Nobel Prize in physics

• The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier for their groundbreaking experiments that have allowed scientists to generate attosecond pulses of light.
• The Nobel was awarded by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

A Problem that had to be solved

• The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. Electrons rapid movement made them challenging to study directly. 
• Also, to understand why electrons were hard to capture, think of taking a picture of a race car. Longer exposure times result in blurry images, while shorter exposure times yield sharper pictures.
• Electrons move so quickly that capturing them requires extremely short pulses of light such as attosecond.

Attosecond Pulses of Light

• Electron dynamics occur on the attosecond timescale, which is a billionth of a billionth of a second (1×10⁻¹⁸ of a second), much faster than femtoseconds (a millionth of a billionth of a second) associated with atomic movements.
• Until the 1980s, scientists could produce femtosecond pulses, but technology limitations prevented shorter pulses. 
• However, studying electrons required even shorter pulses.

Other Applications of Attosecond Pulses

• Atomic and Molecular Imaging
• Material Sciences (matter manipulation at quantum level)
• Electronics and Microprocessors.
• Catalysis of Chemical Reactions.
• Medical Diagnostics.
• Telecommunications.
• Spectroscopy.

Nobel prize in Chemistry

• The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, tiny particles with unique optical properties due to their small size.
• The award was provided by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

What are Quantum Dots ?

• Quantum dots are tiny particles, just a few nanometers in size, with unique optical properties due to their small size. 
• While their atomic structure is the same as bulk materials, quantum dots’ properties can be altered by adjusting their size.
• At the nanoscale, these particles exhibit size-dependent characteristics influenced by quantum forces, which differ from macroscopic physics governed by gravity.

Applications of Quantum Dots

• LED Display : Enhance display quality in QLED screens.
• Lighting : Adjust the colour temperature in LED lamps.
• Medical Diagnostics : Map cells and organs for research and diagnostics, like Quantum Dots are used for cancer imaging.
• Targeted Drug Delivery.
• Photovoltaics : Improve solar cell efficiency.
• Quantum Computing.
• Security Applications : Anti-counterfeit markers on currency and documents.
• Quantum Dot Sensors.

Nobel prize in Medicine

• The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their research enabling the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
• Awarded by the the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
• These discoveries, first published in 2005 and further developed in 2008 and 2010, laid the foundation for mRNA vaccine technology.
• Their work not only revolutionized vaccine technology but also has the potential for broader applications in treating diseases and delivering therapeutic proteins.

mRNA Vaccines

• mRNA stands for “messenger RNA.” It is a molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes in cells, where it is used as a template for protein synthesis.
• mRNA vaccines are a type of vaccine that uses messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct cells in the body to produce a specific viral protein, such as the spike protein of a COVID-19 virus. This protein triggers an immune response, helping the body build immunity against the virus.
• Notably, mRNA vaccines do not contain live or weakened viruses, making them safe and effective tools for preventing infectious diseases like COVID-19.

Important Features of mRNA Vaccines

• Uses RNA as a genetic material.
• mRNA is fragile and generally uses lipid protection.
• It requires ultra low temperatures for storage and transportation.
• Both mRNA and DNA vaccines can be adapted quickly to address emerging variants and new diseases by changing the genetic code.
• Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA-based.

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