Every October, the Nobel Prizes pull the world’s attention back to one deceptively simple idea: knowledge and human effort, at their best, deliver the “greatest benefit to humankind.” In 2025, the announcements run 6–13 October, with each day unveiling a new category and its laureates via live broadcasts on Nobel Prize channels. This year’s cycle opened today with Physiology or Medicine, awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for foundational discoveries about regulatory T cells and immune tolerance—work that reframed autoimmune disease and sparked new therapeutic directions. NobelPrize.org+1
When are the 2025 Nobel Prizes announced?
The official schedule spans Monday, 6 October through Monday, 13 October 2025, with daily announcements by the prize-awarding institutions and full coverage on the Nobel website and social channels. Notably, the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced at a press conference in Oslo on Friday, 10 October at 11:00 CEST. The sequence traditionally ends with Economic Sciences on October 13. If you want to watch live, the Nobel Foundation streams each reveal and posts laureate materials immediately afterward. Yahoo+3NobelPrize.org+3NobelPrize.org+3
What exactly is a Nobel Prize?
The Nobels trace back to the 1895 will of Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel, who dedicated most of his fortune to annual prizes recognizing achievements that uplift humanity. The Nobel Foundation handles stewardship, while independent bodies select winners: Karolinska Institutet (Physiology or Medicine), the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, and Economic Sciences), the Swedish Academy (Literature), and the Norwegian Nobel Committee (Peace). The awards are formally presented each 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death-Stockholm hosts five of the ceremonies, while the Peace Prize ceremony is in Oslo. NobelPrize.org
The six Nobel categories (and what they reward)
Physiology or Medicine honors discoveries that transform our understanding of life and disease; in 2025 it spotlights the biology of immune tolerance, showing how the body prevents self-attack-pivotal for autoimmune conditions and cancer immunology. Physics often celebrates fundamental truths of nature, from quantum to cosmology. Chemistry bridges atoms to applications, routinely powering materials and biochemistry revolutions. Literature recognizes a body of work with lasting impact on culture and language. Peace honors efforts to end conflict, advance diplomacy, or safeguard human rights. Economic Sciences (established later, in 1968) rewards advances that deepen our understanding of economies and society. Expect individual nuances in each citation as committees explain “for what” the prize is given, often with readable press releases, lectures, and interviews posted the same day. NobelPrize.org
Key dates you shouldn’t miss in 2025
- 6–13 October: Announcement week-new laureates daily; Medicine already announced on 6 October. NobelPrize.org+1
- 10 October (11:00 CEST): Peace Prize announcement from Oslo. Nobel Peace Prize
- 10 December: Award ceremonies and Nobel Lectures in Stockholm and Oslo. NobelPrize.org
Nominations: Who gets to nominate-and when does it close?
Nominations are by invitation only (for example, qualified academics, former laureates, and certain officials) and are kept secret for 50 years. For the Peace Prize, the nomination deadline for 2025 was 31 January, and while the Committee does not disclose names, it did confirm 338 candidates (244 individuals and 94 organizations), underlining the breadth of global peace work under consideration. Media “shortlists” you see are speculation, not official. NobelPrize.org+1
2025 so far: Why the Medicine Prize matters this year
By honoring Brunkow, Ramsdell, and Sakaguchi, the committees spotlight decades of research into regulatory T cells (T-regs) and the gene FOXP3, which together act like a braking system that prevents the immune system from attacking healthy tissue. Their work reshaped basic immunology and seeded clinical strategies for autoimmune disease, transplant tolerance, and cancer—one reason the Nobel week often begins with Medicine: it sets the tone for how fundamental discovery translates into human benefit. The Guardian+1
How to follow the 2025 announcements (and separate hype from fact)
Start with the official Nobel channels-they stream each reveal, publish the scientific background documents, and post interviews with laureates that demystify the work. Major global outlets also run live blogs, but the authoritative source for timings, citations, and press materials is nobelprize.org. If a rumored shortlist circulates on social media, remember: the committees do not confirm nominees. NobelPrize.org+1
Why the Nobels still matter
Awards can never capture all the world’s quiet breakthroughs or every brave act for peace. Yet the Nobel Prizes remain a rare annual checkpoint where science, literature, and diplomacy share the stage, urging us to value evidence, ideas, and dialogue. In a polarized world, that public ritual-explaining discoveries, crediting teams, and defending truth-may be the prize’s most enduring impact.
Citations & Official Info
- 2025 Nobel announcement week: 6–13 October (official). NobelPrize.org+1
- Medicine 2025 laureates announced Oct 6: Brunkow, Ramsdell, Sakaguchi. Reuters+1
- Peace Prize announcement time/place: Friday, 10 Oct, 11:00 CEST, Oslo. Nobel Peace Prize
- Nomination secrecy & deadlines; 338 Peace nominees (2025): secrecy rules and 31 Jan deadline confirmed; nominee count noted. NobelPrize.org
- Nobel organisation, ceremonies (10 December; Stockholm/Oslo): overview. NobelPrize.org
Nobel Prizes 2025 — today’s coverage & live updates
Brunkow, Ramsdell and Sakaguchi win Nobel medicine prize for immune discoveries
The Nobel Prize in medicine goes to 3 scientists for key immune system discoveries
Nobel prize in medicine awarded to scientists for immune system research
