Nobel Prize

, Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine 2001, met with PhD student Paulina Tan and spoke about what to do when you have ‘scientist’s block’, the difficulties of research and what caused the Nobel Prize laureate to pursue a career in science. Listen in on their conversation.

She was met with resistance, demoted and eventually forced to leave academia – but Katalin Karikó never lost focus, doubling-down on her work to harness mRNA for new vaccines and therapies. Karikó’s Nobel Prize-awarded discovery enabled the development of effective vaccines against COVID-19, offering protection to millions of people. 

Learn more about why holograms are a scientific marvel. The intricacies of Martin Scorsese’s face enthralled him. Every pore in the skin. Each tiny hair. Holographer Martin Richardson had made six holograms, or 3D images, of the renowned film director and this one, with its seemingly infinite detail, blew him away. As Richardson stared into…

Experiencing ridicule and exclusion as a student in the 1980s did not stop Carolyn Bertozzi from pursuing her passion – in fact, it spurred her to build an inclusive culture in her own lab. Bertozzi’s Nobel Prize-awarded discovery of bioorthogonal reactions are now used globally to explore cells, track biological processes and improve the targeting of cancer medicines.

Learn more about how the photoelectric effect has shaped technologies such as burglar alarms, solar panels and the camera in your smartphone. The engineer picked up a camera flash gun, aimed it at the tiny circuit board computer on the desk, and fired. For a fraction of a second, light flooded the room. Everyone blinked…

A chance discovery made around 80 years ago paved the way for Mary Brunkow’s painstaking work, which contributed to redefining how the immune system functions. From investigating an obscure gene dismissed as ‘junk’ by other scientists, to choosing to opt out of academia and conduct her research at a biotech startup, Brunkow has embraced the unexpected throughout her career.

Learn more about some of the Nobel Prize-awarded discoveries in the fields of cells, nerves and genes. Cells, nerves and genes are fundamental to all living organisms. They control life’s processes and development. Often, this is where illness and suffering are caused. Knowledge about cells, nerves and genes is built on centuries of exploring life’s smallest details. New…

Eleonora Svanberg, a PhD student in mathematics at the University of Oxford, sits down with 2025 physics laureate John Martinis for a conversation about curiosity, discovery and the future of quantum technology. Martinis reflects on the choices that led him to exploring quantum mechanical behaviour and discusses his groundbreaking work – conducted with co-laureates Michel…

, economic sciences laureate 2024, was joined by nine students from all over the world for a conversation on the topic of being a scientist. Acemoglu gave his best advice for finding great collaborators, spoke about the future of AI and shared how he has overcome obstacles during his scientific career. 

The small matter of what everything is made from has long fascinated humankind. Microscopes have had a huge impact on our understanding of everything from the composition of materials to the building blocks of life. The work of a number of Nobel Prize laureates have allowed microscopes to evolve. A fascinating microbial world Randy Schekman…