Nobel Prize Winners 2020

It is a dream of every researcher to be part of the prestigious Nobel Prize nominations. They are awarded in 6 major categories Literature, Peace, Physics, Chemistry, Economic Sciences, and Physiology or Medicine and are being celebrated for over a decade. These prizes are bequeathed from the fund by a Swedish inventor, chemist, and industrialist- Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Prize announcements begin in October and the ceremony is conducted in December. The Nobel Prize Winners 2020 were announced on 5th October, Monday with a few of them due for the next week. On account of the coronavirus pandemic,  this year the recipients will be awarded through a digital medium since the event in Stockholm is cancelled. Check this blog for the Nobel Prize Winners 2020 with a brief detail about their service which made them worthy of the honour. 

Poetry – Louise Glück

Awarded for what the judges describe as “her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”, Louise Glück was truly befitting for a Nobel Prize in Literature. The 77-year-old American poet depicts a ‘radical change’ by taking a leap forward due to the rising level of stress and the isolated lives in the world, amidst the pandemic. Louise experienced an acrimonious childhood which pivoted her underlined confessional poetry styles. Ms. Glück has been the recipient of several awards earlier, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 and the National Book Award (2014). Several scholars and writers have acclaimed the poet’s work and have predicted the emergence of a new base of readers for her work. Along with the Nobel Prize, the American poet shall receive a cash prize of over $1 million. 

Also Read: How to Become a Poet

Physics – Andrea M. Ghez, Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel

This year’s Nobel Prize was shared between three laureates for the discovery of what was hinted by Goran K. Hansson as the darkest secret of the universe. The Nobel Prize was awarded to Roger Penrose for discovering that “the black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity” and Reinhard Genzel, Andrea Ghez for furthering the “discovery of the supermassive compact object at the center of the galaxy”. Penrose focussed his work to prove that the formation of black holes is stable based on Einstein’s theory, despite the skepticism of Einstein himself. Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez discovered that a heavy object that has the mass equivalent to 4 million solar masses governs the stars at the center of the milky way The trio made a valuable contribution in the field of astrophysics which made them noteworthy of the award.

Also Read: How to Become a Physicist?

Medicine – Michael Houghton, Charles M. Rice Harvey J. Alter

The Nobel prize for physiology and medicine was also jointly awarded to America physiologists Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice and British scientist  Michael Houghton. They contributed to the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus which also helped in explaining blood-borne viruses and led to the implementation of new blood tests and medicines that saves millions of lives. Hepatitis C is a major threat to humanity with over 70 million cases per year and 400,000 deaths according to the WHO. The research and discovery is a significant one owing to the coronavirus threat faced by the world. 

Chemistry- Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier

The 2020 Chemistry laureates are Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier for “for the development of a method for genome editing”. They developed the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors which are considered an essential tool in gene technology. A genome determines how the organism develops and provides information and instruction on how the organism should function. Using the discovery of CRISPR, scientists can cut the DNA in a  genome and alter its sequence. This can significantly accelerate research in the fields of cancer, mental illness, malaria, and many other diseases. This has revolutionized the world of genetics which deeply credits the two scientists. 

Also Read: What is the Scope of Chemistry?

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has yet to announce the Nobel prize winners in other disciplines. Stay tuned for further news and updates!  Check out the blogs by Leverage Edu for more information and the latest research in the field of Education!