All of this year’s Nobel Laureates have been officially announced.

In total, there have been 13 new Nobel Laureates this year. Their work and discoveries range from Earth’s climate and our sense of touch to efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

Here is the winner of each category and what he did to achieve one of the highest accolades in the world.

Physics

This year’s physics prize was shared between three scientists for their work on climate and the study of fluctuations. Sykuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi shared the prize between them.

Half of the prize was awarded jointly to Manabe and Hasselmann “For the physical modeling of the Earth’s climate, the quantification of variability and the reliable prediction of global warming”.

Manabe is considered a pioneer in the development of physical models of the Earth’s climate. In 1967, he demonstrated that doubling the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere would lead to a 2 ° C increase in the temperature of the lower atmosphere.

Hasselmann has created a model that links climate and weather. He also developed techniques used to prove that the increase in the temperature of the atmosphere is the result of carbon dioxide emissions from human activities.

Parisi received the other half “For the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic scale to planetary scale”.

The common thread between the physics laureates is that they all study disorder and fluctuations in complex systems.

Chemistry

This year’s chemistry prize was awarded to Benjamin’s List and David WC MacMillan “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.”

Together, List and MacMillan have developed a molecular construction tool called organocatalysis. It had a huge impact on pharmaceutical research. We also say to have made chemistry “greener”.

Physiology or medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to David Jules and Patapoutien Ardem “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch”.

Julius used a compound in hot peppers that causes a burning sensation to identify a sensor in nerve endings in the skin that reacts to heat.

Patapoutian used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a new class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs.

The discoveries have improved our understanding of our nervous system and how it detects heat and mechanical stimuli.

Literature

Novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah received the prize for literature “for its uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the plight of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”.

Gurnah a published 10 novels as well as several short stories and has already been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His work has been praised for its lyrical quality. While he received lots of rave reviews, sales of his books have been modest.

He is the first black African winner of the award since 1986.

Peace

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two journalists “for their efforts in favor of freedom of expression, which is a prerequisite for democracy and lasting peace”.

Maria Ressa from the Philippines was commended for oppose President Rodrigo Dutere’s attacks on media freedom. Over the past five years, Ressa and its Rappler news site have provided steadfast reports on allegations of abuse and corruption in the Duterte administration.

The other journalist who received the award was Dmitry Muratov in Russia. Muratov is the longest-serving editor of a Russian media outlet, Novaya Gazeta. Since its creation in 1993 by Muratov and his colleagues, it has investigated corruption inside and outside Russia, as well as the wars in Chechnya. Six of the newspaper’s journalists and contributors were murdered for their work.

The media has promised to “Exploit this award for Russian journalists who [Russian authorities] are now trying to suppress ”.

Economy

The economy price went to three men: David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens.

David Card received half the prize for “his empirical contributions to labor economics”.

Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens received the other half between them “for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships”.

Card’s work on labor economics is explained on Buzz here. Angrist and Imbens research tools developed that help economists use real life situations to test big theories.