From October 7 to 14, the world was introduced to the 2024 Nobel Prize laureates, recognized for their groundbreaking contributions to humanity—outstanding research and revolutionary discoveries. Each year, the Nobel Prize celebrates significant achievements in physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and economics. On December 10, during a formal ceremony marking the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, all laureates will receive their awards: a gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary prize of about $1.1 million. Here’s a look at this year’s winners and their contributions
2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded for their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Their research helped uncover how these microRNAs influence cell behavior and contribute to various health issues, including heart disease and cancer.
Ambros and Ruvkun began this line of work in the 1990s while studying roundworms, where they discovered a complex relationship between specific genes and the regulatory role of microRNA. Their findings, published in Cell in 1993, paved the way for a new understanding of genetic communication within cells. Thomas Perlmann, Secretary of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, called their work “truly fundamental for all physiology.”
Who was Alfred Nobel?
Chemist Alfred Nobel developed dynamite in 1866, earning millions from it. However, he was dismayed later in life when he saw his invention being widely used to kill people. After reading a premature obituary condemning him for profiting from weapons, the childless Nobel bequeathed his fortune to a foundation that would honor those who had “conferred the greatest benefit to humanity” in the previous year. In addition to awards for literature, physics, chemistry, and medicine, he established a prize for peace, likely inspired by his friendship with Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner.
2024 Nobel Prize in Physics
John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton were awarded the Physics Prize for their significant breakthroughs in machine learning, reshaping how computers simulate memory and learning functions. Using physics tools, they developed methods that are foundational for modern powerful machine learning. Hopfield created associative memory capable of storing and reconstructing images and other data patterns, while Hinton invented a method that can identify properties in data and recognize specific elements in images.
“These artificial neural networks have been used to advance research in fields such as particle physics, materials science, and astrophysics. They have also become part of our daily lives, for instance in facial recognition and language translation.,” explained Ellen Moons, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.
Spoons in the pocket
After the awards ceremony, a gala dinner will be held at the Grand Hotel in central Oslo. 250 guests will dine from specially crafted tableware. The dress code is strict: tuxedo, bow tie, and white shirt for men, long evening gowns for women. During the five-course meal, according to tradition, guests are allowed to take the gold-plated coffee spoons as souvenirs.
2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Three scientists received the Chemistry Prize for their work in predicting and designing protein structures: David Baker, Gemis Hassabis, and John Jumper. The Nobel Committee for Chemistry highlighted Baker’s near-impossible achievement of creating new types of proteins, while Hassabis and Jumper developed an AI model to solve a 50-year-old problem—the prediction of complex protein structures. These discoveries have vast potential, including a better understanding of antibiotic resistance and the creation of enzymes that can break down plastic.
Why Oslo?
In his will, Nobel stipulated that all prizes should be awarded in Stockholm, except for the Peace Prize. It is unclear why he wanted this to be done in Oslo. At the time, Norway was in union with Sweden but became an independent kingdom only in 1905.
2024 Nobel Prize in Literature
South Korean writer Han Kang was honored for her “intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” She is best known for her book The Vegetarian, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, as well as The White Book, Human Acts, and Greek Lessons. Han Kang, 53, has been writing for over 30 years, but The Vegetarian was her first work to be translated into English in 2015, garnering widespread attention.
“In her oeuvre, Han Kang confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life. She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become an innovator in contemporary prose,” stated the Nobel Prize website.
Unusual nominations
Being nominated for a Nobel Prize doesn’t necessarily mean someone is particularly peace-loving. For example, in 1939, a Swedish parliament member nominated Adolf Hitler, which, as the member later explained, was satirical. It remains unclear whether Donald Trump’s 2018 nomination was also a joke.
2024 Nobel Peace Prize
The Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo was awarded the Peace Prize for its efforts to create a world free of nuclear weapons by amplifying the voices of those who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Shortly after the bombings in August 1945, survivors—also known as hibakusha—began a mass movement working to create “widespread opposition” to nuclear weapons. Nihon Hidankyo became “the largest and most influential” hibakusha organization, providing reports and sending delegations annually to the United Nations to speak about the destruction they experienced.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes nevertheless to acknowledge one encouraging fact: No nuclear weapon has been used in war in nearly 80 years. The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo. It is therefore alarming that today this taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure,” noted the prize organizers.
Refusing the Prize
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Le Duc Tho and Literature laureate Jean-Paul Sartre both declined their awards. Sartre refused any involvement altogether, while Le Duc Tho declined in 1973, citing the ongoing civil war in Vietnam.
2024 Nobel Prize in Economics
British economists Simon Johnson and James Robinson, working in U.S. universities, along with Turkish scholar Daron Acemoglu, were recognized for their work on how institutions shape and influence prosperity. The award came a day after the World Bank released a report stating that the world’s 26 poorest countries, home to 40% of the population living in poverty, are more indebted than ever since 2006.
In a press release, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said: “This year’s laureates in Economic Sciences have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity. Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better. The laureates’ research helps us understand why.”
Research on inequality has been a central theme in recent Nobel Prizes. Last year, Harvard economic historian Claudia Goldin won the award for her work on the causes of wage and labor market inequality between men and women.
