# General News 1.0 **URL:** \ **Category:** Off-Topic\ **Created:** [December 24, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215 "2020-12-24T15:22:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 376
**Author:** ![Sean](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/sean/32/99959_2.png) [@Sean](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Sean)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8349 "2026-09-21T16:06:01Z")
> [@Urben](#): > > in that case the first time in the history of the party to miss a state parliament Merz surely has to resign as soon as possible, no? ---
**Author:** ![Urben](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/urben/32/155460_2.png) [@Urben](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Urben)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8350 "2026-09-21T16:31:36Z")
You would think so but honestly resigning got out of fashion. He made clear multiple times including yesterday that he intends to make it through his term. Jens Spahn resigning this year was quite a rare event in contrast. The thing is, Merz being chancellor in the first place shows that there is no better person in the CDU to replace him if he resigned. Sure there are critics in the CDU but not high enough in the ranks. Those are all united behind him and the SPD they govern with also decided to support him. I guess this is because there is no good end for them both if that happened. If Merz resigned, this would not automatically mean early elections. They could assign a new one. But as I said there is none at the CDU. Sure the smaller coalition partner SPD could maybe come up with one, but the last election already punished the SPD for their unstable government before it. And I doubt the CDU would tolerate that as the larger part of the coalition. There is also the option that the CSU offers a candidate. That is the Bavarian “sister” party of the CDU they always unite with at country-level. That is why me speaking of the CDU in our government is technically incorrect, it is the “Union”. But part of their deal is “leave Bavaria to us, so you get to have the other states, the chancellor and our full support”. So it would be wild if that changed here given that the CSU also supports Merz. So Merz stepping down can lead to reelections. And if the current polls are true, CDU + SPD sum up to a mere 35ish %. SPD + Left + Green party, something that got quite established in state governments (which will likely be the outcome of the two state elections last weekend), also only poll at 40%. There is no way to sugarcoat it, what we have now might be our last stable government for some time. And Merz sticking to his seat is what makes it not end early. ---
**Author:** ![Axwage](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/axwage/32/36619_2.png) [@Axwage](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Axwage)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:37am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8351 "2026-09-24T03:37:51Z")
![image](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/1/e/1e11ad2fd91fce2c9767a7660937dd20ce845c90.jpeg) 👩‍🍳 💋 🤌 ---
**Author:** ![scat1620](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/scat1620/32/177_2.png) [@scat1620](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/scat1620)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8352 "2026-09-30T17:34:36Z")
![Screenshot_20260930_183246_Firefox](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/8/6/860fb83ef710ba091db863aa4144742daf92acee.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/landirthome/32/40646_2.png) [@LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/LandirtHome)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8353 "2026-10-05T13:39:22Z")
**It’s Nobel week!** ![Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine 2026 05OCT26](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/8/1/81e6cfaa06c32ee8d41f8b698f23629b7371e9d4.jpeg) > _“To understand how the brain forms memories, feelings and behaviours has long been a dream for researchers. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to optogenetics, which makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain. This method is now being used in laboratories around the world to reveal the brain’s mysteries.”_ [![](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/f/8/f8b95c41756ac39c59c3e0519c9376145aded0b3.jpeg "“We can get a whole new understanding of the function of the brain.” Medicine prize 2026") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3yoss9R8F4) * * * > **[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2026/summary/)** > > The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 was awarded jointly to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.” > **Click to expand a popular information explanation of the research conducted.** > > ## A light-sensitive algal protein energised neuroscience > > To understand how the brain forms memories, feelings and behaviours has long been a dream for researchers. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to optogenetics, which makes it possible to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells in a living brain. This method is now being used in laboratories around the world to reveal the brain’s mysteries. > > _“My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery — always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What’s this passion for?”_ > > These are Virginia Woolf’s words in a letter to a friend in 1932. Many people share her fascination with the brain. How can this organ, which only weighs around 1.3 kilograms, hold childhood memories, daydreams and creativity? How can it be the cause of joy, love and jealousy? How does it control the pace of heartbeats, the rhythm of breathing and the sleep cycle? > > Since ancient times, researchers have attempted to understand this biological mystery. In the twentieth century, they successfully identified which regions of the brain govern various physiological functions. This provided invaluable understanding, but the methods available at the time were relatively blunt and could not prove that a specific type of nerve cell directly caused a certain feeling or behaviour. The image of the brain that emerged was therefore like a blurry photograph, missing many details. > > ![Illustration: Scientists dreamed of using a switch for nerve cells.](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/d/e/de292c28460dbc0a0e8b9154a93f4116efacf5b7.jpeg) > > Figure 1. Scientists dreamed of using a switch for nerve cells. © The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén > > One of those who dreamed of more precise tools to explore the brain’s exceptionally complex network of nerve cells was [Francis Crick](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1962/crick/facts/) (Nobel Prize 1962). A few decades after the groundbreaking discovery of DNA’s double helix in 1953, he began investigating the mechanisms that underlie human consciousness. He envisioned ways to activate individual nerve cells in a living brain. The signals in nerve cells are extremely rapid. To match this speed, he concluded that it would probably be ideal to use light. If molecular biologists could somehow manipulate nerve cells and get them to react to light, they might be able to control neural activity (Figure 1). Crick admitted that his idea sounded far-fetched, but perhaps not impossible to achieve. > > His vision of the future has now become reality. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize for their discovery of a molecular switch for nerve cells. Using light, researchers are now able to switch individual neural circuits on or off in the brain. They can bring memories to life, create feelings, drive behaviours and study the types of neurons that are involved in various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Optogenetics is fundamentally transforming our understanding of the brain. It has also provided important insights into how the nervous system interacts with various cells in other areas of the body, such as in the heart and gut. > > It all started with the curiosity of one researcher. In the early 1990s, Peter Hegemann at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, asked a simple question: How can the unicellular alga _Chlamydomonas_ react so rapidly to light? > > ## Hegemann investigates how a swimming alga senses light > > _Chlamydomonas_ is famous for its ability to swim towards light. When researchers stir this green alga into a petri dish, the liquid turns a faint green colour. If they then illuminate one side of the dish, the green colour shifts towards the light source, as the microscopic algae swim towards it (Figure 2). The algae sense the light with an eyespot, a tiny orange dot on the cell’s surface that contains a light-capturing molecule, retinal. > > ![Illustration: The alga Chlamydomonas senses light using its eyespot](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/c/5/c5189b69a2d3a41175c669b62a4570e6590dd6af.jpeg) > > Figure 2. The alga Chlamydomonas senses light using its eyespot. When light is sufficiently strong, it swims towards the source. © The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén > > Hegemann investigated the algal eyespot. Using minuscule electrodes, he measured the electrical signals that arose in _Chlamydomonas_ when the eyespot was illuminated. The algae reacted incredibly quickly. Just half a millisecond after light reached the eyespot, an electrical impulse occurred. > > Compared to other biological systems that researchers knew of at the time, this was remarkably fast. For example, light reaching a human eye triggers a complex chemical chain reaction that involves many different steps. The final protein in this chain — an ion channel — forms an opening in the cell surface through which charged ions can flow, creating an electrical signal. The entire process takes at least 10 milliseconds. So how could the response to light be more than twenty times faster in _Chlamydomonas_ than in our own eyes? > > ## The fast light reaction in algae ignites Hegemann’s curiosity > > Hegemann could only think of one explanation for this ultrafast response: the process must be much simpler in _Chlamydomonas_ than in a human eye. In the early 1990s, he formulated the hypothesis that a single protein complex both captured light and acted as an ion channel. However, his proposal was met with scepticism. At the time, researchers knew of many different types of ion channels, but none of them could react to light on their own. > > To test his hypothesis, Hegemann attempted to isolate _Chlamydomonas’s_ light-sensitive protein. However, this was easier said than done. When the proteins in the algal eyespot were removed from their natural setting, they became unstable and easily damaged, making them difficult to study. However, around the turn of the millennium, after years of setbacks, the research group made an intriguing finding. Japanese researchers had mapped the DNA of Chlamydomonas and made the genetic code for thousands of genes available. Among them, the Hegemann group found two genes that had significant similarities with known genes for light-capturing proteins. Could either of these contain the code for the protein they were looking for? > > To answer this question, Hegemann contacted a colleague: Georg Nagel at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in Frankfurt. He had the necessary knowledge to take the next decisive step towards what would come to revolutionise neuroscience. > > ## Hegemann and Nagel discover a remarkable protein > > Nagel used egg cells from frogs to study proteins. When he received the two Chlamydomonas genes, he injected copies of them, separately, into different batches of frog eggs, which then began to mass produce the two unknown proteins (Figure 3). The proteins ended up on the surface of the egg cells, in the surrounding membrane. Nagel could then investigate how they functioned, and he quickly discovered that the hypothesis formulated by Hegemann a decade earlier was correct: the newly discovered proteins were ion channels that opened when exposed to light (Figure 3). > > These proteins were named channelrhodopsin-1 and channelrhodopsin-2. We will leave the first of these behind and concentrate on the second, which paved the way to optogenetics. > > ![Illustration: Chlamydomonas genes in frog eggs](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/d/f/dfa160861e964c53af5e2d62a18f90c7454a7b2c.jpeg) > > Figure 3. When Nagel and Hegemann introduced the Chlamydomonas genes in frog eggs, they began to produce ion channel proteins that ended up on the surface of the eggs. When the researchers illuminated the ion channels, they opened. Ions then flowed through the channels, creating an electric signal. © The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén > > ## The algal protein activates human cells > > Just as in Hegemann’s experiment, Nagel’s characterisation of channelrhodopsin-2 showed that it reacted exceptionally strongly and rapidly to a pulse of light. A channel opened through the surface of the frog egg cell within 0.2 milliseconds. Positively charged ions then flowed through the channel, producing an electrical signal (Figure 3). > > Hegemann and Nagel realised that they had made a revolutionary discovery. They tested introducing the gene for channelrhodopsin-2 into embryonic human kidney cells and in kidney cells from hamsters. The cells became light-sensitive: when they were exposed to light they produced an electrical signal. > > In 2003, Hegemann and Nagel published the results of their experiment. They proposed that channelrhodopsin-2 could be used as a powerful tool to generate electrical impulses in cells using light. After this, a young scientist at Stanford University took the baton. > > ## Meeting psychiatric patients was decisive for Deisseroth > > In the 1990s, when Karl Deisseroth started to study medicine, he was considering becoming a neurosurgeon, but part of his training was done at a psychiatric clinic. There, he was struck by the patients’ suffering and their need for help. At the same time, he began to wonder how the brain can work so differently in different people. Why do people with depression find it so difficult to feel joy? What causes autism, or schizophrenic delusions? > > In parallel with his medical studies, he gained a PhD in neuroscience. In the laboratory, he used thin brain slices and examined them in petri dishes. His research yielded important insights, but he realised that in order to understand the diseases he encountered in the clinic, he needed to study how nerve cells function in a living brain. > > Other researchers were trying to develop methods that made it possible to control the activity of specific nerve cells in the manner proposed by Francis Crick. However, many of them were concerned about wasting time and money on something that appeared to be an unrealistic dream. Deisseroth realised that he had to take the risk of failing; the treatments he was able to offer his patients were rarely effective and often produced debilitating side-effects. If he were to find a better way of helping them, he needed a more profound understanding of the brain. > > ## Success! Moving algal protein into nerve cells > > When Deisseroth started his own research group, they began to search for a protein they could use to trigger electrical impulses in nerve cells. They tested numerous candidates and when Deisseroth heard about the discovery of channelrhodopsin-2, he wrote to Georg Nagel and asked whether he could have access to the DNA encoding the protein. > > When the DNA arrived in Deisseroth’s lab, he introduced it into rat nerve cells cultured in petri dishes. He worried that the sensitive nerve cells would be negatively affected by the foreign gene, but they began to produce channelrhodopsin-2 with no apparent problems. When the research group exposed the nerve cells to blue light, the cells reacted immediately. The light provoked a nerve signal that could be propagated to other nerve cells. > > In 2005, Deisseroth’s research group published their discovery. They had achieved a decisive milestone, although Deisseroth understood that he had a long journey before reaching his goal: the ability to control the activity of nerve cells in live animals. > > ![Illustration: Deisseroth introduced the gene encoding channelrhodopsin-2 into nerve cells](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/0/6/066675cf2b9c3707a88402fe23cc07b0b77d968b.jpeg) > > Figure 4. Deisseroth introduced the gene encoding channelrhodopsin-2 into nerve cells that he cultured in a petri dish, making the nerve cells sensitive to light. Using blue light, the rearchers were able to trigger a rapid nerve signal. © The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén > > ## Optogenetic control of nerve cells in a living brain > > Karl Deisseroth now began numerous collaborations, including with Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel. He also shared his discovery with other researchers who understood its enormous potential. With Deisseroth’s lab at the forefront, researchers soon found more proteins that can turn nerve cells on and off, and which are activated by different wavelengths of light. > > In 2006, this new method was given the name optogenetics. One year later, Deisseroth successfully activated nerve cells in the brains of living mice (Figure 5). His research group introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin-2 into a specific nerve cell type in the motor cortex, the area of the brain that governs movement. They then illuminated the nerve cells with a thin optic fibre that they fed into the brain through a small hole in the skull. This allowed them to control movements of the mouse whiskers. > > ![Illustration: Deisseroth successfully activated nerve cells in the brains of living mice](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/a/8/a86873396894b3b3eb716c15ff1200a79c9788bb.jpeg) > > Figure 5. Deisseroth’s research group delivered the gene for channelrhodopsin-2 to the brains of living mice. They then inserted a thin optical fiber into the brain. When they illuminated the nerve cells through the optical fiber, a nerve signal was triggered that induced movement of the whiskers. © The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén > > The same year, working with other researchers, Deisseroth used optogenetics to wake sleeping mice in a controlled manner. The research group introduced channelrhodopsin-2 into a recently discovered type of nerve cell that they suspected controlled wakefulness. When they shone light on the nerve cells, the mice woke up, confirming the hypothesis. > > Another famous piece of work from the infancy of optogenetics was published in 2012. Together with [Susumu Tonegawa](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1987/tonegawa/facts/) (the 1987 Nobel Prize for discoveries in immunology), Deisseroth successfully activated an engram‚ the specific pattern of neural pathways that is formed when a memory is created. The researchers studied the brains of mice as they experienced fear, and noted which nerve cells appeared to form the memory of the experience. When they later reactivated these nerve cells, the mice showed signs of fear, despite not being in danger at the time. This was the first experiment in which researchers could demonstrate exactly which nerve cells are necessary for a specific memory. > > ## A new epoch in neuroscience > > The ability to activate individual types of nerve cells in the brain has fundamentally changed our understanding of this incredible organ. An adult human brain has around 90 billion nerve cells, each of which forms thousands of connections with other nerve cells. In many cases, the pathway from a nerve cell stretches to a completely different area of the brain, while nerve cells that govern entirely separate physical functions can be closely intermingled. > > Thanks to optogenetics, researchers can now discover exactly which of the nerve cells in a complicated bundle control different brain functions. For example, they have identified neural circuits that govern the sense of pain, social behaviours, thirst, food consumption, reward and attention. They have also found nerve cells responsible for diverse functions, from controlling the circadian rhythm to causing a fever when the immune system is activated. > > When researchers studied more complex behaviours, such as how mice care for their young, they discovered that the various components of a behaviour can be controlled by separate neural circuits. One circuit governs, for example, how mice gather their young in a nest, another regulates the way that they groom them. > > Optogenetics can also be used to map the nervous system and cell functions outside the brain. Deisseroth has demonstrated that heart rhythm can affect our emotions; if the heart is forced to work harder, this can reinforce feelings of anxiety. Other researchers have identified specific cells in the gut that can explain why some people would rather eat sugar than sweeteners, to give just a few of very many examples. > > ## Hope for new medical treatments > > The hope that the knowledge generated by using optogenetics will lead to new medical treatments has begun to come to fruition. The method has provided greater understanding of the distinguishing features of psychiatric and neurological disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. > > Researchers have also taken the first steps towards using optogenetics as a medical treatment. In ongoing clinical trials they attempt to restore vision in people who have become blind due to retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that destroys the eye’s rods and cones. When they inserted a channelrhodopsin-like protein in the retina of a blind person, the person regained some vision. Using special glasses emitting light, the person was able to discern and grasp objects on a table. > > There are also hopes that optogenetics could improve cochlea implants. Currently, these implants stimulate the auditory nerve using electricity. If it were instead possible to use optogenetics, the implant may be able to activate the auditory nerve with greater precision. > > ## Optogenetics: a transformative method in neuroscience > > Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries that led to an incredibly powerful tool that has transformed neuroscience. Optogenetics continues to unravel one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: how the brain works. ---
**Author:** ![LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/landirthome/32/40646_2.png) [@LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/LandirtHome)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 11:00am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8354 "2026-10-06T11:00:22Z")
![Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 06OCT26](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/a/d/adb9b00c40f2360be2fb3ae37e02d15d5f55895e.jpeg) > _“Francis Halzen realised that ice at the South Pole could be used to track particles known as neutrinos. His vision and scientific leadership have been fundamental for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory – a cubic kilometre of ice that is equipped with light sensors. Using IceCube, researchers can capture neutrinos from extremely energy-rich processes in the distant universe.”_ [![](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/2/5/25742a5330dd49b3c78cf8d6f544d793731640ce.jpeg "“We can learn something about cosmic sources which otherwise would not be accessible to us.”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WVcburp8nk) > **[Nobel Prize in Physics 2026](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2026/summary/)** > > The Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 was awarded to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.” > **Click to expand a popular information explanation of the research conducted** > > ## Ice at the South Pole reveals cosmic particle accelerators > > **Francis Halzen** has laid the foundation for an entirely new type of astronomy. His idea was to use glacial ice at the South Pole to capture the secretive particles called neutrinos. The result was the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which can track neutrinos that originate in the distant cosmos. > > ![An illustration of a high-energy neutrino passing through ice.](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/d/5/d5f77e029d5b80b4ab5e13aa1f2ecce1ddbbd0ad.jpeg) > > © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > The neutrino is the shyest particle in the universe, has no electric charge and almost no mass. In general, it passes unnoticed through matter – seldom does a neutrino make its presence felt by colliding with an atomic nucleus. Every second, without you noticing, 65 billion neutrinos from the Sun flow through your little finger nail. > > Neutrinos also come from other regions of space, carrying clues to some of the mysteries of the cosmos. Researchers that succeed in capturing these rarer cosmic neutrinos can then extract information about the extreme environments in the universe where they originated. > > Back in the 1980s, Francis Halzen had realised that the Antarctic ice could be ideal for ensnaring enough of these secretive neutrinos, so researchers could learn more about their distant origins. He quickly convinced many others of his idea’s potential and, in 1992, a group of tenacious researchers and engineers made the first attempts to lower light sensors into the glacier at the South Pole. The breakthrough came around twenty years later: the IceCube neutrino telescope registered neutrinos with properties that convinced researchers they originated in distant regions of space. The hunt for the universe’s neutrino sources had begun in earnest. > > ### Particle physics meets astrophysics > > Halzen grew up in Belgium. He was attracted to particle physics by the progress in the field in the 1960s and, initially, he focused on massive particles that are built from quarks. Soon after finishing his PhD he moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the US. Later, he came to understand what particle physics can learn from particles that reach us from space – and how astrophysics can, in turn, benefit from particle physics. > > The motivation underlying the search for neutrinos comes from observations of completely different particles. The cosmos is continuously traversed by particles that are collectively called cosmic rays. Typically, these particles are protons, which are naked atomic nuclei of hydrogen. Protons from space can sometimes reach us with an astounding amount of energy, far more than it is possible to give them in a particle accelerator on Earth. > > The origin of cosmic rays with the most extreme energies has been one of the universe’s best-kept secrets. Because physics tells us that the processes that can accelerate protons to high energies also give rise to neutrinos with high energies, neutrinos could provide crucial clues about these cosmic particle accelerators. > > Someone who succeeds in identifying neutrinos that carry huge amounts of energy can differentiate them from the considerably lower energy neutrinos that come from decaying radioactive substances, or from the Sun, or which arise when cosmic rays hit the Earth’s atmosphere. Neutrinos that do not originate in our surroundings must come from somewhere far, far away – perhaps from violent processes in regions where stars have exploded or from distant active galaxies. > > ### Flashes in the ice > > In the 1980s, while Halzen was working with cosmic particles, he heard that Soviet researchers were planning to use radio receivers to capture neutrino signals in Antarctica. The idea was that when a neutrino collides with an atomic nucleus in the ice it causes an electric spark, which produces a radio wave. If this was strong enough, it could be captured using a radio antenna. Halzen was inspired and realised that another method could be to install light sensors in glacier ice and look for flashes of light from the collisions. > > Previously, around 1960, several physicists had suggested that water could be a good material for capturing neutrinos from space. On the rare occasions that a neutrino collides with an atomic nucleus, a charged particle is produced; this then travels in the same direction as the original neutrino and emits a blue light. Because water is transparent, this light can be detected. If the right equipment is used, it is possible to determine the direction of the light’s path and even see where the neutrino came from. The most important factor is having a volume of water that is large enough to see the evidence of many neutrino collisions. > > Halzen’s idea was to use naturally occurring ice, rather than water. He contacted his research colleague John G. Learned, who was working on the DUMAND project. This was a similar project that aimed to capture light signals from interacting neutrinos in the deep and clear ocean water off Hawaii. Together, the physicists discussed the opportunities and challenges involved in capturing neutrinos in Antarctica. They first presented their concept for a neutrino observatory in the ice of the South Pole in 1988, at a conference in Poland. > > ### A neutrino telescope at the South Pole > > Francis Halzen realised that there were many advantages to siting the neutrino observatory at the geographic South Pole: a research station was already located there, with an organisation for regular transports and everything necessary for a team to work. > > Ice also offers many benefits as a material. At a great enough depth, the darkness is constant. Unlike the ocean, there is no interference from living creatures, and there are only low levels of radioactive substances. The ice is stable and provides a solid surface for the people working at the facility. The area is geologically stable with no earthquakes. > > One disadvantage is that the cold makes travel to and from the South Pole impossible for much of the year. All the practical work must be conducted during the brief Antarctic summer, between November and February. > > ![Illustration: An observatory in the ice](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/c/0/c0114ce1c408d7fdd647fa6ae3fa6b0592eea590.jpeg) > > © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > At first, Halzen was satisfied with doing the theoretical work, while Learned was busy with his own project and never returned to their theories about capturing neutrinos at the South Pole. The story could have ended there – but the concept had generated so much interest that, within a few years, researchers from various institutions had gathered around Halzen to bring his idea of a neutrino observatory in Antarctica to fruition. > > To start with, they had to solve all the practical problems entailed by placing instruments deep in the ice. From glaciologists, they learned that kilometre-deep holes can be drilled using a type of sophisticated shower head that uses hot water to melt the ice. A long cable with strings of light sensors could then be lowered into the waterfilled hole. Halzen describes these sensors as a lightbulb in reverse – the instrument captures light and then transforms it into an electrical signal. > > ### Bubbles in the ice could cause problems > > First, the research team tested sinking the sensors into the ice on Greenland to check that they could register light from the particles in the ice. Then they began constructing the first neutrino observatory at the South Pole, IceCube’s predecessor: AMANDA. > > Halzen has described sitting at the dinner table with his computer in his lap on Christmas Eve in 1993, waiting for a message to confirm that the first cable with optical modules had been installed in the ice. > > The upper section of the ice was full of bubbles that spread the light in different directions and blurred the information about the particles’ movement, so the very first attempts were disappointing. However, the ice turned out to be extremely pure and transparent below a depth of 1400 metres. There, the flashes of light from the neutrinos could travel 300 metres before being absorbed, much further than anyone expected. One by-product of the neutrino project is that researchers have learned a great deal about the properties of ice at different depths. > > AMANDA’s construction continued until January 2000. Everything worked as intended, but it was not quite up to the task of detecting the energy-rich neutrinos from cosmic particle accelerators. A greater volume was necessary, so work began on IceCube – a cubic kilometre of ice equipped with light sensors. IceCube reached its full size in 2011, with 5,160 light sensors divided between 86 cables. > > Over the years, Halzen has continued to function as a catalyst, first for AMANDA and later IceCube. As a committed and enthusiastic principal investigator, he has carried these projects from the idea stage to complete measurements and scientific results. > > ### IceCube finally finds cosmic neutrinos > > A neutrino observatory such as IceCube detects more than just the neutrinos the researchers are looking for. These cosmic neutrinos must be detected against a background of signals caused by cosmic rays entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Some of these particles can penetrate down to the sensors located between 1450 and 2450 metres below the surface. Over a hundred million such particles from the atmosphere above Antarctica are registered every day. Cosmic rays also create neutrinos in the atmosphere and, of these, a few hundred a day reach IceCube after travelling right through the Earth from the northern hemisphere. > > To find the cosmic neutrinos, researchers must identify selected events in which neutrinos have interacted in the ice. Even when they cannot be completely sure that a single neutrino originated outside Earth, they can look at all the selected events and see whether, overall, their properties fit with what they expect from cosmic neutrinos and differ from atmospheric neutrinos. In 2013, the research team reported the first evidence to support that they really had found cosmic neutrinos and, a couple of years later, they had gathered so much data they could be certain of their discovery. > > ### What do researchers hope to learn from the universe’s neutrinos? > > Neutrino astronomy started on a small scale back in the 1960s, when Raymond Davis Jr observed neutrinos from the Sun. This was confirmed by the research team at the Kamiokande neutrino observatory in Japan, led by Masatoshi Koshiba, as they were able to determine the neutrinos’ path and trace their origin. > > In 1987, Kamiokande captured a shower of neutrinos that could be linked to an exploding star, a supernova, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is our neighbouring galaxy. This discovery was soon supplemented by neutrino measurements that were conducted simultaneously in the US and the USSR. > > [Raymond Davis Jr](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2002/davis/facts/) and [Masatoshi Koshiba](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2002/koshiba/facts/) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2002 for these breakthroughs, which demonstrated that neutrinos could be used to study phenomena in space. > > One problem remained: the number of neutrinos captured by Raymond Davis Jr was just one-third of that predicted in calculations of the reactions that should occur in the Sun. The reason for this turned out to be related to there being three types of neutrinos. Physicists learned that neutrinos can shapeshift, so a neutrino that is created as one type can arrive at an instrument on Earth as another – and observing these transformed neutrinos required a different technique to that used by Raymond Davis Jr. > Neutrinos’ changeable nature was revealed through tests in Japan and Canada, and the Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 was awarded to [Takaaki Kajita](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2015/kajita/facts/) and [Arthur B. McDonald](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2015/mcdonald/facts/) for this discovery. > > ![Illustration: Messengers from space](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/1/d/1d9aed05a3ab5f70f9d4d4a2c2d746aeff4a1d56.jpeg) > > © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > The neutrino has thus helped physicists confirm their models of the processes inside the Sun and what happens inside a supernova. The idea behind IceCube is to take neutrino astronomy to a new level, the hope being that neutrinos will provide information about phenomena that are hidden behind dust clouds, or objects that are so distant that other forms of radiation have disappeared along the way. The aim is to gain knowledge that cannot be obtained in any other way. > > Compared to protons, neutrinos have the advantage that they are not electrically charged. The path of the charged protons in space is curved by the magnetic fields they travel through, making it impossible to deduct their origin by tracking the direction they took. However, the processes that accelerate the protons will also produce neutrinos, which are not affected by magnetic fields, so it should be possible to conclude where the cosmic ray protons are accelerated by tracing back along the path of the highest energy neutrinos. > > Another type of messenger from the universe’s most violent processes is gamma radiation. This also diminishes when it interacts with light and matter on its journey through space, while the neutrinos are unaffected. > > ### More results are expected > > One important aim is determining individual sources of celestial neutrinos. A few potential sources have been found by IceCube, of which one is the active galaxy NGC 1068 (also called M77). Of the neutrinos registered in IceCube, 79 appear to come from the direction of this galaxy. However, this evidence is not robust enough to definitively identify NGC 1068 as a neutrino source; the more neutrinos that are captured by the sensors, the greater the chance of being able to find their origin. > > In recent years, the researchers behind IceCube have also been able to see high-energy neutrinos coming from our own galaxy, the Milky Way. They expect that these neutrinos arise when cosmic radiation collides with atoms in the thin gas between the stars. > > We will certainly hear a great deal about neutrino astronomy in the years ahead, as others follow the path staked out by IceCube. There are several other neutrino telescopes in the northern hemisphere in various stages of development, but in water rather than ice. The project that inspired Francis Halzen in the 1980s, DUMAN, ended in 1995 – but its lessons live on through various other projects, such as in Lake Baikal, the Mediterranean, in the South China Sea and off the west coast of Canada. At the same time, IceCube continues capturing neutrinos. The next expansion on the South Pole is now being planned, where IceCube-Gen2 will be an astounding eight cubic kilometres of ice. ---
**Author:** ![LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/landirthome/32/40646_2.png) [@LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/LandirtHome)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 11:15am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8355 "2026-10-07T11:15:51Z")
![Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 07OCT26](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/8/5/850467759a8df143bfd5b22df5d884a3639308fc.jpeg) > _“Some molecules, such as amino acids, exist as two variants that are each other’s mirror image. However, living organisms only contain one of these mirror images. How chemical asymmetry such as this could have emerged was long a mystery to chemists. Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 for discovering a solution to this puzzle.”_ [![](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/9/6/96a7da0902a38d7bace178bb5f22c48581d7942e.jpeg "“The most fundamental question in life." | Interview about the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iCRDOLOUrk) > **[Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2026/summary/)** > > The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 was awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai “for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.” > **Click to expand a popular information explanation of the research conducted** > > ## They solved chemistry’s asymmetric mystery > > Some chemical reactions create two different molecules, each the mirror image of the other. For decades, researchers knew that it was theoretically possible to design reactions in which only one of these mirror images would be formed, but how to do this in practice remained a mystery. **Henri B. Kagan** and **Kenso Soai** are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 because they provided a solution. Their discoveries are hugely important for chemists who design reactions that are utilised in applications such as pharmaceutical manufacturing. > > ![](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/7/c/7c8f6e1f875986634bec021b28335248ae5ddc13.jpeg) > > © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > The molecules of life make things difficult for chemists. Imagine that you are a locksmith who makes keys to order. The problem is that when you produce them, you always end up with two mirrored variants, but only one of them fits the lock – and the lock can be damaged if your customers try to unlock it with the other key. Unfortunately, telling the keys apart is very difficult, so the customer gets them both. > > There are similar challenges when chemists develop new pharmaceuticals. Many of the drug molecules occur in two variants that are each other’s non-identical mirror image: one has the therapeutic effect, while the other can cause unnecessary and sometimes harmful side effects. The underlying reason for this is linked to the fundamental chemistry of life: life is what chemists call _homochiral_, from the Greek words for “same” and “hand”. Like hands, all amino acids exist as two mirrored variants, but only one of them is found in the proteins in your cells. The other is rarely found in nature. This is also true of the sugar molecules that are part of our DNA; there are two different mirror images of these molecules, but life only uses one. > > Chemists have long wondered how homochirality can emerge. Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 because they found a solution to this puzzle. Henri Kagan discovered a new way of manipulating chemical reactions, allowing a greater excess of one of the mirror images to be created than was previously assumed possible. His discovery has been revolutionary for chemists who develop reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, flavours, scents and new materials. > > Kenso Soai designed the first chemical reaction in which only one of the potential mirror images was formed. Other than life itself, no one had ever achieved this feat. The _Soai reaction_ is one of the most spectacular chemical experiments ever conducted. > > The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 results from a long chain of ideas, of which the first link was forged in the mid-19th century. It all began with Louis Pasteur investigating a substance that is important for wine production: tartaric acid. > > ### Tartaric acid reveals that molecules can be mirrored > > Pasteur looked at most of what he wanted to study through his microscope. When his colleagues claimed that tartaric acid sometimes bent polarised light to the right, but at other times did not affect the light at all, his interest was piqued. He grew crystals of tartaric acid and examined them under his microscope – and he discovered that they existed in two variants, each the other’s mirror image. Using tweezers, he divided them up and dissolved them separately. When he sent polarised light through the liquids, one bent the light to the right and the other to the left. If he combined the liquids, the light was unaffected. > > This experiment provided chemists with the insight that some substances occur in two mirrored variants. Eventually, these substances came to be called _chiral_, and the two molecules that are each other’s mirror images _enantiomers_ (figure 2). > > ![Illustration: About chirality](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/2/3/23871aed91fb3dbe714cc0fae441cb9d1bba17f9.jpeg) > > Figure 2. © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > ### Life’s one-handedness puzzles researchers > > Pasteur made the next important observation in 1857, when he investigated what happened when bacteria fermented tartaric acid’s different enantiomers. It turned out that the bacteria willingly fermented the enantiomer that is found in grapes and which bends light to the right. However, the bacteria were uninterested in the mirror-image molecule. It remained untouched. Thus the idea that life’s chemistry is somehow chiral first saw the light of day. Later, when researchers began studying life’s building blocks, they discovered that naturally occurring amino acids always bend polarised light to the left, while the sugars found in the DNA helix do the opposite, bending light to the right. > > The insight that life’s molecules only contain one of two possible enantiomers led to the next question: what happened at the dawn of life that made life’s chemistry one-handed? When chemists experimented with reactions that formed chiral molecules, they always obtained an even mix of both enantiomers in their test tubes. So why do living organisms only use one mirror image of amino acids? How can homochirality even arise? > > Some chemists claimed that chiral chemistry was unique to life. However, in the early 1900s, a German chemist, Willy Marckwald, carried out the first successful reaction that was _asymmetric_ (figure 3). This means that more of one enantiomer was created than the other. The key was that Marckwald used a _catalyst_ – a substance that drives chemical reactions without being consumed. In this reaction, the catalyst was chiral, so it boosted the formation of one mirror image rather than the other. The difference was very small, but its mere existence was a breakthrough. > > ![Illustration: An asymmetric reaction](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/0/7/07ff2f6e6e2e9f53d0c8704d6c91fb08d11c3503.jpeg) > > Figure 3. © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > The next important link in the idea chain for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 was forged in 1953. It consisted of purely theoretical reasoning that was presented in a scientific article. > > ### Life’s lopsided chirality gets a mathematical explanation > > Some surprise shines through in the article’s introduction. Its author – Charles Frank, from the University of Bristol – was a theoretical physicist, who describes how a colleague informed him that chemists still do not understand how life’s asymmetry arose. According to this colleague, a mathematical solution to the problem would be helpful to chemists. In response, Frank presents a model for a chemical reaction in which three conditions must be fulfilled: > > - That there are a chiral catalyst and an asymmetric reaction. > - That the formation of one mirror image is somehow enhanced and the other dampened. > - That the chemical reaction forms the catalyst itself. This is called _autocatalysis_ and causes a self-reinforcing effect, resulting in the number of one of the enantiomers in a reaction growing exponentially. > > A chemical reaction that fulfils all these conditions can result in homochirality. Frank’s model spread widely among chemists, becoming a kind of chemical puzzle that university lecturers could present to their students – how could these conditions be translated into chemical reality? > > As described above, Marckwald succeeded in fulfilling the first condition at the start of the twentieth century, but only later did researchers manage to design chemical reactions that were meaningfully asymmetric. Pioneers in this field were awarded the [Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2001/summary/) and [2021](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2021/summary/). > > The Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2026 recognises the fulfilment of the two remaining conditions. We begin with the simple and ingenious idea that led to Henri Kagan, in 1986, putting a tick beside the second condition in Frank’s model. > > ### Kagan thinks outside the box > > Kagan, who worked at Université Paris-Sud, was one of all the chemists working to refine asymmetric reactions in the early 1980s. The aim was to produce enantiomers that were as pure as possible, for example in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The importance of achieving this had been shown by the thalidomide scandal in the early 1960s, when thousands of children were affected by birth defects caused by a sedative, thalidomide. When researchers analysed what had happened, they realised that it was the active substance’s mirror image that caused the harm. > > To drive asymmetric reactions, researchers often used catalysts with two components: a metal atom that functioned as the motor in the reaction and a chiral substance that ensured the reaction was asymmetric. > > Because researchers aimed to obtain pure enantiomers in the product, they normally used an enantiomer that was as pure as possible in the catalyst. However, they assumed that if they combined two mirrored enantiomers in the catalyst, the product would have the equivalent proportions. In other words, they believed that the catalyst’s chirality was transferred to the product’s chirality and that there was a linear relationship between the two. > > Kagan began to question this assumption. As a skilled chemist, he took the time to think about the catalyst itself in more detail. No one actually knew how it worked – during the chemical reaction the metal atom and the chiral molecule obviously interacted, but the question was how this happened. > > Metal atoms normally interact with several molecules simultaneously. Kagan therefore assumed that the catalyst’s metal attracted at least two of the chiral molecules during the chemical reaction. If the right and left enantiomers were then combined, there would be three forms of the catalyst, which you can see in figure 4: right-right, left-right and left-left. > > The catalysts that were right-right and left-left would create products that were mirror images of each other – but how would the left-right catalyst react? > > ![Illustration: Kagan discovers a new phenomenon](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/a/8/a86e074bb1e9a992c0112e23e959c3672814c39e.jpeg) > > Figure 4. © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > ### Kagan succeeds in enhancing asymmetry > > ![Diagram](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/4/6/4623a594f1c8f8f06776066401344c5e283217ea.jpeg) > > Figure 5. Diagram taken from J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1986, 108, 2353–2357. When Kagan combined different proportions of enantiomers in the catalyst, the effects shown in figure 4 emerged. The excess of one of the enantiomers in the reaction’s product was greater than the excess in the catalyst. When he plotted his results, he got a non-linear effect. > > This reasoning led Kagan to a joker in the pack, as the left-right catalyst behaved differently to the other two. When he tested driving a reaction with different combinations of enantiomers in the catalyst, the relationship to the proportions in the product was not linear, as other chemists had assumed. Instead, the graph that Kagan obtained when he plotted his results was curved (figure 5). The reason was that the left-right catalyst drove the chemical reaction far more slowly than the catalysts that were right-right or left-left (figure 4). > > In practice, this meant that he had found a method for enhancing the formation of one of the enantiomers in the product (figure 4). He had thus fulfilled the second condition in Frank’s model. In 1986, he described no fewer than three different asymmetric reactions that displayed what chemists call _non-linear effects_. This was a historic breakthrough, and many chemists began to explore this new phenomenon. One of them was Kenso Soai at the Tokyo University of Science, who came to forge the final link in the idea chain for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026. > > ### Trial-and-error brings results for Soai > > Kenso Soai explored an asymmetric chemical reaction that had a major non-linear effect. When he scrutinised the structures of the reaction’s catalyst and the product that was formed, he realised they had significant similarities. This sparked an idea – perhaps he could design a reaction in which the catalyst formed itself in an autocatalytic process? > > At this time – in the early 1990s – there were several known examples of autocatalytic reactions, but none were asymmetric. By experimenting with many different molecules, Soai succeeded in finding a chiral substance – _5-pyrimidyl alkanol_ – which could create itself. In a publication from 1995, he describes this revolutionary experiment. He started with a two per cent excess of one enantiomer of 5-pyrimidyl alkanol and ended with an excess of 87 per cent. The reaction was self-reinforcing and fulfilled all Frank’s criteria, but it did not achieve the 100 per cent enantiomeric purity of life. > > ### Soai’s elegant reaction solves the puzzle > > For another eight years, Soai continued his search for the ultimate autocatalytic process. In 2003, he was finally able to present a chemical reaction that formed an excess of an enantiomer, which then formed copies of itself (figure 6). This was the first time anyone had successfully created chirality from a non-chiral combination of molecules since the dawn of life. > > ![Illustration: The Soai reaction](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/4/d/4dadeb1ac8a6610eed0cf034d6518cba16a4cf3e.jpeg) > > Figure 6. © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences > > The _Soai reaction_ is considered one of the most elegant chemical experiments ever conducted. When Soai started the catalytic process, both enantiomers were created but, because chance governed the process, slightly more of one of them was formed. This tiny excess was enough for the enantiomer to take over the entire chemical reaction. Ultimately, it can comprise 99.99 per cent of the product. When Soai repeated the reaction, the other enantiomer could take over instead; the enantiomer he obtained at the end depended on what happened by chance at the start of the reaction (figure 6). > > ### Chemists have gained sharp new tools > > The Soai reaction is artificial, different to the chemistry of life, but it awakened new enthusiasm in chemists who want to understand the life’s origins. Around the world, researchers are now trying to repeat Soai’s achievement, but with the aim of producing homochiral amino acids and sugars. > > The non-linear effects that Kagan discovered have become an important tool for chemists when they design new reactions. The fact that a reaction is non-linear provides chemists with information about how it occurs. This information can be used to optimise the reaction, so they can obtain the purest possible enantiomers of the product. This is vital for every company that manufactures substances that are intended to interact with living beings, such as pharmaceuticals, flavours, scents and agricultural chemicals. In some cases, it is also important in the production of new materials. > > Thanks to the discoveries that are now being awarded with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026, chemists have gained fundamental new tools for use in their daily work but, above all, these discoveries have contributed to solving one of chemistry’s greatest mysteries: how homochirality – like that found in all living beings – can be created. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/accidental_kills98/32/155797_2.png) [@Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Accidental_Kills98)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8356 "2026-10-07T16:37:16Z")
This is in case @LandirtHome needs more room to do the rest of the laureates. ---
**Author:** ![LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/landirthome/32/40646_2.png) [@LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/LandirtHome)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8357 "2026-10-08T12:00:09Z")
Thanks @Accidental_Kills98, I had forgotten about the three posts limit. ![Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 08OCT26](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/3/2/32b9ced813cd01713ac2d90d47498369efca0693.jpeg) > _" The Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 has been awarded to the Canadian author Anne Carson “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.”_ > > _Anne Carson has, throughout her entire career, combined poetry writing with translation work and teaching at various universities. Almost all her literary production has centred upon the intersection between the philologist’s obsession with words and the poet’s desire for new meaning. She has herself identified the etymology of words as the starting point for all her work."_ [![](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/8/4/84764a4ef27d561f37b09dbb2aa3cd2acb998e46.jpeg "“She connects our contemporary moors, ways of living. Always through antiquity.”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omUWYD-XzR4) > **[Nobel Prize in Literature 2026](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2026/summary/)** > > The Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 was awarded to Anne Carson “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.” > **Click to expand a biobibliography of the laureate and her work** > > **Anne Carson** was born in 1950 in Toronto, Canada. In 1981, she published her doctoral thesis in Classics entitled _Odi et Amo Ergo Sum_, and has, throughout her entire career, combined poetry writing with translation work and teaching at various universities. Almost all her literary production has centred upon the intersection between the philologist’s obsession with words and the poet’s desire for new meaning. She has herself identified the etymology of words as the starting point for all her work. Her translations from Classical Greek may be regarded as independent works in their own right. Among these is her interpretation of Sappho’s poem fragments, _If Not, Winter_ (2002), along with tragedies such as Sophocles’s _Electra_ (2001) and _Antigone_ (2015) and Euripides’s _Bakkhai_ (2015). > > In her long essay _Eros the Bittersweet_ (1986), Carson lays the foundation for her subsequent authorship. With its brilliantly rendered meditation on Eros being the essence and driving force of the poem, the book draws heavily on a compound adjective from Sappho that defines Eros as pain and sweetness combined. It is this distinction, the distance between the lover and the beloved, that gives Eros strength and sets the poem in motion. Carson achieves this in her writing by constantly bringing in different voices that play off against each other. In _Eros the Bittersweet_, she speaks of a ‘stereoscopic vision’ that allows her to ‘hold in equipoise two perspectives at once’. A case in point is the essay _Economy of the Unlost_ (1999), in which Carson sets the sixth century BC Greek poet Simonides of Keos against Paul Celan, and in _Men in the Off Hours_ (2000), in which she aligns the historian Thucydides with Virginia Woolf. It is through such, often unexpected, literary constellations that Carson has broken away from lyrical poetry bound to the narrative self and inspired new forms of contemporary literature. This method of writing leads to playful and ironic works that move not only between classical and modern poetry but also between different genres and artforms. > > In the 1990s, Carson published a series of notable works. Among these is ‘The Glass Essay’ in _Glass, Irony, and God_ (1995), which demonstrates the potential of the long poem where genre boundaries are seen to blur. While the work is written in verse form, it is also a long story about grief and unrequited love, in which the first-person narrator, a woman who has been left by her husband, visits her lonely mother in the desolate moorlands. On the journey there, she takes with her the works of her favourite author Emily Brontë, whose own moorlands and inner world are intricately woven into the text. Constructed around three lonely women sitting at a kitchen table, the long poem, which is also a reading of Brontë, is thus transformed into an essay about abandonment. The poetry needs the story, and the story is in turn dependent upon the leaps and scene shifts of the poetry, which Carson employs with such virtuosity. > > The same decade saw the publication of another work, often heralded as Carson’s greatest, entitled _Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse_ (1998). This demonstrates her eminent ability to actualize the classical literary tradition. With a precise feel for contemporary idioms and experiences, she takes as her starting point poem fragments by the sixth century BC Greek poet Stesichoros concerning the winged red monster Geryon. While the myth describes how Heracles, in fulfilling one of his labours, kills Geryon and steals his cattle, Carson recasts the terrifying giant as a tender ‘hero’ devoted to his mother, in what becomes a modern Bildungsroman. The young Geryon, having earlier been subjected to sexual assaults at the hands of his brother, falls in love with the smug and boorish Heracles. What happens when you love someone who will ultimately destroy you? It is an age-old question in this spectacular form of epic poetry with its great lyrical qualities. > > Carson once described boredom as her arch-enemy, and it is a state she confronts with drastic humour and wit. _The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos_, published in 2001, tells of a cutting and sardonic row with a deceitful husband, its twenty-nine episodes each opening with lines of verse by the romantic poet John Keats. Keats’s sublime words about beauty being truth are, in brutal yet playful fashion, juxtaposed with this exhausting relationship drama. > > An unforgettable work of Carson’s is _Nox_ (2010), written in memory of her brother Michael, who was mysteriously absent prior to his death in Denmark in 2000. Palpable here is a deep sense of loss that works its way up from below. The result is a creation as sculptural as it is literary, an epitaph in the form of a box containing an accordion-fold-out of pictures, letters and other written texts dedicated to her dead brother. There is moreover a third voice that provides temporal depth in the shape of the Roman poet Catullus, with his famous elegy 101 in honour of his own departed brother, who like Michael died on foreign soil. Present also is Carson’s moving translation of the poem. > > Throughout her entire authorship, Carson with a light touch explores the possibilities of writing, a process by which the literary sketch has become of particular value to her. Bearing witness to this is _Float_ (2016), a work consisting of twenty-two chapbooks on different subjects, capable of being read in any order. Another is _Wrong Norma_ from 2024, a diverse combination of texts with a strongly performative aspect in which Carson crosses over into various artistic and academic fields. Her collaborations with visual artists and choreographers and with opera and theatre directors demonstrate the freedom with which she relates to literary expectations and rule systems. It is this that lies behind the outstanding importance her work since the 1990s has had for the international art and literature scene. > > Anders Olsson > Chair of the Nobel Committee ---
**Author:** ![LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/landirthome/32/40646_2.png) [@LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/LandirtHome)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 11:00am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8358 "2026-10-09T11:00:06Z")
![Nobel Peace Prize 2026 09OCT26](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/9/0/90aee8c399fb99797fcb952ee06e2da68713ca9f.jpeg) > _"At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity._ > > _In historic international court cases, Navi Pillay has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. She has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time. "_ [![](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/6/6/66df37f9445d226087da7d1d3c364ae47b930ea2.jpeg "“This a reminder to the world that we need to strengthen international law.”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W84o5CviiM) > **[Nobel Peace Prize 2026](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2026/summary/)** > > The Nobel Peace Prize 2026 was awarded to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay "for her efforts to promote peace and international law." > **Click to expand an exploration of her work into the world** > > The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 goes to a person who with exceptional courage and integrity has led the way towards a more comprehensive global legal order. This year’s laureate has been instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are prosecuted. > > The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law. > > Navi Pillay’s commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion. A common thread runs from her early work defending [Nelson Mandela](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1993/mandela/facts/) and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time. > > This year’s laureate has significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law. She has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. She was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and, until recently, she chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Today Navi Pillay is a judge on the International Court of Justice in the case where Myanmar stands accused of genocide. > > In historic international court cases, she has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence. Navi Pillay has also contributed to strengthen the institutions of international law. Her independence, expertise and steadfastness have made her one of the most respected international jurists of our time. > > The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded 125 years ago. Already then, the Norwegian Nobel Committee underscored the importance of resolving conflicts through international law – a theme that has remained prominent throughout the history of the peace prize. The reach of international law expanded after the Second World War, in particular with the creation of the [UN](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/un/facts/) institutions. The key insight was that lasting peace must be built on legal principles, not on the will of the strong or a fragile balance of power. Additional legal mechanisms were introduced in the post-war decades, and momentum picked up further after the end of the Cold War. > > However, the rules-based international order has never been perfect. The greatest powers have often evaded responsibility. In practice, cases brought under international law have produced different results depending on who is the perpetrator and who is the victim. > > Nonetheless, we have seen that more and more conflicts are being addressed through diplomacy, treaties and legal mechanisms, rather than threats, violence and warfare. Leaders and populations alike have come to the same conclusion: international law is a foundation for a more peaceful world. > > At a time of existential challenges – including more wars and conflicts than the world has seen in a long time – international law is no longer just a supplement to peace and security. It is an absolute necessity. > > And yet, the system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack. We see a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks and global respect for law and justice. Whenever _might_ overtakes _right_, it undermines stability, trust and peaceful co-existence. > > In awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wants to remind the world that the rule of law – national and international – underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts non-violently. Peace requires justice. > > History has shown that a world operating without the rule of law is unjust, unwise and inhumane. The judges – those who guard the thin red line between order and chaos – are therefore highly deserving of our praise. But today, as these same judges are sanctioned, and their institutions are attacked, we need people of courage, vision and determination – qualities that Navi Pillay demonstrates in her work on the bench. > > Navi Pillay has held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict. In all the positions she has held, she has stressed the responsibility of individuals and states to comply with the rule of law. She has also helped define the relevant norms and legal principles. When the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established that rape and sexual violence could constitute a crime against humanity – as well as genocide – her influence was a significant factor. In the same case, Ms Pillay was instrumental in a separate legal breakthrough: for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda. > > The Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 springs directly from Alfred Nobel’s will. Navi Pillay strengthens fraternity between nations and – by systematically advancing the use of tribunals for peace and justice – she provides substance, direction and motivation for peace conferences in their modern form. > > Navi Pillay is one of the great defenders of international legal principles in our time. Her distinguished career reminds us of the need to support, fortify and expand the global rule of law. Navi Pillay’s commitment to justice and human dignity is a source of hope and inspiration to all who seek to bring about a more peaceful world. ---
**Author:** ![Gontranno47](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/gontranno47/32/2091_2.png) [@Gontranno47](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Gontranno47)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 11:01am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8359 "2026-10-09T11:01:13Z")
Dude in the thumbnail looking like a Providence herald. “Peace is what we say it is, Miss Burnwood” ---
**Author:** ![Count.Rushmore](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/count.rushmore/32/173_2.png) [@Count.Rushmore](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Count.Rushmore)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8360 "2026-10-09T13:59:13Z")
No Trump this year? Well, I don’t recall any war he ended this past year ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/accidental_kills98/32/155797_2.png) [@Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Accidental_Kills98)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8361 "2026-10-09T17:10:23Z")
> [@Count.Rushmore](#): > > Well, I don’t recall any war he ended this past year I mean he’s ended his war with Iran 52 times this year. With so much practice clearly he will be a shoo-in next year. ---
**Author:** ![LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/landirthome/32/40646_2.png) [@LandirtHome](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/LandirtHome)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8362 "2026-10-09T17:21:01Z")
A few hours later, the United States announced sweeping sanctions towatf the ICC, the very institution Navi Pillay was a judge for. > **[US sanctions: a 'test of resilience' for ICC](https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20261009-us-sanctions-on-icc-a-test-of-resilience)** > > Donald Trump's US administration has announced sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court that threaten to cripple its operations and spark fresh transatlantic tension. > The Trump administration has already issued several rounds of sanctions against top ICC officials but these latest announced actions go further, targeting the entire court. > ICC officials are concerned about access to banking, credit card facilities, insurance, and especially technology, given a heavy reliance on US systems. > > _“We have been extremely dependent on US technology solutions, Microsoft or systems related to Microsoft,”_ acting chief prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told AFP in a recent interview. > _“We are trying to find alternative means, maybe not as effective as the US technology, but at least to be able to maintain our independence, to be able to continue to work,”_ said Niang. > > The prosecutor, himself the target of sanctions, said they crippled daily life – he was unable to book transport, hotels, or conduct banking operations. > But expanding them to the entire institution raises questions about the ICC’s ability to pay staff, conduct investigations abroad, protect witnesses, and even operate its detention facilities. > > * * * > > As the host city, the Dutch have a special responsibility to the ICC under the terms of a “Headquarters Agreement” signed in 2008. > Reacting to the announcement from Washington, Jetten said the Dutch would do “whatever we need” to ensure the ICC could continue to function. > > One possibility would be for the European Commission to deploy a legal instrument known as the “blocking mechanism”. > > This prohibits European firms from obeying the US sanctions “actively or by deliberate omission”, giving the EU a potential means of cushioning some of the impact. > The EU blocking mechanism is seen as the “nuclear option”, said Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, adding that the Netherlands had nevertheless asked Brussels to prepare it. > > Jetten said a six-month pause before sanctions took effect should be used to pursue dialogue with Washington – _“this will give us plenty of time.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/accidental_kills98/32/155797_2.png) [@Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Accidental_Kills98)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8363 "2026-10-09T17:36:54Z")
I think everybody deserves to find somebody who cares about you as much as the US State Department cares about Israeli interests. ---
**Author:** ![rattleshnake](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/rattleshnake/32/87060_2.png) [@rattleshnake](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/rattleshnake)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8364 "2026-10-10T18:25:10Z")
> **[Man dies after tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildlife Park](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6n9r3n7858zo)** > > It was reported the man entered the tiger enclosure at the attraction near Doncaster, police say. ---
**Author:** ![scat1620](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/scat1620/32/177_2.png) [@scat1620](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/scat1620)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2026, 8:42am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8365 "2026-10-14T08:42:31Z")
![Screenshot_20261014_085234_Bluesky](https://hitmanforum-v6-s3-uploads.s3.dualstack.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/f/8/f8d66715dd80ca7e8d7469b09560f71d9cb60244.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/accidental_kills98/32/155797_2.png) [@Accidental\_Kills98](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Accidental_Kills98)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2026, 8:47am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8366 "2026-10-14T08:47:11Z")
They are going to sack her so thoroughly she will be the next Scaramucci. She can be the Metric Scaramucci with how clean her removal from the cabinet will be. ---
**Author:** ![Gontranno47](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/gontranno47/32/2091_2.png) [@Gontranno47](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/Gontranno47)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2026, 9:41am UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8367 "2026-10-14T09:41:05Z")
These press secretaries seems to come from a factory. They look similar, have a common US first name with an uncommon surname, have the same cadence, and last 96 hours. Is this a Joo Dee situation? _There is no war in Ba Sing Se 🙂_ ---
**Author:** ![zubin47](https://www.hitmanforum.com/user_avatar/www.hitmanforum.com/zubin47/32/103566_2.png) [@zubin47](https://www.hitmanforum.com/u/zubin47)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215/8368 "2026-10-15T15:12:55Z")
A terrorist is defined by their actions, not their race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality. This word should never be biased towards a particular group. Children and political leaders must be taught that racism is wrong. Perhaps the education system and mass mindset needs improvement. How do they get guns !! [https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-teen-arrested-for-planning-mass-shooting-at-chicago-hindu-temple-12187359/amp/1](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-teen-arrested-for-planning-mass-shooting-at-chicago-hindu-temple-12187359/amp/1) [Previous page](https://www.hitmanforum.com/t/general-news-1-0/215.md?page=375)