Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in physics for 2009 was awarded to three people. Charles K. Kao of china was awarded half of prize for his innovative achievements dealing with the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication. Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of USA shared remaining half value of prize equally for the discovery of CCD sensor, an imaging semiconductor circuit.

In 1966, Charles K. Kao carefully worked on how to transmit light covering long distances through optical glass fibers. He discovered that fiber of purest glass can transmit light signals over 100 kilometers which was an innovation in fiber optics technology.

In 1969 Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith discovered the first outstanding imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD. The CCD is a digital camera’s electronic eye which revolutionized the way how images were gathered from spacecraft, by telescopes, in medical imaging, and finally replaced the film camera in whole aspects of photography.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in chemistry for 2009 was awarded jointly to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan of United Kingdom, Thomas A. Steitz of USA and Ada E. Yonath of Israel for their research on the structure and function of the ribosome.

Three scientists created atom-by-atom maps of the hidden, life-giving ribosome which helped researchers to develop powerful new antibiotics. They used three-dimensional models to illustrate how antibiotics attaches to the ribosome. These models are used to develop new antibiotics, depending on the interpretation of the molecular structure and framework of the ribosomes in every cell.

Nobel Prize in Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2009 was shared by Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider, Jack W. Szostak of USA. It was awarded for the discovery of how chromosomes are guarded by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

They discovered telomeres which are created in the reproduction sequences of DNA at the ends of chromosomes that helps in protecting the purity of the chromosomal DNA, and discovered the enzyme telomerase which builds the telomeres.

Their work revealed some of the basic secrets about functioning of cells. Their studies were also applicable to cancer biology as cancer cells have excessively active telomerase, which makes them to divide uncontrollably.

Nobel Prize in Literature
The 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Herta Müller of Germany. She is the 12th woman in 108 years to receive Nobel prize for literature. Mueller, a representative of Romania’s ethnic German minority, was honored for her work as described by Nobel foundation “with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed,”

Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 was awarded to Barack H. Obama who is the 44th President of the United States of America for his outstanding efforts to establish international diplomacy and cooperation between people. The Committee also gave special significance to Obama’s vision and his work for a world without nuclear weapons. After this announcement, some people raised their concern that the decision had come too early, before any significant achievements were made in his foreign policy. Whereas many world leaders were supportive of the award. Some raised their concern that the prize was awarded to encourage the US leader early in his presidency.

Nobel Prize in Economics
The Nobel Prize in Economics for 2009 was awarded jointly to Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson of USA. It was awarded to Elinor Ostrom for her studies on economic governance, mainly in the commons and to Oliver E. Williamson for his studies on economic governance, particularly in an organization.

Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics. Ostrom showed how common resources like forests, fisheries, oil fields or grazing lands can be managed well by the people who use them, instead of governments or private companies.

Williamson, focused on how firms and markets differ in the methods they solve conflicts. He found that companies can resolve conflicts better than markets when competition is fixed.

The scientists have been honored for their study of the way chromosomes are protected by the cap like telomeres and their discovery of the enzyme telomerase that allows cells to divide incessantly without dying. Telomeres are cap like structures at the tail end of the chromosomes that are bestowed with a unique DNA sequence that prevents their deterioration. The telomeres also act as deterrents to chromosomal rearrangement which may itself result in abnormalities. Telomeres are lost with each cell division exposing the chromosomes to unfavorable possibilities like cancer and aging. Blackburn and Szostak strived to explain that the unique DNA sequence in the telomeres protects the chromosomes from deterioration while Carol Greider and Blackburn identified the enzyme telomerase that replenishes or helps to rebuild the lost sequences of the telomeres. Cells age when the cap like telomeres are shortened. However, on the other hand, if the activity of the telomerase enzyme is sufficient enough telomere deterioration can be controlled and aging thwarted. Blackburn’s discovery proved the fact that stress has a definite impact on telomere reduction thus strengthening the mind body connection. Though increased telomere activity could ward off aging for a while it also increases a person’s risk to ward off cancer. This means that the steady shortening of the telomeres and the accompanying decreased telomerase activity is believed to be a process that is inbuilt in man as a survival mechanism.

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“for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics”.

In 1960, Nambu introduced spontaneous broken symmetry. Spontaneous broken symmetry means a symmetric system becoming asymmetric when it enters into asymmetrical system. A common example of Spontaneous symmetry breaking is, when a ball which is symmetrical when placed at top of a hill, it is no more symmetrical as small force makes it roll down from hill and it has different symmetries in different directions. Spontaneous broken theory led to the invention of three families of Quarks (the smallest building blocks of matter). He also worked on rapid (fast) conductivity in metals, when electric currents suddenly flow without any resistance.

Makoto Kobayashi shared one-fourth and Toshihide Maskawa shared one-fourth of noble prize

“for their discovery of the origin of three families of quarks in nature”

as described by the Nobel foundation. Yoichiro Nambu’s discovery, mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry laid foundation for the discovery of quarks.

Quarks are fundamental matter particles that combine together to form neutrons and protons in nucleus of atom. They first appeared in particle physics experiments in 1964, and very recently, scientists confirmed the existence of quarks. There are three families of quarks. They are top quark, bottom quark, and charm quark. They vary in mass and electronic charge. Earlier Atomic model was considered to study on particles. Now Quarks are part of the Standard Model of particle physics that combines all the smallest building blocks of matter.

Leonid Hurwicz is the Regent’s Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Minnesota and won the US National Medal of Science in Behavioral and Social Science for his outstanding work in mechanism design. Eric Maskin is professor of Social Science in Princeton University and Roger Myerson is professor of Economics at the University of Chicago.

The Nobel Prize for Economics was not mentioned by Nobel in his will. It was created by Swedish Central Bank to mark its tercentenary in 1968. It was awarded first in 1969 and is also funded by the bank. The prize includes a gold medal, a diploma and 10 million Swedish kronor (1.53 million US dollars) to be shared between them.

Mr. Rajendra Prachauri who chairs the U.N. Body on climate change observed that the Nobel Prize committee had realized the value of knowledge in tackling the climate change crisis. The climate change panel was established in 1988 and had issued a series of reports assessing the climate conditions of our planet.

Mr.Al Gore was born in 1948 and was very active in politics and was the Vice President of the USA from 1993 till 2000.

Miss Lessing was born in Persia and never completed her high school. She largely educated herself through voracious reading. She has written dozens of books of fiction, as well as plays,nonfiction and two volumes of autobiography. Her name was on the shortlist for a long time that she had almost forgotten about it and had given up the hope of becoming a Nobel Laureate. She became quite noted with her breakthrough novel, “ The Golden Notebook”. The growing feminist movement saw this book as a pioneering work and which belonged to that category of books that informed the 20th century view of the male-female relationship. Ms.Lessing wrote about the inner lives of women and rejected the notion that they should give up their choice and lifestyle for marriage or children.

“The Golden Notebook”, tracked the story of Anna Wulf, a woman who wished to live freely and in some ways was Ms Lessing’s alter ego.
Ms Lessing was born Doris May Taylor in 1919 in what is now Iran. After a painful childhood in Zimbabwe, she moved to Southern Rhodesia. She published her first novel in 1949, in Britain, “The Grass Is Singing” which recorded the relationship between a white farmer’s wife and her black servant.

Her childhood experiences drawn from the cultural differences and the racial discrimination among the whites and the blacks in colonial Rhodesia formed the basis for her first novel. “The Golden Notebook” had only sold around 6,000 copies when it came into the market but they had galvanized the American female society to a great extent. Ms. Lessing’s other novels include “The Good Terrorist”,“Martha Quest” and “The Cleft”. She even dabbled in science fiction and some of her later works show her interest in Sufi mysticism,which according to her stresses a link between the fates of individuals and the society.

Martin Evans had worked with embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells, which could give rise to almost any cell type. Evans discovered that chromosomally normal cell cultures could be established directly from early mouse embryos, now referred to as embryonic stem cells (ES) cells. The reports which showed the homologous recombination in ES cells used to generate gene-targeted mice were publicized in 1989. Since then, gene targeting has developed into a versatile technology. We can now introduce mutations that can be activated at specific time points, or in specific cells or in organs, both during the development and the adult animal.

Mario R. Capecchi, US citizen, PhD in Biophysics, Harvard University. Presently Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics and Biology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT , USA.

Sir Martin J. Evans, British citizen, PhD in Anatomy and Embryology, University College, London UK. He is a Director of the School of Biosciences and professor of Mammalian Genetics, Cardiff University, UK.

Oliver Smithies, US citizen, PhD in Biochemistry 1951, Oxford University, UK. He is a Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

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Surface chemistry is a very common phenomenon in the industrial and even everyday processes. From producing nitrogen to the destruction of ozone layer each process has a key step where in a deep understanding of the physical and chemical processes underlying the overall reaction plays a vital role in obtaining a higher yield of the product.

Prof Ertl’s work with the Haber-Bosch process was the highlight of the Nobel prize achievement. The process is used to create ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen in the presence of iron. Though the discovery of the process spawned Nobel prizes for both Haber(1918) and Bosch(1931), the reaction mechanism was unknown until Ertl’s work. To study the reaction mechanisms Ertl made use of a number of techniques, such as generating idealized iron surfaces, introducing precise amounts of gas at low pressure, using a litany of spectroscopic techniques that probed molecules at the surface, and also studying the reverse reaction of the process using heavy hydrogen as a tracer molecule. Prof Ertl discovered that the splitting of the triple bond in the Nitrogen molecule was the slowest step in the Haber-Bosch process. So, to speed up the production of ammonia, the nitrogen molecule cleavage had to be fastened.

Ertl’s work also included the detailed study of carbon monoxide being converted to carbon dioxide over platinum. This reaction – or the one that doesn’t use platinum- is the one that is used by catalytic converters in cars today to reduce the harmful emissions. The detailed and controlled methodology that Ertl used has given rise to modern surface chemistry and earned him the Nobel Prize.

GMR is a quantum mechanical magnetoresistance effect observed in thin films that are composed of alternating ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic layers. It manifests itself as a significant decrease (typically 10-80%) in electrical resistance in the presence of magnetic field. In the absence of an external magnetic field, the direction of magnetization of adjacent ferromagnetic layers is anti-parallel due to a weak anti-ferromagnetic coupling between the layers resulting in high-resistance magnetic scattering due to electron spin. On applying an external magnetic field, the magnetization of the adjacent ferromagnetic layers is parallel resulting in lower magnetic scattering and lower resistance.

A system of this kind is the perfect tool for reading data from hard disks when information that is coded magnetically should be converted into electric current. In 1997, the first read out head that was based on the GMR was launched and that became the standard technology. A hard disk stores information in the form of microscopic small areas magnetized in different directions. The information is retrieved by a read out head that scans the disk and registers the magnetic changes. If the hard disk is smaller and more compact then it would require a more sensitive read out head to read the information on the disk. A read out head can convert very minute magnetic changes into differences in electrical resistance resulting in changes in the current emitted by the read-out head. The current is the signal from the read out head representing the ones and zeros. GMR can also be considered as one of the first real applications of the promising and evolving field of nanotechnology.

“for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP”

as described by the Nobel foundation.

In 1962, the work of Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, Roger Y. Tsien led to the discovery of the proteins aequorine and green fluorescent protein (GFP) in a small glowing jellyfish. Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a protein, which exhibits bright green florescence when exposed to blue light. GFP genes are used to make biosensors. In cell and molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used for sensing by inducing GFP (which emits high fluorescent green color) into a cell, it becomes easier to recognize cells under microscopy and easier to study them. The GFP gene has been induced in many bacteria, yeast and other fungi, fish (such as zebra), plant, fly, mammalian cells, including human and has been confirmed that any living thing can emit color throughout its body with a single gene (GFP protein). When a GFP is attached to virus, then we can clearly see when virus transmits from one person to other with green glow. If we attach GFP to Protein, then we can clearly see in microscope how it is moving in a cell.

Tsien mainly contributed to know how GFP works and for developing new techniques. In 1994 Tsien showed the mechanism how GFP chromofore is formed in a chemical reaction, which requires only oxygen (without proteins). The GFP gene can be introduced into organisms and maintained in their genome (in a cell) through breeding. Their work confirmed that living organisms can also produce light.

He is the first French citizen to receive the Nobel Prize since Gao Xingjian in 2000. When a survey is conducted by French Literary magazine, he was considered as greatest living French language writer. He has published books that include short stories, novels, essays and on the subject of Indian mythology. He brings out different shades of loneliness, different states of mind and nature in his articles. His writing career may be divided into two main periods, from 1963 to 1975. He used to write articles about insanity (permanent disorder of mind) and language. Before his writing career, he used to experiment on himself. In the late 1970s, he stopped experimentation and the mood of his novels changed and started writing articles on childhood, adolescence and traveling, attracting a broader and more popular audience. In 1980, Le Clézio was the first winner of the newly created grand prix Paul-Morand, awarded to his article Désert by the Académie française. Horace Engdahl, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, commented to reporters after announcement of Nobel Prize to Le Clézio, that Le Clézio is not a French writer. He also said that he is a nomadic (a person who moves from one place to other) writer and doesn’t belong to anywhere. He used to deal with subjects like Exile (form of punishment), Migration,Childhood and Ecology.

“for his discovery of viruses causing cervical cancer”.

In 1983, Zur Hausen identified HPV 16 DNA in cervical cancer tumors. Papilloma virus is an ancient poisonous virus, which causes small tumors on skin. Human papilloma viruses cause cancer to human beings. They affect outer parts of skin and mucous membrane. He was the first to discover individual types of these viruses, and first to separate separated those that cause cervical cancer. This discovery has led to take preventive measures and for the development of a vaccine against cervical cancer.

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi shared one-fourth and Luc Montagnier shared one-fourth of noble prize for discovering HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

First Françoise Barré-Sinoussi discovered the existence of virus HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus). She constantly works on establishing permanent links between basic research and clinical research in the areas of prevention, clinical care and treatment of disease. Luc Montagnier discovered that HIV virus leads to AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome). When Montagnier’s group first published their discovery, they said HIV’s role in causing AIDS. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier separated, reproduced lymph node cells from patients, that are swollen and that have symptoms of the early stage of AIDS. Their discovery led to find vaccination for AIDS. Montagnier has published research regarding emission of electromagnetic signals from infected DNA of a person suffering from different diseases.

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Krugman proposed New Trade Theory. According to this theory (for trade between rich and poor country), based on the comparative edge, that is, a company or a firm producing products at a cheaper cost than other company, poor country should export agricultural goods to rich country in exchange for industrial goods. Krugman in his theory explains how each country should specialize in producing a few brands of any given type of product, instead of producing in different types of products. If people of different countries wish to buy BMW (Brand car), then it is not profitable to produce BMWs in all countries, as it is very expensive one. It should be produced in few countries (or one) and should be sold in other countries. He also explains in his theory about transportation costs, which lead to the concept of “Home Market effect”. The concept Home market effect is, a country should have a huge demand, goodwill, should be in a position to produce excess goods and export all the excess goods. Krugman always supports globalization, that is, all national economies coming together to form international economy by trade and foreign direct investment.

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Ahtisaari has played a prominent role in resolving dispute (which was there for a long time) in Kosovo and declared its independence from Serbia on 17th February 2008. When Yugoslavia had made break up with Kosovo, there were many regoinal conflicts arising, which led to Kosovo war 1999. The result of the war is, United Nations administered Kosovo. However, the politicians of Kosovo did not accept it. They wish to have independence. United Nations asked Serbia to withdraw its forces from Kosovo. Serbia do not want Kosovo to get independence. Ahtisaari brought the parties together on February 2006 to discuss independence of local government, which is an important for the protection of Kosovo and Serb peple. On 24 July 2006, Ahtisaari brought the parties together in Vienna for the first high-level talks on the status of Kosovo issue. On 2 February 2007, UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari delivered a settlement proposal, which included Kosovo Security system, Kosovo Justice system, and religious and cultural heritage. These provisions convinced the leaders of Kosovo. Later, all countries like United States,United Kingdom and other European countries supported Kosovo’s independence after many settlements made by Ahtisaari. Finally, on 7th February 2008 Kosovo parliament declared officially its independence from Serbia.

It was in 1966, when Charles K. Kao made a discovery that led to a breakthrough in fiber optics, which involved the careful calculation of how to transmit light over long distances via optical glass fibers. Kao presented his research at the 1966 London meeting of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Then the first ultra pure fiber was successfully fabricated four years later by the Corning Company.

In 1969, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith invented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a CCD (charge-coupled device). The two came up with the idea in just an hour of brainstorming. According to Boyle, the biggest achievement of his work was seeing images transmitted back from Mars. The CCD technology makes use of the photoelectric effect as was theorized by Albert Einstein. By this effect, light is transformed into electric signals and the challenge lies in gathering and reading out the signals in a large number of image points in a short time. The CCD is the digital camera’s electronic eye which revolutionized the way images were collected from spacecraft, by telescopes and in medical imaging, and has eventually replaced the film camera in every field of photography.

A method known as X-Ray crystallography was used to pinpoint each of the hundreds of thousands of atoms present in the ribosome. The technique involves impinging X-rays at a crystal. The rays are scattered when they impinge on the atoms and by looking at how they spread out, scientists can determine where atoms are positioned. Yonath was the first person to research into this area when she first tried the method on the ribosome. She began by taking a microorganism found in the nearby Dead Sea and crystallizing its ribosomes by freezing them at nearly minus 200 degree Celsius. But it took another 20 years before a full map was made. The three scientists arrived to the same conclusion almost simultaneously in 2000, publishing crystal structures that were sharply enough defined to locate atoms. The research has vast implications in the field of medicine, since fifty percent of all antibiotics target the ribosome, this finding can lead to the development of other substances that can block and disturb bacteria in our bodies.

According to the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, Peter Englund, Muller had the capacity of really giving you the sense of what it was to live in a dictatorship, to be as a minority in another country and to live in exile. Muller has a very fine tuned precision in her language.

Born in Romania in 1953, Muller rejected to work together with Ceausescu’s Securitate, lost her job as a teacher, and was a subject of repeated threats until she emigrated in 1987. She now lives in Berlin, where she has received a multitude of literary awards, including Germany’s most prestigious, the Kleist prize, the Frankz Kafka, and the 100,000 Euro Impac award for Hertzier.

There was widespread surprise at the committee’s decision. Many people were skeptical and commented that the decision had come too soon, even before Obama had made any concrete foreign policy achievement. The Nobel laureate chosen by a five-member committee wins a gold medal, a diploma, and 10 million Swedish kronor (US$1.4million). According to the Nobel committee, the reason why prize was awarded to Obama less than a year after he took office was that the Nobel committee wanted to support what he was trying to achieve. Obama’s efforts to transform the world into a nuclear free planet were noticed by the Nobel committee. French president Nicolas Sarkozy said the award confirmed that America’s return to the hearts of the people of the world.

Elinor Ostrom, Ph.D, is Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science, both at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Oliver Williamson, Ph.D, is the Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus of Business, Economics and Law, and Professor at the Graduate School, both at the University of California, Berkeley.