Top 3 Interesting Nobel Prize Winners 2020

On November 1895, a wealthy man named Alfred Nobel signed his last will, stating that a large portion of his fortune will be given our as prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. These prizes are known as The Nobel Prizes.

Picture credits: Nobel Media III. Niklas Elmehed https://www.nobelprize.org

Nobel Prize in Physics

• Announced ½ of the prize to Roger Penrose for the “discovery that black hole formation is the robust prediction of general theory of relativity.”

• Announced a share of ½ the prize between Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy.” 

• Penrose: Einstein did not believe that black holes existed, but he knew something massively strong was out there. In January 1965, 10 years after Einstein died, Penrose proved that black holes do exist and how they form. At the heart, there is a singularity where none of the laws of nature work. Light can’t escape it. 

• Ghez and Genzel: Since 1990, this team of astronomers focused on a place in the center of our galaxy called Sagittarius A. Using high-tech telescopes, they were able to look past the huge clouds of interstellar gas and debris, and find evidence that the center of the Milky way has a super massive blackhole 

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

• Awarded ½ prize to Emmanuelle Charpentier and ½ prize to Jennifer A. Doudna “for development of a method for genome editing.”

• Both of them discovered CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors in 2012

• Using these genetic scissors, scientists can splice animal, plant, and microorganism DNA with extremely high precision

• In 2011, Charpentier discovered that a harmful bacteria, Streptococcus pyogenes, had the ability to self-cut its own DNA. She partnered with RNA specialist Doudna, and together they discovered how to recreate the bacteria’s genetic scissors in test tubes. This is what scientists use in modern days for CRISPR/Cas9

Nobel Prize in Medicine

• Awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.”

• Hepatitis C virus causes liver cancer, cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis. Blood-Borne hepatitis.

• Due to this discovery, highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available

Works Cited

“Nobel Prize Facts.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/nobel-prize-facts/.

“The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/summary/.

“The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2020/press-release/.

“The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/press-release/.

“The Dominance of Impact Factors.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/.

“The Official Website of the Nobel Prize.” NobelPrize.org, www.nobelprize.org/.