At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity.

In historic international court cases, Navi Pillay has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. She has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time.

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee members were unable to reach new laureate Navi Pillay before they announced the award. Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, was later able to share the news with her personally after it was announced to the world.

Announcement of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize by Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 has been awarded to the Canadian author Anne Carson “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.”

Anne Carson has, throughout her entire career, combined poetry writing with translation work and teaching at various universities. Almost all her literary production has centred upon the intersection between the philologist’s obsession with words and the poet’s desire for new meaning. She has herself identified the etymology of words as the starting point for all her work.

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Biobibliography

Some molecules, such as amino acids, exist as two variants that are each other’s mirror image. However, living organisms only contain one of these mirror images. How chemical asymmetry such as this could have emerged was long a mystery to chemists. Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 for discovering a solution to this puzzle.

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Popular information: They solved chemistry’s asymmetric mystery
Scientific background: Non-linear effects and auto catalysis in asymmetric organic catalysis

Francis Halzen realised that ice at the South Pole could be used to track particles known as neutrinos. His vision and scientific leadership have been fundamental for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory – a cubic kilometre of ice that is equipped with light sensors. Using IceCube, researchers can capture neutrinos from extremely energy-rich processes in the distant universe.

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Popular information: Ice at the South Pole reveals cosmic particle accelerators
Scientific background

To understand how the brain forms memories, feelings and behaviours has long been a dream for researchers. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to optogenetics, which makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain. This method is now being used in laboratories around the world to reveal the brain’s mysteries.

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Popular information: A light-sensitive algal protein energised neuroscience
Scientific background: Optogenetics. Discovery of a neuronal switch

The first design of the Nobel Center project is here – a public building in Stockholm, Sweden for science, literature and peace. It will be an international symbol of knowledge, focusing on the Nobel Prize laureates’ stories and groundbreaking achievements. Read more about the project.