Skip to main content

Here are the names and achievements behind this year’s Nobel Prizes in Science

MIT physicist Rainer Weiss Nobel Prizes in Science
MIT physicist Rainer Weiss, looks at his 1974 prototype for Radio Frequency Modulated Test Interferometer at the MIT Pappalardo Room, after he received news early this morning that he shared the win for the Nobel Prize in Physics. Ryan McBride/AFP/Getty Images
The winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes in Science have been announced and, despite science writer Ed Yong’s thoughtful dismissal of this “absurd anachronistic way of recognizing scientific achievement,” they’re still a very big deal.

Awarded annually by the Nobel Foundation and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, and medicine have been given to some of science’s most accomplished individuals. Winning the award puts honorees in the company of giants like Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Niels Bohr.

Here’s a brief breakdown of the tremendous achievements of this year’s winners.

Physics

Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne
David McNew/Getty Images
Caltech Prfessors Barry C. Barish, and Kip S. Thorne attend a press conference at California Institute of Technology after receiving the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images

Winners: Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish, and Kip S. Thorne

Why they won: “For decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”

Over a century ago, Einstein had this wild idea that the collision of two immensely dense objects could create ripples in the very fabric of spacetime. He never saw these “gravitational waves.” No one had. But last year, physicists and astronomers at LIGO (a specially designed facility for detecting cosmic gravitational waves) and Virgo Scientific Collaboration announced what the Royal Swedish Academy now calls “a discovery that shook the world.”

From their sophisticated observatories on Earth, scientists recorded gravitational waves from the collision of a pair of massive black holes some billion light years away. Who would’ve thunk Einstein was right?

Although thousands of scientists were involved in the gravity wobbling study, Weiss, Barish, and Thorne were awarded the honor due to their leadership in developing LIGO.

Why it matters: Besides validating a seemingly crazy and century-old prediction made by arguably the greatest scientist to ever live, the gravitational wave study also offers a fascinating glimpse at the foundation of our physical reality.

Chemistry

 Nobel Committee for Chemistry choosing its prize winners
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

Winners: Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson

Why they won: “For developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.”

In the world of proteins, form and function go hand in hand. Determining the shape of a biomolecule like a virus is often a significant step toward revealing how it does what it does. And although methods exist for studying the structure of proteins, the primary technique requires crystallizing the molecules, many of which are just too squishy.

The method developed by Dubochet, Frank, and Henderson allows scientists to build 3D images of biological molecules, which may help provide new insight into the inner workings of our cells.

“Soon there are no more secrets,” said Sara Snogerup Linse, committee chairwoman and professor of physical chemistry at Sweden’s Lund University. “Now we can see the intricate details of the biomolecules in every corner of our cells, in every drop of our body fluids.”

Why it matters: Cryo-electron microscopy allows scientists to make 3D images of molecules that were previously tough to model. The method has already helped scientists study diseases like Zika virus and unravel the structure of proteins critical to our internal body clocks.

Medicine

Fruit fly under a microscope
DeAgostini/Getty Images)
DeAgostini/Getty Images

Winners: Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young

Why they won: “For their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.”

There are ever-ticking clocks in our bodies that play a vital role in nearly everything we do — influencing physiological functions like managing our core body temperature, brain wave activity, and hormone production. Known as the circadian rhythm, this process is present to different degrees in every living being. And although it’s always there, science hasn’t always understood how it works.

The research honored with the Nobel Prize examined the internal mechanism of an inglorious creature, the fruit fly, and began to reveal what actually controls circadian rhythm. It turns out that a gene the scientists were analyzing encodes a protein which gathers in cells at night and disperses during the daytime.

This was no small measure. Hall, Rosbash, and Young conducted this research over decades, using the fly as a model organism to learn more about the biological functions of humans and other animals with clocks that function via similar mechanisms.

Why it matters: The genes and proteins these scientists analyzed have a massive impact on our everyday lives. Understanding the basis of circadian rhythm sheds light on aspects of behavior, sleep cycles, and metabolism. The Nobel committee honored Hall, Rosbash, and Young’s work for helping illuminate how an individual’s lifestyle may coincide or clash with her internal rhythm, and how adjusting one’s lifestyle accordingly could benefit well-being.

Dyllan Furness
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Dyllan Furness is a freelance writer from Florida. He covers strange science and emerging tech for Digital Trends, focusing…
Hyundai Ioniq 5 sets world record for greatest altitude change
hyundai ioniq 5 world record altitude change mk02 detail kv

When the Guinness World Records (GWR) book was launched in 1955, the idea was to compile facts and figures that could finally settle often endless arguments in the U.K.’s many pubs.

It quickly evolved into a yearly compilation of world records, big and small, including last year's largest grilled cheese sandwich in the world.

Read more
Global EV sales expected to rise 30% in 2025, S&P Global says
ev sales up 30 percent 2025 byd sealion 7 1stbanner l

While trade wars, tariffs, and wavering subsidies are very much in the cards for the auto industry in 2025, global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are still expected to rise substantially next year, according to S&P Global Mobility.

"2025 is shaping up to be ultra-challenging for the auto industry, as key regional demand factors limit demand potential and the new U.S. administration adds fresh uncertainty from day one," says Colin Couchman, executive director of global light vehicle forecasting for S&P Global Mobility.

Read more
Faraday Future could unveil lowest-priced EV yet at CES 2025
Faraday Future FF 91

Given existing tariffs and what’s in store from the Trump administration, you’d be forgiven for thinking the global race toward lower electric vehicle (EV) prices will not reach U.S. shores in 2025.

After all, Chinese manufacturers, who sell the least expensive EVs globally, have shelved plans to enter the U.S. market after 100% tariffs were imposed on China-made EVs in September.

Read more