The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1989

Sidney Altman

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

Thomas R. Cech

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1989 was awarded jointly to Sidney Altman and Thomas R. Cech "for their discovery of catalytic properties of RNA"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1989. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Fri. 22 Sep 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1989/summary/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Coming up

2023 Nobel Prize announcements

This year’s Nobel Prize announcements will take place 2–9 October. All announcements will be streamed live here on nobelprize.org.

See the full schedule
Announcement dates

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.