And the Nobel Prize is awarded to…

It is Nobel Prize week. The Nobel Prize 2023 in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. A well deserved prize having saved millions of lives.

The Nobel Prize is the legacy of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. When he signed his last will in 1895, Nobel declared that he wanted the bulk of his assets to go to a fund, and that the interest from that fund should be distributed as annual prizes.

Nobel’s own inventions include a blasting cap, dynamite and smokeless gunpowder.

The Nobel Prize is considered the most prestigious award in the world in its field. It is awarded to ‘those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind’.

Prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901, and economic sciences since 1968.