With the Nobel Prize in Economics, all 2025 awards have been assigned
Economy & innovation — di Simone Santi
With the Nobel Prize in Economics, all 2025 awards have been assigned: here is a complete summary.
With the Nobel Prize in Economics, all 2025 awards have been assigned
With the Nobel Prize in Economics, all 2025 awards have been assigned: here is a complete summary.
The week dedicated to the awarding of the prestigious Nobel Prizes for 2025 has come to a close, with the day devoted to Economic Sciences. Here is the complete picture of all the awards and their respective motivations.
- Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine – Monday, 6 October
- Nobel Prize in Physics – Tuesday, 7 October
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry – Wednesday, 8 October, 11:45
- Nobel Prize in Literature – Thursday, 9 October, 13:00
- Nobel Prize in Peace – Friday, 10 October, 11:00
- Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences – Monday, 13 October, 11:45
From 1901 to the 2024 Nobel Prizes
The prizes are a prestigious award established by the chemist Alfred Nobel, and they bear the name of their creator and of the foundation that in turn carries the name of the Swedish scientist. When he died, Nobel stipulated in his will that his fortune would be used to reward "those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." The Nobel Prize would thus honour exceptional efforts in the fields in which he had been most involved during his lifetime: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. After his death, a lengthy process began to realise his vision, and the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. In 1969, a new prize was established: the Sveriges riksbank prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize in Economics. Its addition was an exception, created to celebrate the tricentenary of the Swedish central bank. Each prize is awarded by an institute or academy to living individuals who have achieved significant milestones in advancing knowledge in the scientific and humanistic fields. The prizes awarded by the Nobel Foundation concern scientific achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry and medicine, works and theories in the areas of literature and economics, as well as the efforts of those who have distinguished themselves in promoting peace among peoples.
Monday, 6 October – Physiology or Medicine: Brunkow, Ramsdell and Sakaguchi
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance", which prevents the immune system from damaging the body.
What the three new Nobel laureates discovered
Our immune system is an evolutionary masterpiece. Every day it protects us from the thousands of different viruses, bacteria and other microbes that attempt to invade our bodies. Without a functioning immune system, we would not survive.
One of the immune system's marvels is its
One of the immune system's marvels is its
Every day, our immune system protects us from thousands of different microbes that attempt to invade our bodies. These all look different, and many have developed similarities to human cells as a form of camouflage. How does the immune system determine what to attack and what to defend? This was discovered by Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi, whose research identified the security guards of the immune system — regulatory T cells — which prevent immune cells from attacking our own body. "Their discoveries have been decisive in understanding how the immune system works and why not all of us develop serious autoimmune diseases," stated Olle Kämpe, chair of the Nobel Committee.
Sakaguchi swimming against the tide
Shimon Sakaguchi was swimming against the tide in 1995 when he made his first fundamental discovery. At the time, many researchers were convinced that immune tolerance developed solely as a result of the elimination of potentially harmful immune cells in the thymus, through a process known as central tolerance. Sakaguchi demonstrated that the immune system is more complex and discovered a previously unknown class of immune cells that protect the body from autoimmune diseases.
Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body.
The Nobel Prize laureates
The Nobel Prize laureates
The contribution of Brunkow and Ramsdell
Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell made the other fundamental discovery in 2001, when they presented an explanation for why a specific strain of mice was particularly vulnerable to autoimmune diseases. They had discovered that the mice carried a mutation in a gene they named Foxp3. They also demonstrated that mutations in the human equivalent of this gene cause a severe autoimmune disease, IPEX. Two years later, Shimon Sakaguchi was able to link these discoveries together. He showed that the Foxp3 gene regulates the development of the cells he had identified in 1995.
BREAKING NEWS
The 2025 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance."
The 2025 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance."
These cells, now known as regulatory T cells, monitor other immune cells and ensure that our immune system tolerates our own tissues. The laureates' discoveries launched the field of peripheral tolerance, stimulating the development of medical treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. This could also lead to more effective transplantations. Many of these treatments are currently in clinical trials.
Tuesday, 7 October – Physics: Clarke, Devoret and Martinis
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 to John Clarke (University of California, Berkeley, United States), Michel H. Devoret (Yale University, New Haven, CT and University of California, Santa Barbara, USA) and John M. Martinis (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA) "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit". One of the central questions in physics is the maximum size of a system capable of demonstrating quantum mechanical effects. This year's Nobel Prize winners conducted experiments with an electrical circuit in which they demonstrated both quantum tunnelling and quantised energy levels in a system large enough to be held in one's hand.
BREAKING NEWS
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPrize in Physics to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit."
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPrize in Physics to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit."
Quantum mechanics allows a particle to pass through a barrier, using a process known as tunnelling. As soon as large numbers of particles are involved, quantum mechanical effects typically become negligible. The winners' experiments demonstrated that quantum mechanical properties can be realised at a macroscopic scale.
Quantum physics seen in action
In 1984 and 1985, John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis conducted a series of experiments with an electronic circuit made of superconductors, components capable of carrying current without electrical resistance. In the circuit, the superconducting components were separated by a thin layer of non-conducting material, a configuration known as a Josephson junction. By refining and measuring all the various properties of their circuit, they were able to control and explore the phenomena that occurred when a current passed through it. Together, the charged particles moving through the superconductor formed a system that behaved as though they were a single particle filling the entire circuit. This macroscopic, particle-like system is initially found in a state in which current flows without any voltage. The system is trapped in this state, as if behind a barrier it cannot cross. In the experiment, the system reveals its quantum character by managing to escape the zero-voltage state through tunnelling. The change of state of the system is detected by the appearance of a voltage. The winners were also able to demonstrate that the system behaves in the manner predicted by quantum mechanics: it is quantised, meaning it absorbs or emits only specific amounts of energy.
When you throw a ball at a wall, you can be sure it will bounce back at you.
You would be extremely surprised if the ball suddenly appeared on the other side of the wall. In quantum mechanics this type of phenomenon is called tunnelling and is exactly the type of phenomenon that
You would be extremely surprised if the ball suddenly appeared on the other side of the wall. In quantum mechanics this type of phenomenon is called tunnelling and is exactly the type of phenomenon that
"It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way in which century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises. It is also extremely useful, since quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology", says Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. The transistors in computer microchips are one example of the established quantum technology that surrounds us. This year's Nobel Prize in Physics has opened up opportunities for the development of the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers and quantum sensors.
Wednesday, 8 October – Chemistry: Kitagawa, Robson and Yaghi
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, and Omar M. Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, "for the development of metal–organic frameworks".
BREAKING NEWS
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi "for the development of metal–organic frameworks."
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi "for the development of metal–organic frameworks."