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

Nobel Prize lessons – Medicine prize 2021

Receptors reacting to temperature and pressure

Teacher’s guide

A Swedish version of the lesson is available at nobelprizemuseum.se

This is a step-by-step timetable for the Nobel Prize lesson – a ready to use lesson on the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The lesson is designed to take 45 minutes.

How we perceive the world around us.  
The ability to perceive heat, cold and touch – in our daily lives, we often take these sensory impressions for granted. But how do our bodies translate temperature and pressure into nerve signals that allow us to interpret and perceive the surrounding world? This is what the 2021 medicine laureates have explained. The laureates’ discoveries can be used in further research to develop new treatment methods for various disease conditions, including chronic pain.

Teacher’s Guide (PDF 30Kb)

1. Warm-up (5 min)
Ask your students the following questions.

  • What is the Nobel Prize?
  • Why is it called the Nobel Prize?
  • Are you familiar with any Nobel Prize laureate?

2. Show the video about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize (5 min)

3. Slideshow (15 min)
Show the slides, using the speaker’s manuscript.

Slideshow (PDF 1,7 MB)

Speaker’s Manuscript (PDF 300 Kb)

4. Show the interview with an expert in the field  (2 min)

5. Student worksheet (10-15 min)
Let your students work individually with the questions and then discuss their answers with a classmate.

Student Worksheet (PDF 70 Kb)

6. Conclusion (5 min)
Summarise what you and the class have understood, and what you have not understood. You can work with the latter on another occasion.

Links for further information
Press release for the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet


To cite this section
MLA style: Nobel Prize lessons – Medicine prize 2021. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Tue. 5 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel-prize-lessons-medicine-2021/>