News from Nobelprize.org

December 18, 2007

Another Nobel Week has just ended, and for the Laureates visiting Stockholm or Oslo to participate in the festivities honouring the 2007 Nobel Prizes it has been an unforgettable and inspirational few days. Whatever your interest or insight, something within the extraordinarily broad scope of the Laureates' awarded work will surely prove equally inspirational too.

This year's Nobel Prizes have rewarded fundamental insights that have had a broad and major impact on many aspects of our lives, from the atomic to the global level. In the scientific fields, the Nobel Prizes range from Mario Capecchi's, Sir Martin Evans' and Oliver Smithies' development of the mouse models used by countless researchers today to understand the role of genes in physiology and disease, to Gerhard Ertl's explanations of the complex chemical reactions that occur on solid surfaces in important processes such as fertilizer production and catalytic converters in cars, to Albert Fert's and Peter Grünberg's discovery of the magnetic phenomenon that forms the basis of the memory retrieval system housed within your computer. In socioeconomic terms, the Prizes reward the IPCC's and Al Gore's efforts to raise awareness of the global effects of man-made climate change, and Leonid Hurwicz's, Eric Maskin's and Roger Myerson's work in developing an economic model that applies as much to individuals exchanging goods as it does to government spending policies. And finally, broad application is a hallmark of Doris Lessing's writing career; her remarkable output includes novels, short stories, a graphic novel, plays, non-fiction and operas.

Below you will find just a brief selection of highlights from the wide range of online content that captures the week's events in Stockholm and Oslo. Do please e-mail us at editor@nobelprize.org to let us know your thoughts on the materials you find at Nobelprize.org.

Adam Smith
Editor-in-Chief