development of artificial neural networks.

Artificial neural networks: These are fundamental in machine learning and artificial intelligence. These help by allowing machines to find and recognize patterns in extremely large datasets and make learning possible.

Significance: Artificial neural networks have also been used to advance research across branches of physics such as particle physics, material science, and astrophysics.

• They have now become essential parts of our daily lives, for example, in facial recognition and language translation.

Risks: While machine learning has enormous benefits, its rapid development has also raised concerns about using this new technology safely and ethically.

Nobel Prize 2024 Chemistry

This year’s Chemistry Nobel Prize, awarded on October 9th, celebrated the achievements of David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper  for their groundbreaking contributions to protein science.

Major Discoveries: One-half of the prize is given to David Baker ‘for computational protein design’ and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper ‘for protein structure prediction.’

Significance: David Baker has achieved the extraordinary feat of designing entirely new proteins. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model to address a 50-year-old challenge- predicting the complex 3-D structures of proteins.

• Baker’s group has since 2003 created a range of novel proteins from scratch that have found applications in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials, sensors, and other fields.
• Hassabis and Jumper AI-based model in 2020 named AlphaFold2. This can predict the structure of nearly all 200 million proteins identified to date.
• AlphaFold2 has been used extensively by millions of scientists around the globe to address issues like antibiotic resistance and plastic degradation.

Nobel Prize 2024 Literature

On October 10th, 2024 the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang, recognized “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

• Han Kang has a distinctive approach to exploring significant historical traumas and the unseen societal norms that shape human experiences.
• Her works delve into the delicate balance between life and death, body and soul, showcasing her unique insight into the human condition.
• Literary Works: Her literary journey began in 1993 with the publication of several poems in the magazine Literature and Society.
• Han Kang’s prose debut came in 1995 with the short story collection Love of Yeosu.
• She gained major international recognition with her novel The Vegetarian, published in 2007. This work, written in three parts, explores the tumultuous consequences faced by the protagonist, Yeong-hye, as she rejects societal norms surrounding food consumption.
• Notably, Han Kang is the first South Korean author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, marking a significant milestone in the global recognition of Korean literature.

Nobel Prize 2024 Peace

On October 11th, 2024 the Nobel Prize in Peace has been awarded to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.

• Nihon Hidankyo is a grassroots movement, comprised of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki—commonly referred to as Hibakusha.
• In response to the atomic bombings in August 1945, this global movement emerged, uniting individuals committed to raising awareness about the devastating humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapon use.
• The historical witnesses of the 1945 bombings role in generating and solidifying global opposition to nuclear weapons by sharing their personal experiences, creating have played a crucial educational campaigns, and issuing urgent warnings about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and usage.
• Through their narratives, the Hibakusha help society articulate the indescribable, contemplate the unthinkable, and comprehend the profound pain and suffering inflicted by nuclear weapons.

Nobel Prize 2024 Economics

On Oct 14, 2024 the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson for their research on the role of institutions in shaping a country’s economic prosperity.

Their work highlighted how societal institutions—whether inclusive or extractive—significantly influence the economic outcomes of nations. Their research sheds light on global inequality and provides insights into why some nations remain poor while others grow wealthy.

They examined historical events like colonization to show how the type of institutions established during such periods has long-lasting effects on whether a country becomes prosperous or remains trapped in poverty.

For instance, they contend that countries with inclusive institutions—which encourage involvement and fair resource distribution—are more likely to have sustained prosperity. On the other hand, extractive organizations frequently impede economic progress by concentrating money and influence within a small number of people.

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