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Nobel Prize awarded discoveries

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995

The ozone layer – the Achilles heel of the biosphere

In 1974 Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina published an article showing CFC gases have a damaging effect on ozone in the atmosphere. The discovery was worrying as our ozone layer provides protection from damaging UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface.

Thanks in part to the pioneering work of Molina and Rowland, along with their fellow chemistry laureate, Paul Crutzen, the Montreal Protocol was introduced, which banned their use worldwide. In 1995, Molina, Rowland and Crutzen were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Related articles

Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina at work.

Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina at work, January 1975.

University of California, Irvine

Creating our future together with science

Nobel Prize Dialogue

David MacMillan: ”We are one chemical reaction away from solving climate change”

Chemistry laureate David MacMillan reminds us of the essence of scientific research: perseverance through failure. His words echo the truth that every setback brings us closer to a breakthrough. Or as he puts it, “We are one chemical reaction away from solving climate change.”

Watch more candid discussions and panel talks from Nobel Prize Dialogue in São Paulo, Brazil.

Nobel Prize laureates share their thoughts

Nobel Peace Prize 1992

”We have to take care of her”

“We have to take care of her so that our children and grandchildren may continue to benefit from her. If the world does not learn now to show respect to nature, what kind of future will the new generations have?”

Rigoberta Menchú Tum describes her relationship with the Earth in her Nobel Prize lecture.
Rigoberta Menchú Tum delivering her Nobel Peace Prize lecture

Questions and answers

Nomination FAQ

Hundreds or thousands of nominations are received every year from members of academies, university professors, scientists, previous Nobel Prize laureates, members of parliamentary assemblies and more.  

Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about nominations in the FAQ.
Door at the Swedish Academy

News

Nobel Prizes 2023

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023

Vaccine development

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.”
A blue background with COVID-19 virus and a yellow strand of modified mRNA. Also shown is the chemical structure of pseudouridine, an RNA base that was important in the prize-awarded discovery. The graphic represents the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Katalin Karinkó and Drew Weissman who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

© The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén

Watch Nobel Minds

2023 Nobel Prize laureates in discussion

Watch the laureates in a discussion about their discoveries and achievements, and how these might find a practical application. Nobel Minds is hosted by the BBC’s Zeinab Badawi.
Nobel Minds 2023

Nobel Minds 2023.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

2023 Nobel Prizes

Crash course – 2023 Nobel Prizes

How much do you know about the discoveries awarded the 2023 Nobel Prizes? Take our one-minute crash course on each of the prizes and find out how each have changed our world.
Students with illustrations behind.

Nobel Prize lessons

Easy to use lessons about the 2023 Nobel Prizes

From nanotechnology to the development of effective mRNA vaccines. Now you can bring the discoveries and achievements made by the 2023 Nobel Prize laureates into the classroom.

The lessons are free and easy to use. They include a slideshow, manuscript and student worksheet.
Illustration of all 2023 Nobel Prizes

© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, © The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén, Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Alfred Nobel – Established the Nobel Prizes

Scientist and inventor

Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 342 million dollars) to fund the Nobel Prizes.

A bust of Alfred Nobel, surrounded by a beautiful wall of flowers

Alfred Nobel's early years

When Alfred was five years old his father Immanuel, an inventor and builder, moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred joined him a few years later.

Alfred Nobel 1853

Inventing dynamite

Based on Alfred’s work and patents a whole new industry developed. Within ten years, 16 explosives producing factories had been founded in 14 countries.

Nobels Dynamite 10 Nov 1906

A controversial will

In his will of 27 November 1895, signed in Paris, Alfred Nobel specified that the bulk of his fortune should be used for prizes.

Alfred Nobel Will

Play a game!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1930

The Blood Typing Game

How much do you know about blood types? Did you know that human blood groups were discovered by Nobel Prize laureate Karl Landsteiner in 1901?

Learn more about the way to find out about the human blood groups, blood typing and the importance of safe blood transfusions. See if you can save the lives of the patients in the game!
Blood typing game
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904

Pavlov's Dog

Is it possible to train a dog to drool on command? Learn about conditioned reflexes in this interactive game!

With this animated game, teachers are able to illustrate classical conditioning in the classroom. The object of the game is to train Pavlov’s dog to respond to a signal that it will associate with being fed.

In 1904, Ivan Pavlov was awarded with Nobel Prize for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works.
Pavlov's Dog Game

Peace Builders

Step into the shoes of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and learn about the legacy of Alfred Nobel in this immersive learning experience from the Nobel Peace Center. All Minecraft players can now journey alongside Desmond Tutu, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jody Williams and Carl von Ossietzky to bring their vision of a more democratic, peaceful world to life.
Minecraft peacebuilders

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Nobel destinations

Stockholm, Sweden

Nobel Prize Museum

The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, illustrates a century of creativity, where visitors can follow the changes of the 20th century through the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Prize laureates.
The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World (3)

The museum showcases the discoveries and creativity of the Nobel Prize laureates.

Photo: Åke Eson Lindman

Oslo, Norway

Nobel Peace Center

Located in the heart of Oslo, Norway, the Nobel Peace Center is a place where you can experience and learn about the various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
NPC Nye Nobels Hage 10

The story of each peace laureate is told at the museum.

Photo: Johannes Granseth/Nobel Peace Center

In memoriam

Herbert Kroemer 1928‒2024

Physicist Herbert Kroemer passed away on 8 March 2024, age 95. He was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics.

Biography
Herbert Kroemer

Daniel Kahneman passes away at 90

Daniel Kahneman passed away on 27 March, age 90. He was awarded the 2002 economic sciences prize for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty.

Biography
Daniel Kahneman

Neuroscientist Roger Guillemin dies

Roger Guillemin passade away on 21 February, age 100. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1977 for discoveries concerning the peptide hormone production of the brain.

Biography
Roger Guillemin