First Science Nobel Prizes are in!
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the Nobel Prize for Physics, have each been awarded!
At the time of editing, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the Nobel Prize for Physics, have each been awarded.
Beginning with Medicine, the winners of the prize go to Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman. The pair share the prize for their work into developing the technology behind the mRNA Covid vaccines. The same mRNA technology is now being researched for other diseases, including cancer.
Now for Physics, this year’s recipients - Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier - have been awarded the prize for their work in Attosecond physics. The three laureates’ experiments produced “pulses of light so short that they are measured in attoseconds”. An attosecond is equal to one quintillionth (10-18) of a second. This work demonstrated that these almost unimaginably short pulses - like an ultra-high-speed shutter - could be used to study how electrons behave.
