Nobel Prize Winners 2025

Below is a detailed exploration of the 2025 Nobel Prize laureates: their discoveries, scientific significance, life background, and implications for the future. Categories covered: Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace.

Physiology or Medicine — 2025

Mary E. Brunkow • Fred Ramsdell • Shimon Sakaguchi

“For their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded on 6 October by the Karolinska Institutet to Mary Brunkow (USA), Fred Ramsdell (USA), and Shimon Sakaguchi (Japan) for uncovering key mechanisms that keep the immune system from attacking the body’s own tissues — a process known as peripheral immune tolerance.

What is peripheral immune tolerance?

The immune system is designed to attack pathogens, but it must also avoid attacking the body's own cells. Peripheral immune tolerance refers specifically to regulatory mechanisms outside the thymus and bone marrow that suppress auto-reactive immune cells. The laureates identified regulatory T cells (Tregs), characterized the FOXP3 gene, and explained how they prevent harmful immune responses.

Key breakthroughs & timeline

• Brunkow & Ramsdell discovered that mutations in FOXP3 cause severe autoimmune disease (“scurfy mice”).
• Sakaguchi demonstrated that removing or blocking Tregs leads to autoimmunity.
• Human studies found FOXP3 mutations cause IPEX syndrome, proving clinical importance.

Applications and implications

• Autoimmune therapies using regulatory T cells.
• Cancer immunotherapy and balancing immune suppression.
• Transplant tolerance and immune acceptance.

Source: Nobel Prize official release & Karolinska Institutet.

Physics — 2025

John Clarke • Michel H. Devoret • John M. Martinis

“For the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2025 was awarded to John Clarke (UK/USA), Michel H. Devoret (France/USA), and John M. Martinis (USA) for showing quantum effects at macroscopic scales — within electric circuits.

Scientific importance

They demonstrated that superconducting circuits exhibit quantum tunnelling and quantised energy states — foundational for quantum computing and ultra-sensitive quantum sensors.

Source: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Chemistry — 2025

Susumu Kitagawa • Richard Robson • Omar M. Yaghi

“For the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).”

Susumu Kitagawa (Japan), Richard Robson (Australia), and Omar M. Yaghi (USA) received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering metal-organic frameworks — porous crystalline materials useful for capturing CO₂, storing hydrogen, and filtering pollutants.

Source: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Literature — 2025

László Krasznahorkai

“For his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 was awarded to Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai for his dense, lyrical explorations of despair, decay, and the endurance of humanity through art.

Source: Swedish Academy.

Peace — 2025

María Corina Machado

“For her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.”

María Corina Machado was honoured with the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous leadership in Venezuela’s democratic movement, symbolising resistance and hope amid repression.

Source: Norwegian Nobel Committee.