The 2006 Nobel Prize Winners

Acknowledging breakthrough discoveries,
honouring enlightening ideas


By ALEXANDRA POPA
from Bucharest, ROMANIA


The history of the illustrious Nobel Prize began with the man Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896), who is perhaps best known for his discovery - the dynamite, but is in fact not only an inventor, but also a man of science, entrepreneur, author and pacifist. Through his last will, he left a large amount of his wealth to the foundation of the Nobel Prize. Since 1901 and until 2006, The Nobel Prize has been awarded 781 times, from which 763 times to individuals and 18 times to organizations, awarding outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace and (since 1968) economic sciences. And in 2006 the winners are...


In Medicine, researching the power that genes have on us:

Andrew Z. Fire, from the Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, USA, and Craig C. Mello, from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA , have been jointly awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute. Their discovery of "RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA" refers to a natural mechanism happening in the cells of eukaryotes, that implies the destruction of the gene's messenger RNA, thus preventing the gene from producing its effect. RNA interference is important in regulating the gene activity and in the defense against viral infection in living organisms. As it is said in the Nobel announcement: "This year's Nobel Laureates have discovered a fundamental mechanism for controlling the flow of genetic information."


In Physics, exploring the Universe's childhood:

The Royal Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2006 jointly to John C. Mather, from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA, and George F. Smoot, from the University of California, USA, "for the discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation". Their work has deepened our knowledge about how the Universe and the galaxies came to being, by confirming the predictions of the Big Bang theory, nowadays the accepted standard model of cosmology. Basically, what they discovered testified that there is a remnant radiation from the time when the Universe was born, in which the distribution across different wavelengths depends only on the Universe's temperature and in which the temperature has small variations in different directions.


In Chemistry, helping to better understand the building blocks of life:

Roger D. Kornberg, from the Stanford University, USA, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2006 by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, "for his studies of the molecular basis of the eukaryotic transcription". He has studied the process by which the genes are copied, which is called transcription; and he was the first to create an actual picture of how this process works at a molecular level. The Nobel Prize Committee stated that "the truly revolutionary aspect of the picture Kornberg created is that it captures the process of transcription in full flow". His research, over thirty years long, has significant implications in understanding illnesses and developing therapies. His father, Arthur Kornberg, was also a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureate in 1959, for studies of DNA replication.


In Economics, impacting on macroeconomic policy:

Edmund S. Phelps, from the Columbia University, USA, was awarded The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory to Alfred Nobel 2006 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, "for his analysis of intertemporal tradeoffs in macroeconomic policy". The Laureate's works have contributed to the improvement of economic research and policy, by a better understanding of the relation between short-run and long-run effects of economic policy. He stated that inflation depends on both unemployment and inflation expectations, showed how policy decisions in the present influence the possibilities of stabilization policy in the future and is also a pioneer in the analysis of the importance of human capital for the diffusion of new technology.


In Literature, depicting the encounter between different cultures and civilizations:

This year's Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, "who in the quest for the melancolic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". The Laureate, whose sole job his entire life was to be a writer, explores in his books the issues of diversity, mixture, plurality that are to be found in his people, showing a strong connection to his natal city - Istanbul. Much like in his country, his work is a multi-layered realm where the western influences meet the eastern ones, the novelist being inspired, among others, by Kafka, Borges and Joyce, but also by popular Turkish folk traditions and classical Persian poetry . He is the first Turkish person to win a Nobel Prize and has become one of Turkey 's best known and best-selling novelists, his work being translated in more than forty languages.


In Peace, trying to embetter the world we live in:

The Nobel Peace Prize 2006 went to the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below". An economist, a banker, but also a visionary who wants to help erradicate poverty, Muhammad Yunus' actions have helped millions of people in many countries. He has received several other international prizes, such as The World Food Prize and The Sidney Peace Prize. Through Grameen Bank (in the Bengali Language: "Bank of the Villages"), its founder turned microcredit (loaning small amounts of money to poor people without requiring collateral) into an important tool in the struggle against poverty. His efforts also prove of significance in terms of democracy and human rights, because, as the Nobel Committee declared, "Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty."