Nobel Prize 2024 Winners List, Name, Achievements, Fields

The Nobel Prizes 2024 were awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton in Physics; Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun in Medicine; David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M. Jumper in Chemistry; Han Kang in literature; Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo for peace; and Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson in Economics for their outstanding contributions in their respective fields.

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award given to individuals who make significant contributions to humankind in different fields. It was founded in 1895 by the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, who is known for the invention of dynamite. The prizes are awarded for outstanding efforts in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Economics, and Peace. 

• The Swedish Academy gives the prize for literature, the Karolinska Institute for Physiology or Medicine, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for Physics, Chemistry, and Economics. 
• The Nobel Peace Prize has been given out by the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee. 
• The prize money for the awards comes from a will made by Alfred Nobel.

Nobel Prize 2024 List

The Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine, Chemistry, and Physics have been announced, as mentioned below. The remaining categories will announce their winners throughout the coming days. 

Nobel Prize 2024 Physiology or Medicine

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA and its crucial role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

• Major Findings: microRNAs are a class of small molecules essential for gene regulation in cells. The research uncovered the complex relationship between specific genes and microRNAs.
  • The microRNAs can bind to messenger RNA and influence the production of proteins critical for cellular functions. This way they have a significant regulatory role in cells.
  • The research has uncovered how these microRNAs contribute to various health challenges, including cancer and heart disease by influencing cellular behavior and functions.
• Significance: As the understanding of these tiny regulators increases, the potential for innovative therapeutic approaches to complex medical conditions also increases.
  • Their work is truly fundamental for physiology and will help development in most of its branches, helping breakthrough discoveries in the field of medicine.
  • Their findings also opened new avenues for understanding genetic communication within cells.

Nobel Prize 2024 Physics

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton for the use of statistical physics concepts in the development of artificial neural networks.

• Artificial neural networks: These are fundamental in machine learning and artificial intelligence. These help by allowing machines to find and recognize patterns in extremely large datasets and make learning possible.
• Significance: Artificial neural networks have also been used to advance research across branches of physics such as particle physics, material science, and astrophysics.
  • They have now become essential parts of our daily lives, for example, in facial recognition and language translation.
• Risks: While machine learning has enormous benefits, its rapid development has also raised concerns about using this new technology safely and ethically.

Nobel Prize 2024 Chemistry

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M. Jumper for their groundbreaking contributions to protein science.

• Major Discoveries: One-half of the prize is given to David Baker 'for computational protein design' and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper 'for protein structure prediction.'
• Significance: David Baker has achieved the extraordinary feat of designing entirely new proteins. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model to address a 50-year-old challenge- predicting the complex 3-D structures of proteins.
  • Baker’s group has since 2003 created a range of novel proteins from scratch that have found applications in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials, sensors, and other fields.
  • Hassabis and Jumper AI-based model in 2020 named AlphaFold2. This can predict the structure of nearly all 200 million proteins identified to date.
  • AlphaFold2 has been used extensively by millions of scientists around the globe to address issues like antibiotic resistance and plastic degradation.

Nobel Prize 2024 Literature

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang, recognized "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life."

• Han Kang has a distinctive approach to exploring significant historical traumas and the unseen societal norms that shape human experiences.
• Her works delve into the delicate balance between life and death, body and soul, showcasing her unique insight into the human condition.
• Literary Works: Her literary journey began in 1993 with the publication of several poems in the magazine Literature and Society.
  • Han Kang's prose debut came in 1995 with the short story collection Love of Yeosu.
  • She gained major international recognition with her novel The Vegetarian, published in 2007. This work, written in three parts, explores the tumultuous consequences faced by the protagonist, Yeong-hye, as she rejects societal norms surrounding food consumption.
• Notably, Han Kang is the first South Korean author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, marking a significant milestone in the global recognition of Korean literature.

Nobel Prize 2024 Peace

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 was awarded to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.

• Nihon Hidankyo is a grassroots movement, comprised of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki—commonly referred to as Hibakusha.
• In response to the atomic bombings in August 1945, this global movement emerged, uniting individuals committed to raising awareness about the devastating humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapon use.
• The historical witnesses of the 1945 bombings have played a crucial role in generating and solidifying global opposition to nuclear weapons by sharing their personal experiences, creating educational campaigns, and issuing urgent warnings about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and usage.
• Through their narratives, the Hibakusha help society articulate the indescribable, contemplate the unthinkable, and comprehend the profound pain and suffering inflicted by nuclear weapons.

Nobel Prize 2024 Economy Economic Sciences 

The Nobel Prize 2024 in economics is awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson for research that explored the aftermath of colonisation to understand why global inequality persists today, especially in countries dogged by corruption and dictatorship. D. Acemoglu and S. Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while J. Robinson at the University of Chicago in the USA. 

• The awardees have revealed the importance of societal institutions for a nation’s prosperity.
  • Their research helps us understand why societies with a poor rule of law and exploitative institutions are unable to generate growth or bring about positive change. 
• They have given a model for understanding how political institutions are created and transformed. The model has three key components:
  • Conflict Over Resource Allocation: Addresses issues of authority in decision-making, focusing on whether power rests with the elite or the masses.
  • Mass Mobilization as a Threat: Highlights how the masses can challenge the ruling elite, indicating that power is not solely in the hands of decision-makers.
  • Commitment Problem: Explores the potential necessity for the elite to relinquish decision-making power to the masses.
• They have shed light on the significant disparities in prosperity among nations, with one key explanation being the enduring differences in societal institutions.
• By analyzing the political and economic systems established by European colonizers, the awardees have established the connection between institutions and prosperity. They have created a theoretical framework to explain why institutional differences persist and how they evolve.

Nobel Prize 2024 UPSC PYQs

Question 1: 'RNA interference (RNAi)' technology has gained popularity in the last few years. Why?

1. It is used in developing gene-silencing therapies.
2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer.
3. It can be used to develop hormone replacement therapies.
4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens.

Select the correct answer using the code given below. (UPSC Prelims 2019)

(a) 1, 2 and 4

(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3

Answer: (a)

Question 2: The Nobel Prize in Physics of 2014 was jointly awarded to Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura for the invention of Blue LEDs in the 1990s. How has this invention impacted the everyday life of human beings? (UPSC Mains 2021)

Nobel Prize Winners of 2024 FAQs

Q1. Who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine and for what?

Ans. Scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun from the USA won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of microRNA and its crucial role in how multicellular organisms grow and live.

Q2. Who got 3 Nobel Prizes?

Ans. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three times and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two times.

Q3. Did Mahatma Gandhi win a Nobel Prize?

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi was never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But he was nominated five times, including a few days before his assassination in January 1948.

Q4. Who is the youngest Nobel nominee?

Ans. Malala Yousafzai became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize at the age