A look at the winners of the 2010 Nobel Prizes

Nobel Prizes: Glance at 2010

Five Nobel Prizes have been announced. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which is not an original Nobel Prize but was created in 1968 in Nobel’s memory by the Swedish central bank, will be announced on Monday

The prestigious Nobel Prizes are awarded annually on Dec. 10 in twin ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo. Here is a look at this year’s winners and their work:

— Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine: Robert Edwards of Britain won the Nobel Prize in medicine for developing in vitro fertilization, a breakthrough that has helped millions of infertile couples have children but has also ignited an enduring controversy with religious groups.

— Nobel Prize in physics: Russian-born Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for experiments with graphene, the thinnest and strongest material known to mankind.

— Nobel Prize in chemistry: American Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for finding new ways to bond carbon atoms together, methods now widely used to make medicines and in agriculture and electronics.

— Nobel Prize in literature: Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Spanish-speaking world and a man of letters who also braved the violence and political divisions of his homeland to run for president.

— Nobel Peace Prize: Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace.

— The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences: To be announced Monday.

On the Net:

www.nobelprize.org