Nobel Prizes Winners for Physiology and Physics, 2025

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

This year’s medicine laureates have discovered how the immune system is kept in check. The body’s powerful immune system must be regulated, or it may attack our own organs. Brunkow, Ramsdell and Sakaguchi have been awarded this year’s medicine prize for their groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body.

The laureates identified the immune system’s security guards, regulatory T cells, which prevent immune cells from attacking our own body.

The laureates’ discoveries launched the field of peripheral tolerance, spurring the development of medical treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. This may also lead to more successful transplantations. Several of these treatments are now undergoing clinical trials.

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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPrize in Physics to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”

This year’s physics laureates’ experiments on a chip revealed quantum physics in action.

A major question in physics is the maximum size of a system that can demonstrate quantum mechanical effects. The 2025 physics laureates conducted experiments with an electrical circuit in which they demonstrated both quantum mechanical tunnelling and quantised energy levels in a system big enough to be held in the hand.

Quantum mechanics allows a particle to move straight through a barrier, using a process called tunnelling. As soon as large numbers of particles are involved, quantum mechanical effects usually become insignificant. The laureates’ experiments demonstrated that quantum mechanical properties can be made concrete on a macroscopic scale.

In 1984 and 1985, John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis conducted a series of experiments with an electronic circuit built of superconductors, components that can conduct a current with no electrical resistance. In the circuit, the superconducting components were separated by a thin layer of non-conductive material, a setup known as a Josephson junction. By refining and measuring all the various properties of their circuit, they were able to control and explore the phenomena that arose when they passed a current through it. Together, the charged particles moving through the superconductor comprised a system that behaved as if they were a single particle that filled the entire circuit.

This macroscopic particle-like system is initially in a state in which current flows without any voltage. The system is trapped in this state, as if behind a barrier that it cannot cross. In the experiment the system shows its quantum character by managing to escape the zero-voltage state through tunnelling. The system’s changed state is detected through the appearance of a voltage.

The laureates could also demonstrate that the system behaves in the manner predicted by quantum mechanics – it is quantised, meaning that it only absorbs or emits specific amounts of energy.

The transistors in computer microchips are one example of the established quantum technology that surrounds us. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors.

Meanwhile,

Look Up Tonight!

October 9–10, 2025 – The Moon Meets the Seven Sisters (Pleiades)

On these two magical nights, look toward the Taurus constellation just after midnight — you’ll see the bright golden Moon passing close to the shimmering blue cluster known as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.

The Pleiades is one of the most beautiful open star clusters in the sky, located about 440 light-years away, easily visible to the naked eye even from semi-dark skies. The Moon’s golden glow next to the icy-blue stars creates one of the most enchanting celestial scenes of the year.

How to Watch:

• Best viewed from both hemispheres, though the view favors the Northern Hemisphere.

• Look east after 10 PM and follow the Moon’s slow drift near the cluster through the night.

• Binoculars or a small telescope will reveal dozens of glittering stars surrounding the Moon.

Fun Fact: The Pleiades are often mentioned in ancient myths — from the Greek “Seven Sisters” to the Māori “Matariki” and Japanese “Subaru.”

Don’t miss this chance to photograph one of the most poetic sky pairings of 2025 — a golden Moon beside a cluster of blue diamonds in the night.

Lastly,

Studies reveal that children who regularly take part in household chores develop essential life skills that lead to greater success and emotional well-being as adults. Research from Harvard’s long-term Grant Study found that early responsibility builds traits such as perseverance, accountability, and empathy. Similarly, a University of Minnesota study showed that children who start chores at a young age often grow up to have stronger relationships, better careers, and higher academic achievement. Beyond keeping the home tidy, chores teach teamwork, discipline, and time management, which become the foundation for lifelong success.