The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is announcing this year’s Nobel Prize winners in their respective fields in a daily ceremony in Stockholm. With women scientists leading the front this time, here is a look back at how female Nobel laureates have changed the course of science in recent times.
Emmanuelle Charpentier & American Jennifer A. Doudna – Nobel Prize In Chemistry 2020The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 has been awarded to French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier (L) an… Read MoreThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 has been awarded to French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier (L) and American Jennifer A. Doudna (R).
The duo has won the prestigious award for the development of a method of genome editing known as CRISPR.
The method allows scientists to alter the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.
Read LessFrances Arnold – Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018
Frances Arnold, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on the directed evolution of enzymes.
The results from her research led to environmentally friendly manufacturing of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals and renewable fuels.
Ada Yonath – Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009Israeli scientist Ada Yonath, professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and winner of the Nobel… Read More
Israeli scientist Ada Yonath, professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009
Yonath won for creating atom-by-atom maps of the life-giving ribosome. The results from her research are being used for the production of antibiotics, among other things.
Read LessAndrea Ghez – Nobel Prize in Physics 2020Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics 2020, Andrea Ghez became a laureate for her work on supermassi… Read More
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics 2020, Andrea Ghez became a laureate for her work on supermassive black holes.
Ghez discovered a supermassive black hole (SMBH) right at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy, proving that almost all galaxies have such a SMBH at their centres.
Read LessDonna Strickland – Nobel Prize in Physics 2018
Donna Strickland, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018, was awarded for her method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses.
Called “Chirped pulse amplification”, the method has many uses, including corrective eye surgeries.
Tu Youyou – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015, Tu Youyou was awarded for her discoveries … Read More
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015, Tu Youyou was awarded for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria.
In the 1970s, after studying traditional herbal medicines, Youyou Tu managed to extract a substance, artemisinin, which inhibits the malaria parasite.
Read LessMay-Britt Moser – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014Born in Fosnavåg, Norway, May-Britt Moser was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicin… Read More
Born in Fosnavåg, Norway, May-Britt Moser was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 for her discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
In 2005, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser (husband) discovered a type of cell that is important for determining position close to the hippocampus, an area located in the center of the brain.
Read LessElizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
The female laureates received their Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009 for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.
Carol W. Greider – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009The duo built on the findings by Blackburn and Jack Szostak, who discovered that telomeres have a particular DNA that prevents chromosomes from being broken down.