Nobels 2013

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• God particle scientists win physics Nobel

  
  
• Two theoretical physicists who suggested that an invisible ocean of energy suffusing space is responsible for the mass and diversity of the particles in the universe won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

• They are Peter Higgs, 84, of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and François Englert, 80, of the University Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

• The theory, elucidated in 1964, sent physicists on a generation-long search for a telltale particle known as the Higgs boson, or the God particle.

• The chase culminated in July 2012 with the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, in Switzerland.

Cell transport research wins Nobel in medicine

• Two American and a German scientist share this year’s Nobel prize for medicine for their groundbreaking research on the human body’s complex transport system that makes cells deliver life-saving proteins and other molecules.

• The discoveries by American scientists — James Rothman (62) and Randy Schekman (64) — and German Thoman Sudhof (58) have given insight into diseases ranging from diabetes to the immune system, the Nobel Committee said while announcing the award worth $1.2million, to be shared equally by the three.

• The winners, all professors at American universities, have explained how molecules — packaged in tiny bubbles called vesicles — are taken around through an internal freight system. Any cellular malfunction can have deleterious effects and lead to several pathological conditions.

Literature Nobel for ‘Canadian Chekhov’

• Alice Munro, often referred to as the ‘Canadian Chekhov’, has won this year’s Nobel prize for literature for her tales depicting the challenges of small-town life in Canada.

• The Nobel panel compared the 82-year-old author to Anton Chekhov, the 19th century Russian considered as one of the greatest short story writers.

• Munro, is the first Canadian writer to win the award.

•  She is the 13th woman to receive the distinction. Munro’s works include ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ (1978), ‘The Moons of Jupiter’ (1982), ‘Runaway’ (2004), ‘The View from Castle Rock’ (2006) and ‘Too Much Happiness’ (2009). In 2009, she also won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

Peace Nobel for OPCW

• The UN-backed body Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW), won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work to rid the world of chemical weapons.

• It was honoured “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.