Nobel Prizes in science have heavily favored male, North American, and European scientists

The Nobel Prize remains science's top honor despite limits and inequities

Each October, a few scientists gain global fame when told they’ve won a Nobel Prize—a century-old award founded by Alfred Nobel to recognize major achievements. While the prizes boost attention and prestige for winners, they exclude many deserving scientists due to rigid rules.

Gender bias in science’s past still echoes in today’s Nobel Prize tallies

Although women make up half the global population, they’ve won only 49 out of 923 Nobel Prizes from 1901 to 2022. Nobel committee members say historical gender bias has limited female representation, but they plan to promote more diverse nominations.

Critics say Nobel Prizes need updating to reflect how science and society work today

The rules still favor individuals over teams and may reflect outdated views on who does science. In 2013, the Nobel Prize in physics went to two theorists, even though over 5,000 scientists helped confirm the Higgs boson.

Only allowing three recipients causes the Nobel Prize to overlook team discoveries

While science has grown more inclusive and collaborative, the Nobel Prize system still struggles with outdated practices, such as secrecy and a rigid limit on awardees. This restriction sidelines many deserving scientists, especially in complex projects like the human genome or gravitational waves.

Explore a list of Nobel Prize winners supported by National Science Foundation grants

As of 2025, 274 Nobel laureates have received funding from the NSF at some point during their careers, including 49 in physiology or medicine, 82 in physics, and 70 in chemistry. The 73 NSF-funded laureates in economics include every prize winner since 1997.

The Nobel Prizes honor global achievements in science, literature, and peace efforts

Established by Alfred Nobel’s will, the Nobel Prizes have been awarded since 1901 to individuals and organizations making major contributions to humanity. Although often grouped with the five original prizes, the economics award was added later by Sweden’s central bank in 1968 and isn't technically a Nobel Prize.

As of 2025, only five people have won two Nobel Prizes

Marie Curie's awards in physics and chemistry and Linus Pauling's in chemistry and peace are the only pairs in different fields. Awards to Curie's daughter and sons-in-law have made the Curies the most awarded family in history.

Non-Nobel Prize awards recognize topics outside of chemistry, physics and medicine

Established in 2002, the Abel Prize awards $750,000 to a mathematician for pioneering scientific achievements, while the $1M Turing Award honors contributions in computer science. Additional prizes in earth science, engineering, environmental science and policy, astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience have also been established.

Each Nobel committee sends nomination requests to 3,000 leading academics annually

Each Nobel selection committee consults with experts to create a shortlist of finalists from the hundreds of nominations, which is then sent to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The literature and peace awards also involve nominations from "qualified persons," such as university professors.

Why some nations reach economic success and others don’t

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, were honored for their compelling research on the factors that influence a nation’s prosperity. Spanning two decades, their work presents insights into how societal organization can explain the income discrepancies between different countries. In general, their research shows that economic success favors more free and open societies. Listen for more fascinating insights.

Women work harder for Pulitzers

While the Pulitzers have never been segregated by gender, a 2012 study by the University of Missouri found female winners required significantly more elite credentials—Ivy League degrees, experience at top newspapers, and the like—than their male counterparts. Similar credentials are also overrepresented in the category of international reporting, suggesting the award favors those with more privileged upbringings.

University of California Santa Barbara produced 6 Nobel prize winners

The public school system is ranked as the eighth best by Forbes, and 56 of its faculty are members in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. See more figures on the school here.

The US lags behind other developed countries in math and science scores

The Programme for International Student Assessment, administered every three years by the OECD to 15-year-olds, scores US students below the OECD average in math (465 vs. 472) and only slightly above average in science (499 vs. 485). These figures place US pupils in the lower half of developed nations.

Browse a list of the most important scientific breakthroughs from each state

Although scientific discoveries involve experimentation, analysis, and collaborations among many individuals across a variety of locations, some observations, advancements, and breakthroughs have their origins in facilities within the US. These include the polio vaccine in Pennsylvania, the breathalyzer in Indiana, the observation of Pluto in Arizona, and the invention of nylon and Teflon in Delaware. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Despite the discovery of dark matter, Vera Rubin never won a Nobel Prize

In the 1970s, Rubin and collaborator Kent Ford revealed that galaxies rotate in a way only explainable by vast amounts of unseen mass, now known as dark matter. The transformative discovery did not warrant a Nobel Prize, which was only awarded to two women in physics from 1901 to 2017.

The best photos of scientists at work in 2025

The winners of Nature's 2025 photo competition capture the essence of scientific fieldwork in diverse and challenging environments. From a biologist battling waves for whale research to ice core drilling in polar night conditions, this gallery details the research being each winning photo.

In 2021, the James Beard Awards began focusing on 'equity and sustainability'

Following accusations that the awards’ judges and winners were overwhelmingly white and male, the foundation conducted a 2021 audit focused on “equity and sustainability”; subsequent awards have been notably more diverse.

As of 2022, Canada has the most planned critical mineral mines

Wealthy nations are tapping into their domestic critical mineral reserves and buying up mines in poorer countries. The US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and China are taking the lead, with Chinese operations spanning all continents except Antarctica.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Science says being a jerk doesn't pay off

The evidence is in: Nice guys and gals don’t finish last, and being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead. A longitudinal study lasting for more than a decade revealed subjects who displayed manipulative, selfish, or combative behavior were less successful professionally than control groups—a finding that held even in highly competitive organizations.

As of 2025, CERN is the world's largest particle physics laboratory

Founded in 1954, the European Organization for Nuclear Research's laboratory is located near Geneva, Switzerland, and more than 10,000 scientists from more than 100 countries visit its facilities each year. Its largest tool is the Large Hadron Collider, a 27-kilometer-long tunnel that accelerates protons to near the speed of light.

Eurovision voting largely follows cultural blocs

In 2025, France's AFP analyzed the voting data from every Eurovision Song Contest and found that how countries vote often reflects long-standing cultural associations, with Nordic countries, Baltic states, and former Soviet nations tending to vote in solidarity.

NASA was founded in response to early Soviet space achievements

Although starting behind in the Space Race in 1958, NASA became a global leader in humanity's exploration of space with the Apollo program, which placed astronauts on the moon. Since then, it has been responsible for the construction of multiple telescopes, the International Space Station, and development of the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon before eventually reaching Mars.

Tennis' global evolution

In the 1970s and 1980s, American men and women dominated the top 100 rankings on both tours. But as each tour expanded its global reach, the American dominance declined. This Bleacher Report analysis breaks down the national make-up of the top 100 players for each decade. View maps that show which country gained and lost rankings through each decade and see who is the top country now.

Climate determinism wrongly linked human traits and societal progress to geography

Historically rooted in Greek philosophy, its ideas used the latitudes where people were located to justify racial hierarchies, casting tropical peoples as lazy or inferior. These biases still influence how media and research portray people in climatically disadvantaged regions. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Alzheimer's is most prevalent in the South and the East

Risk factors for Alzheimer's can include age, race, education, and income levels, exposure to pollutants, and much more. As of 2023, these factors are seen in higher incidence rates for those above 65, in the southern and southeastern parts of the US.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.