Articles tagged as Nobel Prizes | Smithsonian Magazine

From L to R: Frances H. Arnold was recognized for her work in the directed evolution of enzymes, while George P. Smith and Sir Gregory Winter were honored for the phage display of peptides and antibodies

Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter employed principles seen in evolution to develop proteins that tackle global chemical problems

October 3, 2018

Nobel Prize winner Donna Strickland photographed in her lab.

The Nobels Notoriously Overlook Women Physicists. Donna Strickland’s Win Puts That Disparity into the Spotlight

Nobel committee recognizes three physicists in total, all of whom contributed to advancing laser technology

October 2, 2018

An illustration of the winners of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: James Allison (left) and Tasuku Honjo (right).

The award recognizes work that figured out how to encourage the immune system to fight cancer

October 1, 2018

A postage stamp printed in Norway showing an image of Alfred Nobel, circa 2001.

Commentary

Should the Nobel Prizes Take a Year Off?

An award designed to go to those who benefit all humanity has a history of prejudice and controversy

September 20, 2018

The satirical awards celebrate some of the strangest scientific research

September 14, 2018

Hemingway photographed in 1956, the year he completed “A Room on the Garden Side.”

“A Room On the Garden Side” was written in 1956 and takes place during the liberation of Paris in 1944

August 3, 2018

Marie and Pierre Curie in the laboratory.

Three Quirky Facts About Marie Curie

In honor of her 150th birthday, let’s review a few lesser-known pieces of her personal history

November 7, 2017

The Nobel-prize winning Chilean poet died 2 weeks after the brutal Pinochet regime took power in his country

October 25, 2017

A shot from the famed 1965 film version of Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago"

How Boris Pasternak Won and Lost the Nobel Prize

Today in 1958, the “Doctor Zhivago” author won the Nobel Prize, but the Soviets made sure he never got it

October 23, 2017

Eight hundred pounds of dynamite exploding.

The Man Who Invented Nitroglycerin Was Horrified By Dynamite

Alfred Nobel–yes, that Nobel–commercialized it, but inventor Asciano Sobrero thought nitroglycerin was too destructive to be useful

October 12, 2017

Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), poses at the headquarters of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), in Geneva, Switzerland.

The grassroots coalition spearheaded a U.N. treaty to outlaw nuclear arms and hopes to make them taboo, like chemical weapons

October 6, 2017

Mad cow disease, like other prion diseases, is still not fully understood.

More Than 30 Years Since Their Discovery, Prions Still Fascinate, Terrify and Mystify Us

Figuring out what they were was just the beginning of a field of research into prions and prion diseases that’s still growing

October 6, 2017

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro during a press conference at his home in London, Thursday Oct. 5, 2017.

The author of The Remains of the Day and seven other books explores themes of memory, time and self-deception

October 5, 2017

A graphic showing the high image resolutions achieved with cryo-electron microscopy

Method for Capturing the Smallest Details of Life Nabs Chemistry Nobel

With cryo-electron microscopy, tiny living molecules can be seen in their natural states

October 4, 2017

The trio is the leading force behind the massive pair of detectors that can measures ripples in the fabric of space-time smaller than the width of a proton

October 3, 2017

Circadian rhythms dictate the patterns of sleep and wakefulness for much of life on Earth

Circadian rhythms dictate the daily patterns of life on Earth, and understanding these patterns is crucial to overall health

October 2, 2017

The Perks and Pitfalls of Being a Nobel Laureate: Early Mornings, Performance Anxiety

On the plus side, at UC Berkeley you get free parking

October 2, 2017

Is this cat a liquid or a solid? One researcher is on a hunt for answers.

A parody of the prestigious Nobel Prizes, the awards celebrate research that makes people laugh, then think

September 15, 2017

Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann reads from the words of Liu Xiaobo when he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Xiaobo was imprisoned and unable to accept the award.

Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo Dies at Age 61

The human rights activist spent his final years in Chinese custody

July 13, 2017

Bob Dylan has finally delivered his Nobel Prize lecture.

The reclusive singer-songwriter muses on literature and music in characteristic style

June 5, 2017