Nobel

• Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Andre Geim delivered his inaugural lecture, titled “Random Walk to Graphene,” on June 9th at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). • As a Chair Professor in HKU's Department of Physics, Geim shared insights into the discovery and development of graphene, a breakthrough that earned him the Nobel Prize. • The event is significant as it brings world-class scientific expertise to the HKU community, highlighting the intersection of curiosity-driven research and material science.

Jack Clark describes ‘vertiginous sense of progress’ and ‘profound changes’ to society alongside risks of technologyAn AI system will work with humans to make a Nobel prize-winning discovery within 12 months and tradespeople will be helped by bipedal robots in two years, according to the co-founder of Anthropic.Jack Clark described a “vertiginous sense of progress” in the technology and made a series of predictions, including that companies run solely by AIs would be generating millions of dollars in revenue within 18 months, and that by the end of 2028, AI systems would be able to design their own successors. Continue reading...

• The first Nobel award ceremony since President Trump overhauled the board of trustees earlier this year is set to proceed with new appointees influencing selections. • Changes aim to align prizes with American priorities, sparking international debate on politicization. • Shift matters for U.S. soft power and could alter future laureate choices in peace and economics.

As human rights advocate is treated in Tehran hospital after transfer from Zanjan prison, prize winners demand her freedomMore than 110 Nobel laureates have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and Nobel peace prize laureate, after she was transferred to hospital amid concerns over her rapidly deteriorating health.In a statement released on Tuesday, 112 Nobel laureates urged the Iranian authorities and the international community to act “without delay” to secure Mohammadi’s release and ensure her continued access to medical treatment. Continue reading...

Writing by Narges Mohammadi, arrested 14 times for activism, offers a disturbing insight into treatmentIn an exclusive extract of writing smuggled from prison in Iran, the Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has described the “torture” of solitary confinement, and her systematic medical neglect by the prison system.The writing from the past decade will be part of a soon to be published memoir that gives a rare and alarming insight into the treatment of Mohammadi, who is in critical condition. It details beatings, constant interrogations, deprivation of medical care and long stretches in solitary confinement during her numerous imprisonments. Continue reading...

Authorities investigate Florent Montaclair over award given to himself and others including Noam ChomskyAt a ceremony at the French national assembly attended by Nobel prize winners, former government ministers, MPs, decorated scientists and academics, all attention was on a previously unknown literature professor.Florent Montaclair, then 46, a balding, bespectacled figure in an ill-fitting suit and rosé-coloured shirt, was receiving the 2016 Gold Medal of Philology - the study of linguistics – from an international society of the same name. Continue reading...

Narges Mohammadi denied medical leave from prison in spite of sharp decline in health and drastic weight loss, say lawyersThe family of the jailed Iranian Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi say they fear for her life after a sharp deterioration in her health, suspected heart attack and drop in body weight of almost 20kg (44lb).The 54-year-old human rights activist, who was awarded the 2023 Nobel peace prize while in prison, had been released for health reasons in 2024. She was re-arrested in December 2025 during the memorial service of a fellow human rights activist and is being held in Zanjan central prison, in north-west Iran. Continue reading...