A large part of our life remains a mystery. We spend roughly a third of our life with our eyes closed, resting, regenerating, and dreaming. Sleep is universal and common to humans and all animals, so one would imagine it to be one of the best-researched subjects in history. This…

Pei Leng Tan is addressing the challenges of skin autografting in managing large burn wounds by proposing a solution involving the delivery of high-density proliferative skin cells encapsulated in biodegradable core-shell microspheres. This innovative approach supports cell proliferation, and upon release at the wound site, the cells expand into epidermal-dermal…

While most of the work in the laboratory is focusing on improving transplantation and modulating the immune system in medical settings, due to the unique tools developed in the lab, Benyamin Rosental and his team translate their research to ecological questions. The most unique project we perform in the laboratory…

The nominating institution Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH on the breakthrough: Playing LEGO with molecules promises to be an appealing approach to facile fabrication of unusual nanostructures. Attractive quantum functionalities have been shown, but there is a problem: Molecules defy intuitive handling, their behaviour is hard to predict. To address this challenge,…

The nominating institution University of Helsinki on the breakthrough: Ovaskainen and Abrego have developed a Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (HMSC) framework, which revolutionizes how data on ecological communities is analysed and interpreted. HMSC allows data integration on species abundances, environmental covariates, species traits, phylogenetic relationships, and the spatio-temporal context. …

Abdulrahman Haitham is addressing the pollution crisis in his village caused by unclean feathers and chicken droppings by introducing a three-fold recycling solution. By repurposing these waste materials into absorbent fibers for baby diapers, bioplastic production, and manufacturing covers and blankets, Haitham not only tackles environmental threats but also creates…

We have developed a novel therapeutic for SARS-CoV-2 that relies on nanobodies – antibody fragments from alpacas and llamas. Combining protein engineering, structural biology, and virology, we found that multi-component molecules binding the virus on two surfaces lead to robust neutralization of wildtype virus and newly emerging variants. Unlike most…

Abrar Alam is addressing the increasing demand for heart valve replacements by engineering bioprosthetic heart valves using stem cells. The goal is to create a longer-lasting valve with reduced immune response, offering a potentially improved option for patients in need of heart valve replacements.

The nominating institution Max-Planck-Gesellschaft on the breakthrough: The quest for unusual materials, such as metallic hydrogen or room-temperature superconductors, has been going on for decades. Mikhail Eremets has pioneered high pressure experiments to induce such states, which brought about innovations in materials science, but also high-pressure technology. The group has…

How Anthropology Investigates the Cultural Heritage of the Future Cultural heritage is a mixture of objects and ideas, traditions and stories –  a legacy inherited from past generations, but at the same time providing the foundation on which we build the present and future. Among all artefacts and knowledge created…