Honoring the 2025 Nobel Laureates

Editor's note: This article will be continually updated with information about the newly announced Nobel Prize winners and access to their research.

In the coming days, the 2025 Nobel Laureates will be recognized for their significant contributions to science. That recognition reflects years of dedicated research that helps advance human progress for all.

The achievements of this year’s Laureates highlight the importance of rigorous, reproducible, and transparent research. Their work expands the boundaries of knowledge and sets a standard for scientific integrity, ensuring that the generations of researchers who follow them can build their own discoveries on the most reliable foundations.

Most importantly, all these researchers are part of a global community that collaborates across disciplines and borders to address complex challenges. By upholding high standards of transparency and accountability, they help maintain trust in the scientific process and inspire the next generation of scientists.

We congratulate the 2025 Nobel Laureates and celebrate their commitment to advancing science for the benefit of all.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow (Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle), Fred Ramsdell (Sonoma Biotherapeutics, San Francisco), and Shimon Sakaguchi (Osaka University, Japan) for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

This year’s Nobel Laureates have fundamentally advanced our understanding of how the immune system distinguishes between harmful invaders and the body’s own tissues. Their research revealed the critical role of regulatory T cells—immune cells that act as “security guards,” preventing the immune system from attacking healthy organs. It's a discovery that has reshaped the field of immunology and opened new avenues for treating autoimmune diseases, cancer, and improving transplantation outcomes.

Shimon Sakaguchi’s pioneering work in 1995 challenged prevailing theories by identifying a previously unknown class of immune cells responsible for protecting the body from autoimmune diseases. Until then, it was widely believed that immune tolerance was solely established in the thymus through the elimination of harmful cells. Sakaguchi’s findings demonstrated that the immune system’s regulation is more complex, involving peripheral mechanisms. Shimon Sakaguchi is currently an advisory board member of the Cell Press journal Immunity.

Building on this, Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell discovered in 2001 that mutations in the Foxp3 gene lead to severe autoimmune disorders in both mice and humans. Their work provided a genetic explanation for immune tolerance and linked Foxp3 to the development of regulatory T cells.

Sakaguchi later connected these discoveries, showing that Foxp3 is essential for the formation of regulatory T cells. Together, these breakthroughs have launched the field of peripheral tolerance and inspired new therapies, some of which are now in clinical trials.

Nobel Prize in Physics

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke (University of California, Berkeley), Michel H. Devoret (Yale University and University of California, Santa Barbara), and John M. Martinis (University of California, Santa Barbara) for their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.

This year’s Nobel Laureates have addressed a fundamental question in physics: How large can a system be and still exhibit quantum mechanical effects? Through a series of ground-breaking experiments in the mid-1980s, Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis demonstrated that quantum phenomena, once thought to be limited to the atomic scale, can manifest in systems large enough to be held in the hand.

Their work centered on superconducting circuits, specifically Josephson junctions, where superconducting materials are separated by a thin insulating layer. By carefully designing and measuring these circuits, the researchers showed that the collective behavior of charged particles could be controlled and observed as a single macroscopic quantum system.

In their experiments, the system initially remained in a zero-voltage state, trapped behind an energy barrier. Remarkably, the system escaped this state through quantum tunnelling - a process where particles pass through barriers that would be insurmountable in classical physics. The transition was detected by the appearance of voltage, providing clear evidence of quantum mechanics at work on a macroscopic scale.

The team also demonstrated energy quantisation in the circuit, confirming that the system could only absorb or emit specific amounts of energy, as predicted by quantum theory.

These discoveries have expanded our understanding of quantum mechanics and paved the way for new technologies, including quantum computers, quantum cryptography, and advanced quantum sensors.

Elisa De Ranieri, Editor-in-Chief of the Cell Press journal Newton commented,

"The editorial team at Newton congratulates Drs. John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis on receiving the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. Their discoveries in the early 1980’s helped bring the elusive principles of quantum mechanics within the grasp of our everyday experience.

"By using electronic circuits with superconducting elements, they demonstrated both quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation on a macroscopic scale. Awarded in the centenary year of quantum mechanics, this Nobel Prize highlights the enduring impact of the theory on both our understanding of nature and the technologies that shape our future."

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa (Kyoto University, Japan), Richard Robson (University of Melbourne, Australia), and Omar M. Yaghi (University of California, Berkeley, USA) for the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

This year’s Nobel Laureates have revolutionized materials chemistry by creating molecular architectures with vast internal spaces—structures that can capture, store, and transform a wide range of substances. Known as metal-organic frameworks, these porous materials are built from metal ions connected by organic molecules, forming crystalline networks with large, customizable cavities.

The story of MOFs began in 1989, when Richard Robson combined copper ions with specially designed organic molecules to create a spacious, ordered crystal. While this early structure was unstable, it laid the groundwork for further innovation. In the following years, Susumu Kitagawa demonstrated that gases could flow in and out of these frameworks, and predicted that MOFs could be made flexible. Omar Yaghi then developed highly stable MOFs and showed that their properties could be tailored through rational design.

Today, chemists have synthesized tens of thousands of different MOFs, each with unique capabilities. These materials are already being explored for a range of applications, from capturing carbon dioxide and storing toxic gases to harvesting water from desert air and catalyzing chemical reactions. MOFs also hold promise for environmental cleanup, such as removing PFAS from water and breaking down pharmaceutical residues.

Selected research by Chemistry Laureates

Susumu Kitagawa Interface chemistry of conductive crystalline porous thin films

Metal-Organic Cuboctahedra for Synthetic Ion Channels with Multiple Conductance States

Omar M. Yaghi

Evolution of MOF single crystals

Digital Reticular Chemistry

Covalent Organic Frameworks: Organic Chemistry Extended into Two and Three Dimensions

Architectural Stabilization of a Gold(III) Catalyst in Metal-Organic Frameworks

Molecular weaving of chicken-wire covalent organic frameworks

Mass transfer in atmospheric water harvesting systems

Richard Robson

Crystallographic studies on a series of salts of 2,3,7-trihydroxy-9-phenyl-fluorone

Coordination networks incorporating the in situ generated ligands [OC(CO2)3]4- and [OCH(CO2)2]3-