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Coming up

Nobel Prize Dialogue

Future learning: exploring science and technology

24 September 2023, Seoul

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018

Six days – six prizes

Thumbs up! Nobel Prize laureate Tasuku Honjo, surrounded by his team at Kyoto University, immediately after hearing the news that he had been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Honjo’s discovery of the protein PD-1 created a new type of cancer therapy.

On 2 October we will break the news on who has received the 2023 medicine prize.

See the full schedule of announcements.
Nobel Laureate Tasuku Honjo, surrounded by his team at Kyoto University

Nobel Laureate Tasuku Honjo, surrounded by his team at Kyoto University, immediately after hearing the news that he had been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Who did what?

Medicine prize Q&A

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Behind the scenes

Learn more about how the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is decided and awarded in this interview with medicine prize awarder Juleen Zierath.
Juleen Zierath

Juleen Zierath, professor of physiology

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Andrew Hart

Featured Nobel Prize laureates in physiology or medicine

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009

Why we age

Why do we age? And why do some people age faster than others? The secret lies in our telomeres and the enzyme telomerase which was first discovered by Elizabeth Blackburn and affects the way our cells age.
Elizabeth Blackburn in her lab at the University of California, San Francisco

© Univ of California, San Francisco 2009, Photo: Elisabeth Fall/fallfoto.com

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1964

The structure of penicillin

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin was arguably the most outstanding X-ray crystallographer of her time. She succeeded in determining the structure of penicillin and later determined the structure of vitamin B12.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2021

Receptors for temperature and touch

The groundbreaking discoveries by David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

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

Explore prizes and laureates

All Nobel Prizes and laureates

Between 1901 and 2022, the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel were awarded 615 times to 989 people and organisations. See the full list here.
Nobel Prize award ceremony 2022

Nobel Prize award ceremony 2022.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin

The Nobel Prize call

I think it's a shock

Surprised, overwhelmed, terrified, happy. How would you react if you suddenly heard that you had been awarded the Nobel Prize? Here, six laureates share their stories.

More about the ‘Nobel Prize call’

The Nobel Prize

Questions and answers

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.
The Nobel Prize medal.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Explore and learn

19 remarkable scientists and their stories

Explore a storytelling experience that celebrates and explores the contributions, careers and lives of 19 women who have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their scientific achievements.
Explore 'Women who changed science'

Watch the documentary series

Five documentaries inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize

A team of female Yazidi deminers in Iraq attempting to clear their land of mines left behind by ISIS. A team of scientists on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to help better our understanding of climate change. A man building prosthetic legs to help victims of war walk again in South Sudan … All are inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
Into the fire - image

Nobel Prize nominations

Who selects the laureates?

In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established.

KVA byggnad fasad sommar

News

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

Alfred Nobel – Established the Nobel Prize

Alfred Nobel's last will

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris, France. The Swedish dynamite millionaire, who thought that his invention would end all wars, had now realised that it was a very deadly product. Wanting to make amends, he did what no man of such wealth had done before …

Alfred Nobel Will

The very first Nobel Prizes

On 10 December 1901 the first Nobel Prizes were awarded, in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. Read more about the first prizes.

The first Nobel Prize Award Ceremony was held in 1901 at the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm.

What are you looking for? Search the website.

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

Ferid Murad 1936‒2023

Ferid Murad passed away on 4 September 2023. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998 for discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the cardiovascular system. These discoveries opened new avenues for patient treatment and diagnoses of various diseases. 

Read Ferid Murad’s biography
Ferid Murad

Harald zur Hausen dies

Harald zur Hausen passed away on 28 May, age 87. In the 1970s, he went against current dogma and postulated that oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) caused cervical cancer. His work led to the development of a vaccine against the disease. In 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Harald zur Hausen