Scienceline

An illustration of Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, winners of the 2026 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. [Credit: Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach] Two U.S. economists won the 2026 Nobel Prize today in economics for creating new models that help stabilize countries in tough financial times. Robert Hall and Michael Woodford updated a classic economic theory after the 1970s oil crisis, restructuring the question of supply and demand to also include consumer expectations.

An artist’s illustration of international jurist and human rights lawyer Navi Pillay, who has won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize [Credit: Niklas Elmehed | © Nobel Prize Outreach] The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to human rights lawyer Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay for her lifelong efforts to combat war crimes and promote peace.

An artist’s rendering of the Canadian writer Anne Carson, who has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature [Credit: Niklas Elmehend | © Nobel Prize Outreach] At the same hour that she was being awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, the Canadian poet, essayist and scholar Anne Carson was sweeping the floorboards of her home in Reykjavik, Iceland, and ignoring the calls blowing up her phone.

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize for chemistry thanks to their work on chirality. [Image credit: Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach] Henri B. Kagan, a 95-year-old French scientist, and Kenso Soai, a 76-year-old Japanese scientist, were awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry today for their work on manipulating a mirrored molecule’s chemical reaction. “Many molecules occur in two different versions. Like my hands, they are one another’s mirror image.

An illustration of Francis Halzen, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate. [Credit: Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach] Francis Halzen was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for pioneering the study of high-energy neutrinos. Neutrinos are the most abundant particle in the universe. They’re produced during nuclear reactions and come from nearly everything — stars, black holes, the radioactive Earth, supernovae, the Big Bang — but interact with almost nothing.

An illustration of Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureates. [Credit: Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach] Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a way to activate and deactivate specific neurons in the brain using light.

Park rangers are tasked with a ride range of duties, including assisting and educating the public. [Credit: Jesmira Bonoan/NPS | Public Domain] Last May, Jace Ritchey, a ranger with the Muir Woods National Monument, handed in their resignation because the job that was a dream for almost six years now felt unsafe. Being a ranger with the National Park Service (NPS) had always been physically and emotionally demanding, the 30-year-old said.

This air visibility monitor in Shining Rock, North Carolina, is part of IMPROVE’s network of 110 air samplers located in national parks and forests across the country. The program is now cutting the frequency of data collection at some monitors, and several sites have been indefinitely closed. [Credit: Scott Copeland] Twice a week, IMPROVE site operators drive, hike or cross-country ski out to 110 remote locations across the U.S. in pursuit of dirty air.

An entrance sign featuring local wildlife welcomes visitors to the park. [Credit: Julie Zenderoudi] Before trailgoers walk through the Indiana Dunes National Park, a plaque by the visitor’s center introduces them to a layer of history they might have otherwise missed. “As you walk along these trails, remember the ancestors—those who made this place their home and still have ties here,” it reads.

On a sizzling 90-degree June day in Texas, families arrived in droves for a raptor event at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Couples with young children, seasoned bird watchers, tourists, retirees, volunteers and more huddled under the shade of the pavilion off the Doeskin Ranch Trailhead to watch a trio of bird handlers bring out everything from the smallest screech owl and kestrel to a red-tailed hawk and great-horned owl. This isn’t an unusual place to find this kind of crowd.