The resolution of a microscope is determined by the diffraction limit in classical microscopy, whereby objects that are separated by half a wavelength can no longer be visually separated. To go below the diffraction limit required several tricks and discoveries. In his Nobel Lecture, E. Betzig describes the developments that have led to modern super high-resolution microscopy.

In the 1980s, all known material systems possessing the necessary properties for blue-light emission had shortcomings, thus negating their utilization in efficient LEDs. Gallium nitride (GaN) was one possible candidate, though, at the time, no p-type or active layer could be created. These challenges were ultimately overcome by Shuji Nakamura, who describes the path to the first blue GaN LED in his Nobel Lecture.

Growing success: The invention of a method to grow gallium nitride (GaN) on sapphire substrate formed the basis for the development of flat screens and smart displays based on blue-light-emitting diodes. Hiroshi Amano gives a personal account of the background of the studies that led to the technologies for growing GaN and producing p-GaN.

In the beginning there was light: Mankind has pursued light sources since ancient times, starting with flames, then the development of electric light bulbs much later, and most recently the production of light-emitting diodes. Isami Akasaki describes the historical progress that led to the invention of the first blue LED and related optical devices.

The most important property of synaptic transmission is its speed, which is crucial for the overall workings of the brain. In his Nobel Lecture, T. C. Südhof explains how the synaptic vesicle and the plasma membrane undergo rapid fusion during neurotransmitter release and how this process is spatially organized, such that opening of Ca²⁺-channels allows rapid translation of the entering Ca²⁺ signal into a fusion event.

Cells contain small membrane-enclosed vesicles which transport many kinds of cargo between the compartments of the cell. The result is a choreographed program of secretory, biosynthetic, and endocytic protein traffic that serves the cell's internal physiologic needs.

A detailed understanding of the action of biological molecules is a prerequisite for advances in health sciences, however, using a full quantum mechanical representation of large molecular systems is practically impossible. The solution to this has emerged from the realization that large systems can be spatially divided into a region where the quantum mechanical description is essential, with the remainder of the system being represented by empirical force fields.

The computer industry should have received a share of the 2013 Nobel prize in chemistry as its massive research and development efforts led to unimaginable gains in computer speed (see table). This means that the cost of a particular calculation today is 100 000 000 less than it was at the beginning of Michael Levitt's scientific career as pointed out in his very personal account on the occasion of having received the Nobel prize.

Although the laws governing the motions of atoms are quantum mechanical, the key realization that made possible the simulation of the dynamics of complex systems, including biomolecules, was that a classical mechanical description of the atomic motions is adequate in most cases. From M. Karplus' own perspective, this realization was derived from calculations on the symmetric exchange reaction, H+H₂→H₂+H.

The forced expression of certain transcription factors can induce pluripotency in somatic cells. This led to the research and development of effective reprogramming techniques for the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). S. Yamanaka received the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research in this area.

Common somatic cells can be deprogrammed to stem cells, which can grow into all types of tissues. The early phase of this research, which led to the Nobel Prize in 2013, is described first hand by J. B. Gurden in his Nobel Review.

Experimental control of quantum systems has been pursued widely since the invention of quantum mechanics. Today, we can in fact experiment with individual quantum systems, deterministically preparing superpositions and entanglements. In his Nobel lecture, D. J. Wineland gives an overview of this research which has led to the Nobel prize in physics in 2012.

Photons trapped in a superconducting cavity constitute an ideal system to realize some of the thought experiments imagined by the founding fathers of quantum physics. Physics laureate S. Haroche gives a personal account of the experiments performed with this “photon box” at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.

Cells from different parts of our bodies communicate with each other using chemical messengers in the form of hormones and neurotransmitters. They process information encoded in these chemical messages using G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) located in the plasma membrane. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2012 was awarded for studies on GPCRs.

The idea of receptors has fascinated scientists for more than a century. Today it is known that the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent by far the largest, most versatile and most ubiquitous of the several families of plasma membrane receptors. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2012 was awarded for studies on GPCRs.

There can be only one: In their Nobel Reviews, the laureates tell the story about the ever changing, exciting scientific pathways that eventually—for example, with the aid of simple adhesive tape—led them to the discovery of graphene. Graphene is a carbon monolayer with almost magical abilities, including exceptional strength, stability, and electronic properties, with massless Dirac fermions as charge carriers.

Tools for chemists: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010 was awarded for research on palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling in organic synthesis. Two of the Laureates, A. Suzuki and E. Negishi, report here first hand on the historical development and the current status of this research.

Tools for chemists: The Nobel Prize in Chemie 2010 was awarded for research on palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling in organic synthesis. Two of the Laureates, A. Suzuki and E. Negishi, report here first hand on the historical development and the current status of this research.

Secrets revealed: The Nobel Prize for Medicine 2009 was awarded for the solution to one of the greatest mysteries of biology: how are chromosomes copied upon cell division and protected from degradation? The answer can be found at the ends of the chromosomes—the telomeres—and in the enzyme that forms them—telomerase. The laureates describe the events leading to the discovery first-hand.