Nobel Prize

From humble yet ingenious beginnings to Nobel recognition, cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) provides insights into scientific questions that other technologies are unable to answer.

Pathologist Peyton Rous made a groundbreaking discovery in the early 20th century, but his work wasn’t widely recognized until more than 40 years later. 

Seventeen studies coauthored by Gregg Semenza have been retracted, corrected, or raised for concern, and 15 more are currently under investigation.

The award highlights tremendous opportunities for aDNA as well as challenges related to rapid growth, equity, and misinformation.

This year’s award recognizes Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless for developing click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.

The geneticist’s accomplishments include sequencing Neanderthal DNA and leading the project that identified a new species of hominin, the Denisovans.

The biophysicist shared the 1989 Prize in Chemistry for discovering RNA’s catalytic properties.

Caskey’s contributions to the field were instrumental to modern genetics.

From a Nobel prize and photosynthesis-powered brains to neurodegeneration research and controversy over a new Alzheimer’s drug, a look back at some of the biggest brain-related developments of the year.

David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research on the ion channels involved in perceiving heat, cold, pain, and touch.

Conducting research to elucidate nature’s mysteries is reward enough.

The chemist refined nuclear magnetic resonance technology, giving rise to the development of MRI.

Senators raise concerns about how Eric Lander of the Broad Institute has handled equality issues.

Neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini began her Nobel Prize–winning work in a makeshift laboratory in Italy during the Second World War.

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna reprogrammed the bacterial immune response into one of the most popular tools for genetics and molecular biology.

Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice share the Physiology or Medicine award for their contributions to identifying the virus and demonstrating that it was responsible for hepatitis among blood transfusion recipients.

The Vanderbilt University professor was awarded a Nobel Prize for his discovery of epidermal growth factor.

For the Physiology or Medicine award, Peter Ratcliffe, William Kaelin, and Gregg Semenza are credited with figuring out molecular and genetic responses to oxygen levels.

As we await the announcement of the 2019 Nobel Prize winners, it’s time to question why female scientists still lag behind their male colleagues.