The pinnacle of human-oriented science

The highlight of the 2023 Nobel Prize season is the honoring of practical research serving humanity and contributions related to women's rights.

Scientists awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics. (Source: phys.org)

The 2023 Nobel Prize season begins on October 2 with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, honoring two scientists, Katalin Karikó (Hungary) and Drew Weissman (USA), for their discoveries that laid the foundation for mRNA vaccine technology.

Three quantum physicists Anne L'Huillier (Lund University, Sweden), Ferenc Krausz (Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Germany) and Pierre Agostini (Ohio State University, USA) were jointly named with the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry honors three scientists who laid the foundation for quantum dots: Moungi G. Bawendi (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Louis E. Brus (Columbia University, USA), Alexei I. Ekimov (former Scientific Director of Nanocrystals Technology, USA).

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse for his plays and inventive prose that “gives voice to the unspeakable”.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her efforts to fight against the oppression of women in Iran and to promote human rights in general.

The new winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics is American economist Claudia Goldin for her research on the role of women in the workforce. This is the final award, concluding an exciting Nobel Prize season that has attracted the attention of the global public.

Practical service

With this year’s Nobel Prizes, the international media emphasized the element of “practically human-oriented”. Evidence is that the Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Chemistry, Physics and Literature all take serving humanity as their purpose, in addition to pursuing the pinnacle of scientific values.

The scientific journal Science et Vie stated: “Directly or indirectly, basic scientific research has had a positive impact on medicine, in terms of vaccines, drugs, or treatments for incurable diseases.”

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to two scientists for their groundbreaking discoveries that fundamentally changed the understanding of how mRNA (messenger RNA) interacts with the immune system. This has helped accelerate vaccine development at an unprecedented pace, as humanity faces the greatest public health threat of modern times, the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who are also considered to have made breakthroughs in medicine. They discovered and developed quantum dots, a type of nanocrystal that can illuminate tumor tissue for surgeons. According to Nobel Committee Chairman Johan Aqvist, they are considered a “guiding light” in complex surgeries, especially in cancer surgery, to precisely and thoroughly remove diseased tissue and limit damage to healthy tissue to “save the death sentence” for patients.

According to the Nobel Prize website, this is the 115th Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded since 1901. Like the Nobel Prize in Physics, most scientists who have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry have been men.

Literature is of course inspired by life and human destiny. Norwegian writer and playwright Jon Fosse, who won this award, is a big name in Nordic literature.

When announcing the award, the President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Mr. Mats Malm emphasized: “The prize is awarded to Jon Fosse for his creative works, which speak for the unspeakable. The author exploits the hidden corners of everyday life, when people are faced with hesitation.”

Honoring women

Another highlight of this year's Nobel Prize season is the honoring of women - the perfect half of the world.

The 2023 Nobel will see a record number of women awarded the prize, bringing the total number of women Nobel laureates to 64 since 1901.

The four female winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize include: Scientist Anne L'Huillier (France) - one of three winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics; scientist Katalin Karikó (Hungary) - co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine; feminist activist Narges Mohammadi (Iran) - winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; economist Claudia Goldin (USA) - winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

According to AFP news agency, Nobel 2023 is considered a record year because there are two women receiving the prize as individuals. For the first time, nearly half (about 47%) of the Nobel Prizes belong to women, more than the rate of 42% in 2009 (five people).

This year is also a year to honor those who have made profound contributions to the advancement of women's rights.

The first person is Ms. Narges Mohammadi (Iran) - winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The second is Claudia Goldin, the first female scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics “alone”. Ms. Goldin was honored for “contributing to improving our understanding of the role of women in the labor market”.

The Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Economics are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway. Unlike the other Nobel Prizes awarded to individuals, the Nobel Peace Prize can be awarded to an individual or an organization.

The 2023 Nobel Prizes will be presented with their diplomas and medals on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. This year's Nobel laureates will receive a prize of 11 million Swedish krona ($986,000), an increase of 1 million Swedish krona from 2022.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nobel-2023-dinh-cao-khoa-hoc-huong-ve-con-nguoi-245918.html