The Nobel Foundation started in 1900 based on the will and testament of Alfred Nobel written on 27th November 1895. As per his wish, the award should be given to those who make outstanding contributions to the mankind in the five areas, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine or Physiology, Literature, and Peace, while Economics category added later in 1968.

Nobel Prizes in 2007

The Nobel prizes were awarded to the following people in the respective areas as mentioned below.

Overall, 10 people became Nobel laureates in 2007 as recognized by the Nobel Prize Foundation in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economics.

Nobel Prize in Physics

Nobel Prize in Physics for 2007 was awarded jointly to Albert Fert of France and Peter Grunberg of Germany. It is been awarded for their discovery of an entirely new physical effect known as Giant Magnetoresistance or GMR in 1988. The two scientists had independently discovered the effect in the same year that led to far reaching applications in the field of electronics and nanotechnology.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2007 was awarded to Gerhard Ertl from France. Gerhard Ertl awarded for his entire work that laid the foundations for modern surface chemistry. Also his detailed study of carbon monoxide being converted to carbon dioxide over platinum is the one that is used by catalytic converters in cars today to reduce the harmful emissions.

Nobel Prize in Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2007 was awarded to and shared by Mario R. Capecchi, Sir Martin J. Evans, and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of specific gene modifications in mice by using embryonic stem cells. They have made a series of groundbreaking discoveries that led to the creation of gene targeting in mice. With gene targeting, it is possible to produce any type of DNA modification in the mouse genome, which produced more than five hundred different mouse models of human disorder

Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Dorris Lessing for her deep autobiographical writing that has swept across continents reflecting her engagements with the social and political issues of her time. The Swedish Academy has described as "that epicist of the female experience, who with skepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny". The growing feminist movement saw her book "The Golden Notebook" as a pioneering work and which belonged to the category of books that informed the 20th century view of the male-female relationship. Ms.Lessing wrote about the inner lives of women and rejected the notion that they should give up their choice and lifestyle for marriage or children.

Nobel Peace Prize

The former United States Vice President Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace. The Nobel committee called Gore as the single individual who has done a lot of work to create a greater worldwide understanding of the needs to be adopted to save the planet. The IPCC is a United Nations network of scientists spreading the harmful effects of global warming and climate change

Nobel Prize in Economics

The Nobel Prize in Economics for 2007 was awarded to Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin, and Roger Myerson of the United States of America for their leading work on making markets work with more efficiency. They were awarded the prize for their work on Mechanism Design Theory, a branch of economics that looks at ways to make imperfect markets work efficiently. The theory that was initiated by Hurwicz in 1960, which later pursued by Maskin and Myerson in the late 1970s has helped economists identify efficient trading mechanisms, regulation schemes, and voting procedures.