HEAD Prizes: Nominations Deadline Extended to 15 October - NASA Science (.gov)

Four NSF-supported researchers are among the 2026 Nobel Prize laureates, recognized for breakthroughs that transformed neuroscience, created a new way to explore the universe, and improved understanding of economic stability The bottom lineKarl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel, physiology or medicine — Pioneered optogenetics, a technique that uses light-sensitive proteins to control nerve-cell activity and investigate brain function. NSF supported Deisseroth's research advancing optogenetic tools. Francis Halzen, physics — For major contributions to the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory and its discoveries of elusive neutrino particles. NSF invested in the design, construction, and ongoing operations of NSF IceCube, which has enabled greater understanding of astrophysical neutrinos and their origins. Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences — Developed economic models explaining how the decisions of households and businesses influence economic fluctuations, helping improve policies to stabilize inflation, employment, and economic activity. NSF supported both laureates' research on economic fluctuations and stabilization policy.

The 2026 Nobel Prizes will be announced from October 5 to 12, marking the 125th anniversary of the awards, with the prize amount for each category raised to SEK 12 million (approximately $1.2 million). Nine ethnic Chinese scientists appear on hotly tipped shortlists across the three science categories. In physics, Xue Qikun and Jun Ye each secured major bellwether honors within the past month—the Clarivate Citation Laureates and the Wolf Prize in Physics, respectively. In physiology or medicine, Dennis Lo, Zhijian Chen, and David Huang all hold Lasker Awards or Citation Laureate recognition. In chemistry, David R. Liu's base editing and prime editing technologies, along with Ching W. Tang's invention of OLED, are considered strong contenders. Japanese researchers are also in the mix: Masashi Yanagisawa of the University of Tsukuba and Chihaya Adachi of Kyushu University hold a Lasker Award and a Citation Laureate, respectively. Artificial intelligence has become deeply embedded in these scientists' research, emerging as a new variable in Nobel-caliber discoveries.

The spacecraft delivered materials and equipment for new research studies to the station.

Mud from a fjord shows an Atlantic air pattern brought wetter, colder spells to southern Greenland, a clue to how its ice may fare. Greenland’s ice is shrinking as the planet warms. But in the island’s southwest, rainfall and snowfall have been influenced by the same North Atlantic air-pressure pattern for at least 5,000 years. When that pattern tipped one way, the region turned wetter and colder. The record comes from mud on the floor of a Greenland fjord, and it suggests snowfall, not only temperature, shaped how the area’s ice grew and shrank. It doesn’t yet show how glaciers there will respond to the warming ahead. Johan Faust, a researcher at MARUM, the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen in Germany, led the work with colleagues in Germany, Norway, Denmark and Canada. A seesaw in the airThe pattern is called the North Atlantic Oscillation. It’s the difference in air pressure between a low that sits near Iceland and a high near the Azores, and it’s strongest in winter. When that difference is large, the pattern is in its positive phase. Northwestern Europe and southwestern Greenland both get more rain and snow.