How is a giant ice cube in the South Pole helping us to detect ghostly particles from deep space? The 2026 physics prize was awarded to Francis Halzen for laying the foundation for an entirely new type of astronomy. His idea was to use glacial ice at the South Pole to capture extremely-hard-to-detect particles called neutrinos. The result was the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which can track neutrinos that originate in the distant cosmos. Neutrinos are hard to detect, but not impossible; you detect them indirectly by seeing the particles given off by interactions. Occasionally a neutrino collides with a particle in the ice and gives off a flash of light. This is detected by sensors buried in the clear glacial ice and sent up to the observatory above. Lern more at: nobelprize.org/prizes/physic…

Francis Halzen was awarded this year's physics prize for his contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. But Halzen admits he's never actually been to the observatory built, as he envisaged, in the South Pole. It would not have been possible without the adventurous technicians from University of Wisconsin, on location in Antartica. The IceCube team endures a 10,000 mile journey just to get to the South Pole, with many segments and layovers lasting hours to days, depending on the weather. It's very cold and the work is hard, but they seem to have some fun as well. Check out their blog to learn more: icecube.wisc.edu/category/ga…

Did you know many molecules appear as two different mirror image forms that have different chemical and biological effects? This year's chemistry laureate Kenso Soai designed the first chemical reaction in which only one of the potential mirror images was formed. Other than life itself, no one had previously achieved this feat. The reaction, that has been named the Soai reaction, is one of the most spectacular chemical experiments ever conducted. Thanks to Soai and his co-laureate Henri Kagan, we now know how homochirality – when only one mirror image is formed – can emerge and chemists have gained fundamental new tools for use in their daily work. Their discoveries have contributed to solving one of chemistry’s greatest mysteries: how homochirality – like that found in all living beings – can be created. One week ago, Kenso Soai shared the 2026 chemistry prize "for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis." Listen to our interview with Soai: nobelprize.org/prizes/chemis…

What was this year’s medicine prize about? This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine concerns the groundbreaking technique of optogenetics, which enables researchers to control individual nerve cells using light to switch them on or off. The method is used in laboratories around the world to investigate how nerve cells shape memories, emotions and behaviour in the living brain. For laureate Peter Hegemann, it all began with the question of how the green alga Chlamydomonas can detect light and move towards it. The algae sense the light with an eyespot that contains a light-capturing molecule, retinal. Hegemann discovered electrical signals in the eyespot that occurred just half a millisecond after illumination. He proposed that a single protein could both detect light and function as an ion channel, an idea that was initially met with scepticism. After several years of research, Hegemann and his colleague Georg Nagel demonstrated that the hypothesis was correct. They discovered proteins that open in response to light and published their findings in 2003. They also suggested that the protein channelrhodopsin-2 could be used to generate electrical impulses in cells using light. The baton was then taken up by the third laureate Karl Deisseroth. During his psychiatric training, Deisseroth realised that a deeper understanding of the brain’s neurons was essential for understanding the illnesses he encountered in his patients. When Deisseroth gained access to the DNA encoding channelrhodopsin-2, his research group introduced it into rat neurons. When the cells were exposed to blue light, they responded immediately, transmitting nerve signals to other neurons. Deisseroth’s research group published their discovery in 2005. The year after, this new method was given the name optogenetics. One year later, Deisseroth successfully activated nerve cells in the brains of living mice. Today optogenetics continues to unravel one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: how the brain works. Read more: nobelprize.org/prizes/medici…

2026 economic sciences laureates Robert E. Hall’s and Michael Woodford’s research has made us better equipped to manage economic downturns. They laid the foundation of the New Keynesian paradigm, in which models are built upon microfoundations, which means from the bottom up. Economic outcomes are the result of millions of decisions made at the microlevel by households and businesses. Using models based upon this approach, rather than simply studying the economy from a macro perspective, like a bird’s eye view, Hall’s and Woodford’s research has generated a paradigm shift in the theory of stabilisation policy. #NobelPrize

2026 economic sciences laureate Robert E. Hall’s hypothesis was that changes in consumption could not be predicted because they depend on new – and thus unpredictable – information. Hall presented his results in an article in 1978, which was something of a eureka moment for research. His work became key to the development of modern research on consumption. #NobelPrize

BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize in Chemistry to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.”