November 2012

Nobel Peace Prize 2012

The European Union (EU) won Nobel Peace Prize 2012 on 12 October 2012 for its effort to promote peace and democracy in Europe. The award was announced by Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The award was given to European Union even though the Union is struggling with its biggest crisis since it was created in the 1950s. Practically, the EU was being honored for six decades of contributions to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. Different Social media exploded with strong reactions both for and against, awarding the prize to European Union – worth 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million). The EU grew out of the tremendous devastation created by World War II, fuelled by the conviction that ever-closer economic ties would make sure that century-old enemies never turned on each other again. The European Union is now made up of 500 million people in 27 nations, with other nations lined up, waiting to join.

ABOUT NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel (who died in 1896), awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine. The recipient of Nobel Peace Prize receives a medal, a diploma, and a monetary award prize that has varied throughout the years. The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 to Frédéric Passy and Henry Dunant. The 2011 Nobel peace Prize was awarded to Leymah Gbowee of Liberia for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work. And, The 2010 Nobel peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo of China for his his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.

NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2012

Mo Yan, the Chinese writer won 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature on 11 October 2012. The Swedish Academy of Stockholm praised the Chinese writer for the writer called his hallucinatory realism. The writer combines the folk stories, modern events and the history in his works. He is the first Chinese writer in the 111 years of Nobel history to become a Nobel Prize winner. Before him, Gao Xingjiana a French citizen born in China won a Nobel in literature in 2000.

The Swedish Academy compared him with two writers of twentieth century namely William Faulkner from America and Gabriel Garcia Marquez from Colombia. Mo Yan will receive the prize medal and the prize amount of more than 1 million $ on 10 December 2012, the death anniversary of the prize founder, Alfred Nobel. Mo Yan means Don’t Speak. The original name of Mo is Guan Moye. The writer changed his name to be Mo Yan, to remind himself of talking less to avoid the trouble that follows. Nobel Prize for Peace 2012 would be declared on 12 October 2012.

NOBEL PRIZE FOR ECONOMICS 2012

Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley of America were awarded the Nobel economics prize on 15 October 2012 for their work in market design and matching theory.

The research work helps in explaining the market processes at work, say, when doctors are assigned to hospitals, students to schools and human organs for transplant to recipients. The award was cited to the economist by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize, called their work an outstanding example of economic engineering. The two economists were working independently on the same research project. Lloyd Shapley used game theory to study matching models, and Alvin Roth built on them to make real-world changes to existing markets, including school choice and organ transplants, Alvin Roth is a professor at Harvard and Lloyd Shapley teaches at the University of California in Los Angeles. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was the last of the 2012 Nobel awards to be announced. The economics award is not among the original prizes created in 1895 by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel to honor work in physics, medicine, chemistry, literature and peace. It was added as a category in 1969 by the Swedish central bank in memory of the industrialist.

NOBEL PRIZE 2012 FOR PHYSICS

Serge Haroche and David Wineland of France and US respectively, won the Nobel Physics Prize on 9 October 2012.

They received Nobel for their work on quantum physics, which would open a gate for supercomputers in future. The two physics have developed the technology for examining the intimate relationship between matter and light. This research by the duo would help in development of precise clocks, which will be hundred-times precise than the caesium clocks of present-time. The eight million Swedish Krona ($1.2 millions) would be divided in between the two and the award will be received by them on 10 December 2012 on the death ceremony of the Prize Founder, Alfred Nobel. The remaining prizes in Chemistry, Literature and Peace would be announced on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively.

NOBEL PRIZE-2012 FOR MEDICINE

John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, the British and Japanese researchers respectively on 8 October 2012 won the Nobel Prize-2012 in Medicine. They were awarded with the prize for the discovery of reprogramming the specialised and matured cells of the body into blank slate and this may one day this can start repairing the damaged organs. The Prize committee based in Karnolinska Institute at Stockholm stated that this discovery has helped in understanding the theory of cell and organism development.

The discovery has turned up to be a tool for the scientists round the world allowing them to make remarkable progress in different areas of medicine and can help in tissue transplantation for treatment of diseases like Diabetes and Parkinson. The Nobel Prize in Medicine sector is the first announcement made for the year. Awards for physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace will be announced on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively. The declared prizes will be handed out to their respective winners on the death anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel on 10 December 2012.
Nobel Prize Winner for the year 2011 in Medicine/ Physiology segment:

Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffmann from America and France respectively won the 2011 Nobel Prize for the discoveries related to the activation of innate immunity. The duo shared the prize with Ralph Steinman of Canada for discovering dendritic cell. The Canada born, Ralph Steinman died few days before receiving the prize. Although the Posthumous prizes in case of Nobel is not allowed but it remained unchanged just because the decision was made previously without being aware of his death.

NOBEL PRIZE 2012 FOR CHEMISTRY

Robert Lefkowitz (69) and Brian Kobilka (57), the two Americans won the Nobel Prize 2012 for Chemistry on 10 October 2012. They won the award for their study and research on Protein Receptors, which allows the body to respond the signals from outside world. The study is a key and would pave the path for developing better drugs to different ailments. Lefkowitz and Kobilka from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California respectively will be sharing the prize amount of 8 million-krona ($1.2 million).

The Nobel Prize 2012 for Literature and Peace would be announced on Thursday and Friday respectively.

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