Nobel Prizes honor a record 5 women for research on chromosomes, economics, literature

Nobel Prizes honor a record 5 women

STOCKHOLM — A record of five women have received Nobel Prizes in Stockholm, including a writer who depicted life behind the Iron Curtain and researchers who showed how chromosomes protect themselves from degrading.

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf handed out the prestigious 10 million kronor ($1.4 million) awards in chemistry, physics, medicine, literature and economics during an elegant ceremony Thursday in Stockholm.

President Barack Obama received the peace prize in Oslo earlier in the day. Alfred Nobel’s will from 1895 stipulates the prizes should be given to those who “have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”

Five women and eight men were awarded Nobel Prizes this year. In all, only 40 women have received the prizes over the years.