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For 124 years, the Nobel Prize has stood as one of the world’s most respected distinctions, recognising discoveries and ideas that advance humanity. The prize was founded by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist, engineer and industrialist whose inventions in explosives, including dynamite and safer detonation systems , built a vast international fortune. In his will, Nobel directed that this wealth should be used to honour individuals who had “conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”, turning personal success into a global legacy of progress. On 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, the world honours the 2025 Nobel Laureates. Nobel Day has become a defining moment in international recognition, celebrating achievements in science, literature, economic thought and peacebuilding. The 2025 awards speak directly to the challenges shaping the modern era: the defence of democracy, advances in medical research, breakthroughs in quantum physics, climate-relevant materials, deeper insights into innovation and a literary voice that captures the anxieties of contemporary life. From María Corina Machado’s struggle for democratic freedoms to discoveries in immunology, chemistry, physics and economics, and the visionary writing of László Krasznahorkai, the 2025 Nobel Prizes illustrate what becomes possible when knowledge, creativity and courage converge. The 2025 laureates, announced in October, are celebrated at a moment of political strain, rapid scientific progress and global transformation. Nobel assigned the Peace Prize to Norway’s Parliament because, at the time he wrote his will, Sweden and Norway shared a union but had separate governments. Norway’s reputation for diplomacy made it, in his view, the most credible guardian of a prize dedicated to peace. That tradition continues today: the Peace Prize is presented in Oslo, while all other Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm in the presence of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.The 2025 Nobel laureates and their motivations**media[391542]**Nobel Peace Prize:Democracy defended in VenezuelaMaría Corina Machado receives the Peace Prize for her determined efforts to restore democratic freedoms in Venezuela. Despite intimidation, political exclusion and exile, she has become a leading figure in peaceful resistance to authoritarian rule. Her recognition underscores global concerns about the fragility of democratic institutions.Nobel Prize in Literature:The visionary voice of László KrasznahorkaiHungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai is honoured for his compelling and visionary body of work. His long, flowing prose and themes of collapse, transformation and spiritual unrest have shaped contemporary literature across Europe, Asia and the Americas.Nobel Prize in Medicine:Understanding the immune system’s self-controlMary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi receive the Medicine Prize for pioneering discoveries on regulatory T cells, the immune system’s mechanism for preventing attacks on the body’s own tissues. Their work has reshaped modern immunology and opened new avenues for treating autoimmune disease, cancer and transplant rejection.Nobel Prize in Physics:Quantum mechanics at human xcaleJohn Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis are recognised for demonstrating quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in macroscopic electrical circuits. Their findings proved that quantum effects extend far beyond the microscopic realm and laid the foundation for superconducting qubits, accelerating efforts to develop practical quantum computers.Nobel Prize in Chemistry:Materials for a climate-challenged centurySusumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi are awarded the Chemistry Prize for developing metal–organic frameworks, or MOFs, a class of materials with immense internal surface area and critical environmental applications. MOFs have become central to carbon capture, hydrogen storage and water harvesting, making this research vital in a climate-constrained world.Prize in Economic Sciences:Innovation as the engine of prosperityJoel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt receive the Prize in Economic Sciences for theories explaining how technological innovation drives long-term economic growth. Their work clarifies why societies prosper when they embrace new ideas, offering insights that resonate strongly in an age defined by artificial intelligence, automation and global economic change. From democracy and literature to immunology, quantum physics, climate-focused chemistry and the economics of innovation, the 2025 Nobel Prizes reflect the most pressing questions of our time. They also reaffirm Alfred Nobel’s vision: that human progress depends on curiosity, creativity and the courage to challenge accepted limits. Awarded for more than a century, the Nobel Prizes continue to define what the world values most. In 2025, they once again highlight the individuals whose ideas and achievements are helping shape the future.

The Nobel prize in economics was awarded on Monday to American-Israeli Joel Mokyr, France's Philippe Aghion and Canada's Peter Howitt for work on how technology drives and affects growth.Mokyr, 79, won one half of the prize "for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.Aghion, 69, and Howitt, 79, shared the other half "for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction", it added.John Hassler, chair of the prize committee, told reporters their work answered questions about how technological innovation drives growth and how sustained growth can be maintained."During almost all of humankind's history, living standards did not change noticeably from generation to generation. Economic growth was, on average, zero, and stagnation was the norm," Hassler said.But over the last two centuries "things have been very different.""During the last 200 years, the world has seen more economic growth than ever before in human history," Kerstin Enflo, a member of the economics prize committee, explained to reporters.However, she cautioned that "200 years is still just a short period compared to the long run history of stagnation that we saw before.""The laureates' work reminds us that we should not take progress for granted. Instead, society must keep an eye on the factors that generate and sustain economic growth," Enflo said.Mokyr, who is a professor at Northwestern University in the United States, "used historical sources as one means to uncover the causes of sustained growth becoming the new normal", the jury said in a statement.He was spotlighted for demonstrating that if "innovations are to succeed one another in a self-generating process, we not only need to know that something works, but we also need to have scientific explanations for why"."The latter was often lacking prior to the industrial revolution, which made it difficult to build upon new discoveries and inventions," the jury said.Speaking to the Nobel Foundation, Mokyr said he had first missed the call from Sweden and that the news was "overwhelming"."Everybody says this, but I'm really being truthful ... this came as a total surprise," the economic historian said."I had a whole list of people that I thought were going to win, and I wasn't on it," he added.Meanwhile, Aghion and Howitt created a mathematical model for "creative destruction", which refers to the process "when a new and better product enters the market, the companies selling the older products lose out".Howitt is a professor emeritus of economics at Brown University in the United States, while Aghion is a professor at College de France and INSEAD in Paris and the London School of Economics and Political Science."I'm still speechless. It came really as a huge surprise," Aghion told reporters via telephone during the prize announcement.Speaking about what could risk upsetting growth, he mentioned the threats of steep tariffs introduced since US President Donald Trump's return to the White House."Openness is a driver of growth. Anything that gets in the way of openness is an obstacle to growth," Aghion said.French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated his compatriot."With his vision of growth through innovation, he illuminates the future and proves that French thinking continues to enlighten the world," Macron said in a post on X.The economics prize is the only Nobel not among the original five created in the will of Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.It was instead created through a donation from the Swedish central bank in 1968, leading detractors to dub it "a false Nobel".But like the Nobels in chemistry and physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences chooses the winner and follows the same selection process.The economics prize wraps up this year's Nobel season which honoured research into the human immune system, practical applications of quantum mechanics and the development of new forms of molecular architecture.The literature prize went to Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, whose works explore themes of postmodern dystopia and melancholy.Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was given the highly watched Nobel Peace Prize.The Nobel economics prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a $1.2 million cheque.