The Nobel Prize winners for the year 2009 have been announced. This year 5 out of 13 new Nobel laureates are women, the highest ever to be awarded in a single year. All the winners would receive their prizes in twin ceremonies to be held in Oslo and Stockholm on December 10, 2009.
Take a look at this year Nobel Prize winners and their accomplishments:
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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: It is shared by three Americans Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. This work has inspired experimental cancer therapies and may also give insight into aging.
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Nobel Prize in Physics: The Nobel Prize in physics is again shared amongst three Americans Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith. While Kao received the prize for his a revolutionary discovery related to the transmission of light signals through glass fibers for optical communication, Boyle and Smith were awarded for their contribution to digital imaging by inventing a CCD sensor that turns light into electrical signals.
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Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Goes to Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan , Thomas Steitz and Israel’s Ada Yonath (the first woman since 1964 to be receiving this award) for their detailed study of the structure and function of the protein manufacturing machine called ribosome. This research is being used to develop new antibiotics.
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Nobel Prize in Literature: To Germany’s Herta Mueller, whose writings in the German chronicle with emphasis on poetry and the honesty of writing style, depicts the life conditions under dictatorship rule in her Romanian homeland.
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Nobel Peace Prize: To the President of the U.S. Barack Obama for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen 2087018international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples to meet global challenges”. This decision of The Norwegian Nobel Committee enticed applauds, disdain and a lot of confusion, all at the same time.
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Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences: Goes to two Americans, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson for analyzing economic governance occurring outside the markets. Ostrom is the first woman to receive this prize since its beginning in 1968.