Nobel Prize 2022

The Nobel Prizes 2022 were awarded to Alain Aspect, John F.Clauser, Anton Zeilinger in Physics; Svante Paabo in Medicine; Annie Ernaux in Literature; Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, K. Barry Sharpless in Chemistry; Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond, Philip H. Dybvig in Economic Sciences; and Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and Center for Civil Liberties in Peace category for outstanding contributions in their respective fields.

Founded by Alfred Nobel in 1895 and first distributed in 1901, the Nobel Prizes are given in six categories, conferred by four organisations - Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Chemistry; Physics and Economic Science), the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute (Physiology / Medicine), the Swedish Academy (Literature), and the Norwegian Nobel Committee (Peace).

List of Nobel Prize 2022

In 2022, six awards were given to twelve individuals and two organizations.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was given to Svante Paabo for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.

Svante Paabo (Stockholm, Sweden)

Paabo's groundbreaking discoveries opened a new window to our evolutionary past.

• His studies reveal the complexity of human evolution and ad-mixture of ancient hominins, besides providing the basis for a clear understanding of genetic features that make us the present human.

Research on Paleogenomics

Paabo succeeded in obtaining the genome sequence of Neanderthals (our closest extinct relative).

• His outstanding work established the fact that Homo sapiens had mixed with Neanderthals and Denisovans during periods of coexistence, which resulted in the introgression of archaic DNA in present-day humans.
• His research demonstrated the presence of variants of archaic genes that have influenced the physiology of modern humans.
• These results indicate a common origin in Africa for all sub-populations of Homo sapiens, reaffirming the “Out of Africa theory of human evolution.”

Nobel Prize in Physics 2022

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 was jointly awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger (from left to right) for their groundbreaking experiments using entangled quantum states, where two particles behave like a single unified unit even when they are separated in space and time.

The Nobel Laureates

These three have made seminal contributions to the foundations of quantum theory. 

• Alain Aspect (France): Professor at University Paris -Saclay and Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau.
• John F. Clauser (USA): Research Physicist, J.F.& Associates, USA.
• Anton Zeilinger (Austria): Professor at University of Vienna.

Quantum Entanglement

This phenomenon explains how two subatomic particles can be intimately linked to each other in such a way that two particles behave like a single, unified unit even if separated by millions of light-years of space.

Experiments to test entanglement

The three physicists conducted a series of experiments on the entangled quantum states (behavior of subatomic particles). His experiments established that the ‘entanglement’ phenomenon observed in quantum particles was real.

• Quantum teleportation: A research group has demonstrated a phenomenon called quantum teleportation, which makes it possible to move a quantum state from one particle to another at a distance.
• Violation of Bell’s inequalities: Clauser worked on Bell’s ideas, and his measurements supported quantum mechanics by violating Bell's inequality. His experiment was further improved by Aspect and Zeilinger.
• Applications:
  • Precision in measurements of subatomic particles:  Special properties of individual particle systems to construct quantum computers. It improves various measurements at subatomic level particles.
  • Hack-free communications: The established prosperity of enlargement paved the way for quantum networks and quantum encrypted communication.
  • Enhanced computation: Quantum computers use quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for regular computers.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded to Barry Sharpless, Morten Meldal, and Carolyn Bertozziare for bringing chemistry into the era of functionalism, laying the foundations of click chemistry, and developing bioorthogonal chemistry.

The Nobel Laureates

• Carolyn R. Bertozzi (USA): Stanford University
• Morten P. Meldal (Denmark): University of Copenhagen
• K. Barry Sharpless (USA): Scripps researcher

Click chemistry

• Barry Sharpless coined the concept of “click” chemistry in 2001. The idea of reactions that efficiently snap together small molecular building blocks using easily achieved reaction conditions.
• It has a vital role in chemical biology by purposefully and particularly linking modular units to various outcomes.
• It was developed as an alternative approach to synthetic chemistry that has made a variety of challenging reactions much easier to perform by "click" reagents (unique reagents).
• It has been used in natural products and drug discovery.

Bioorthogonal Chemistry

• Carolyn R. Bertozzi introduces the concept of Bioorthogonal Chemistry.
• It is a kind of Chemical reaction that happens in cells without affecting their normal chemistry.
• Bioorthogonal reactions allow researchers to study biological molecules and help identify targets for new drugs. They are also being trialed to produce clickable antibodies to target cancerous tumors.

Applications

• Click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions- bring the greatest benefit to humankind as they take place without disrupting the normal functioning of the cell.
• Researchers have demonstrated improvements in the targeting of cancer cells using bioorthogonal reactions.
• It helps accelerate specific reactions between functional groups (biomolecules), as it belongs to the class of biocompatible small-molecule reactions.
• Reduced level of byproducts and waste due to efficient snapping during reaction.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2022

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to French author Annie Ernaux for her work and the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory.

Annie Ernaux (France)

• She was born and brought up in the small town of Yvetot in Normandy. She generally wrote about events in her life and the lives of those around.
• She studied at the universities of Rouen and Bordeaux, where she qualified as a school teacher and gained a higher degree in modern literature.
• Major themes of his work:
  • The body and sexuality
  • Intimate relationships
  • Time and memory
• Famous novels:
  • Cleaned Out
  •  What they say goes
  • The Frozen Woman
• Autobiography: A Man’s Place (1982)

Nobel Prize in Peace 2022

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ales Bialiatski from (Human right activist), Memorial (a Russian human rights organisation), and the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukrainian human rights organisation).

Ales Bialiatski

• Bialiatski is recognised as a prominent pro-democracy activist in Belarus.
• He is a founding member of Viasna and the Belarusian Popular Front.
• He has been termed "a pillar of the human rights movement in Eastern Europe" by The New York Times.

Memorial

• It is recognised as one of the largest human rights organisation in Russia.
• It was established in 1987 by human rights advocates in the former USSR.
• Recently, it helped in gathering information on the political oppression and human rights violations in Russia.

Center for Civil Liberties

• Democracy and human rights activists founded the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, in 2007.
• The organisation advocated for rule of law and establishment of full-fledged democracy in Ukraine.
• The organisation has been vocal about war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population.

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2022

The Nobel Prize in Economics Science 2022 has been jointly awarded to Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig "for research on banks and financial crises".

The Nobel Laureates

• Ben S Bernanke (USA): Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, USA
• Douglas W Diamond (USA): Associate Professor of Finance, University of Chicago
• Philip H. Dybvi (USA): Professor of Banking and Finance,Washington University, St. Louis, USA

Contributions

• The Nobel Committee noted that the economic laureates for 2022 had significantly improved the understanding of banks' roles in the economy, especially during financial crises.
• Their research has enhanced the general understanding of banks, banking regulation, and financial crises.

Research

• The research related to functional aspects of the modern banking system.
• The foundations of this research were laid by Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond, and Philip Dybvig during the 1980s.
• Their seminal works have been of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises.
• They highlighted the importance of well-functioning bank regulation.
• They delve into key questions:
  • Management of society without banks
  • Role of society in improving the banking system
  • Long consequences of the crisis in the banking system
  • Establishment of new alternative banking
• The laureates’ insights played an important role:
  • Ensuring these latter crises did not develop into new depressions with devastating consequences for society.
  • Research makes society much better equipped to take on this challenge.
  • To avoid long-term depressions with severe consequences for society.