The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012

     Robert Lefkowitz (69) and Brain Kobilka (57), the two Americans won the Nobel Prize 2012 for Chemistry on 10 October, 2012. They won the award for their study and research on Protein Receptors, which allows the body to respond the signals from outside world. The study in a key and would pave the path for developing better drugs to different ailments. Lefkowitz and Kobilka from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto. California respectively will be sharing the prize amount of 8 million-krona ($1.2 million).

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2012

     Serge Haroche and David Wineland of France and US respectively, won the Nobel Physics Prize on 9 October 2012. They received Nobel for their work on quantum physics, which would open a gate for supercomputers in future. The two physics have developed the technology for examining the intimate relationship between matter and light. This research by the duo would help in development of precise clocks, which will be hundred times precise than the caesium clocks of present-time. The eight million Swedish Krona ($1.2 millions) would be divided in between the two and the award will be received by them on 10 December 2012 on the death ceremony of the Prize Founder, Alfred Nobel.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2012

     Mo Yan, the Chinese writer won 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature on 11 October 2012. The Swedish Academy of Stockholm praised the Chinese writer for the writer called his hallucinatory realism. The writer combines the folk stories, modern events and the history in his works. He is the first Chinese writer in the 111 years of Nobel history to become a citizen born in China won a Nobel in literature in 2000. The Swedish Academy compared him with two writers of twentieth century namely William Faulkner from America and Gabriel Garcia Marquez from Colombia. Mo Yan will receive the prize medal and the prize amount of more than 1 million $ on 10 December 2012, the death anniversary of the prize founder, Alfred Nobel, Mo Yan means Don’t Speak. The original name of Mo is Guan Moye. The writer changed his name to be Mo Yan, to remind himself of talking less to avoid the trouble that follows. Nobel Prize for Peace 2012 would be declared on 12 October2012.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012

     The European Union (EU) won Nobel Peace Prize 2012 on 21 October 2012 for its effort to promote peace and democracy in Europe. The award was announced by Norwegian Nobel Committee. The award was given to European Union even though the Union is struggling with its biggest crisis since it was created in the 1950s. Practically, the EU was being honored for six decades of contributions to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. Different Social media exploded with strong reactions both for and against, awarding the prize in European Union – worth 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million). The EU grew out of the tremendous devastation created by World War II, fuelled by the conviction that ever-closer economic ties would make sure that century-old enemies never turned on each other again. The European Union is now made up of 500 million people in 27 nations, with other nations lined up, waiting to join.

Nobel Prize for Economics 2012

     Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley of America were awarded the Nobel economics prize on 15 october, 2012 for their work in market design and matching theory. The research work helps in explaining the market processes at work, say, when doctors are assigned to hospitals, students to schools and human organs for transplant to recipients. The award was cited to the economist by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize, called their work an outstanding example of economic engineering. The two economists were working independently on the same research project. Lloyd Shapley used game theory to study matching models, and Alvin Roth built on them to make real world changes to existing markets. Including school choice and organ transplants, Alvin Roth is a professor at Harvard and Lloyd Shapley teaches at the University of California in Los Angeles. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was the last of the 2012 Nobel awards to be announced. The economics award is not among the original prizes created in 1895 by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel to honor work in physics, medicine, chemistry, literature and peace. It was added as a category in 1969 by the Swedish central bank in memory of the industrialist.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012

     British researcher John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan won the 2012 Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering that mature, specialized cells of the body can be reprogrammed into stem cells – a discovery that scientists hope to turn into new treatments. Scientists want to harness the reprogramming to create replacement tissues for treating diseases like Parkinson’s and for studying the roots of diseases in the laboratory. The prize committee at Stockholm’s Karonlinska institute said the discovery has “revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.” Gurdon showed in 1962 that the DNA from specialized cells of frogs, like skin or intestinal cells, could be used to generate new tadpoles. That showed the DNA still had its ability to drive the formation of all cells of the body. More than 40 years later, in 2006, Yamanaka showed that a surprisingly simple recipe could turn mature cells back into primitive cells, which in turn could be prodded into different kinds of mature cells. Basically, the primitive cells were the equivalent of embryonic stem cells, which had been embroiled in controversy because to get human embryonic cells, human embryos had to be destroyed. Yamanaka’s method provided a way to get such primitive cells without destroying embryos. “The discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialized cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances.” The committee said. “These discoveries have also provided new tools for scientists around the world and led to remarkable progress in many areas of medicine.” The medicine award was the first Nobel Prize to be announced this year.