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The 2025 Nobel prizes: six days that crowned science's breakthrough year

The 2025 Nobel prizes: six days that crowned science's breakthrough year

New Capabilities
By Newzino Staff |

From immune tolerance to quantum circuits and economic growth theory—a week that honored discoveries reshaping medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and economics

December 10th, 2025: Stockholm Awards Ceremony

Overview

The Nobel Assembly kicked off October 2025 by awarding the Medicine Prize to three scientists who discovered the immune system's off-switch—regulatory T cells controlled by the Foxp3 gene. Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell identified the gene in 2001 while studying scurfy mice that died from autoimmune storms. Shimon Sakaguchi had already discovered the cells themselves in 1995. Together, their work explains why our immune systems don't destroy us, and opened the door to treatments for everything from diabetes to lupus.

In This Story

5 People
Mary E. Brunkow Frederick J. Ramsdell Shimon Sakaguchi
+2
3 Orgs
Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Institute for Systems Biology
14 Events
4 Key Stats
50M
3 Scenarios
Regulatory T Cell Therapies Become Standard Autoimmune Treatment
3 Context
1960 Nobel Prize: Acquired Immune Tolerance

Key Indicators

50M
Americans with autoimmune diseases
20% of U.S. population—conditions the laureates' discoveries help treat
11M SEK
Prize money per award
Approximately $1.21 million split among laureates in each category
6
Nobel Prizes awarded
Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, and Economics over 8 days
1995
Sakaguchi's breakthrough year
When he discovered regulatory T cells that prevent autoimmune attacks

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People Involved

Mary E. Brunkow
Mary E. Brunkow
Senior Program Manager, Institute for Systems Biology (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2025)
Frederick J. Ramsdell
Frederick J. Ramsdell
Scientific Adviser, Sonoma Biotherapeutics (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2025)
Shimon Sakaguchi
Shimon Sakaguchi
Distinguished Professor, Osaka University Immunology Frontier Research Center (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2025)
María Corina Machado
María Corina Machado
Venezuelan Opposition Leader (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2025)
László Krasznahorkai
László Krasznahorkai
Hungarian Author (Nobel Literature Laureate 2025)

Organizations Involved

Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
Scientific Committee
Status: Awards Medicine Prize annually

The body of 50 professors at Karolinska Institutet that selects Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Scientific Institution
Status: Awards Physics, Chemistry, and Economics Prizes

Independent organization awarding Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and Economic Sciences.

Institute for Systems Biology
Institute for Systems Biology
Research Institute
Status: Mary Brunkow's current institution

Seattle-based nonprofit biomedical research organization pioneering systems approaches to studying biology and disease.

Timeline

  1. Stockholm Awards Ceremony

    Prize Ceremony

    Over 1,000 guests including Swedish royalty attend Stockholm Concert Hall as laureates receive 11 million SEK prizes.

  2. Economics Nobel: Innovation-Driven Growth

    Prize Announcement

    Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt win for theories explaining sustained economic growth through creative destruction and technological progress.

  3. Peace Nobel: Maria Corina Machado

    Prize Announcement

    Venezuelan opposition leader honored for promoting democratic rights and peaceful transition from dictatorship.

  4. Literature Nobel: László Krasznahorkai

    Prize Announcement

    Hungarian author wins for compelling, apocalyptic visions that reaffirm art's power amid terror.

  5. Chemistry Nobel: Molecular Frameworks

    Prize Announcement

    Richard Robson, Susumu Kitagawa, and Omar Yaghi win for developing metal-organic frameworks—molecular constructions with spaces for gas flow.

  6. Physics Nobel: Quantum Circuits

    Prize Announcement

    John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis win for demonstrating macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling in circuits you can hold.

  7. Medicine Nobel: Regulatory T Cells

    Prize Announcement

    Brunkow, Ramsdell, and Sakaguchi win Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries enabling autoimmune disease treatments.

  8. Cancer Immunotherapy Wins Nobel

    Scientific Recognition

    James Allison and Tasuku Honjo awarded Nobel for checkpoint blockade therapy—parallel breakthrough using immune system to fight cancer.

  9. Crafoord Prize Previews Nobel

    Scientific Recognition

    Ramsdell and Sakaguchi share Crafoord Prize for regulatory T cell discoveries—major award often preceding Nobel recognition.

  10. Foxp3 Controls Regulatory T Cells—The Connection

    Scientific Discovery

    Sakaguchi and other researchers prove Foxp3 gene governs regulatory T cell development, linking earlier discoveries.

  11. Brunkow and Ramsdell Identify Foxp3 Gene

    Scientific Discovery

    Working at Darwin Molecular Corporation, they discover Foxp3 mutation causes fatal autoimmune disease in scurfy mice and IPEX syndrome in humans.

  12. Sakaguchi Discovers Regulatory T Cells

    Scientific Discovery

    Shimon Sakaguchi identifies previously unknown immune cells expressing CD4 and CD25 that prevent autoimmune attacks.

  13. MHC Structure Wins Nobel Prize

    Scientific Recognition

    Benacerraf, Dausset, and Snell awarded Nobel for describing major histocompatibility complexes—how bodies distinguish self from non-self.

  14. Nobel Prize Recognizes Immune Tolerance Discovery

    Scientific Recognition

    MacFarlane Burnet and Peter Medawar win Nobel for discovering acquired immune tolerance—the foundation for later regulatory T cell research.

Scenarios

1

Regulatory T Cell Therapies Become Standard Autoimmune Treatment

Discussed by: Nature, Science, frontiers in Immunology journals analyzing clinical trial progress

Building on the laureates' discoveries, engineered regulatory T cell therapies move from trials to standard treatment for multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis within 5-10 years. Sakaguchi's recent work improving induced Treg stability—keeping Foxp3 expression high for six weeks instead of days—makes adoptive cell therapy practical. CAR-Treg cells targeting specific antigens show particular promise: a single infusion restricts autoantibody generation in lupus models. The challenge: manufacturing costs and ensuring long-term Treg survival in hostile inflammatory environments. Success would transform 50 million American lives currently managing autoimmune conditions with immune suppressants that leave patients vulnerable to infections.

2

Foxp3 Gene Therapy Cures IPEX Syndrome

Discussed by: BMC Public Health, OMIM, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia clinical researchers

IPEX syndrome—caused by Foxp3 mutations—kills most affected boys by age two without bone marrow transplants. Gene therapy directly correcting Foxp3 defects could cure the disease without finding matched donors. Early CRISPR-based approaches show promise in preclinical models: restoring functional Foxp3 rescues regulatory T cell development and prevents autoimmune catastrophe. Clinical trials for IPEX gene therapy could begin within three years. Success would prove the principle for other monogenic autoimmune diseases and validate the laureates' work in the most direct way possible: fixing the exact gene they discovered prevents fatal immune dysregulation.

3

Treg Modulation Enhances Cancer Immunotherapy

Discussed by: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, PMC oncology research analyzing CAR-T and checkpoint inhibitor combinations

The flip side of preventing autoimmunity: regulatory T cells suppress anti-tumor immunity. Researchers are exploring carefully timed Treg depletion or checkpoint inhibitors combined with CAR-T cells. Pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1) after mesothelin-targeting CAR-T cells kept CAR-T cells active longer and less exhausted in mesothelioma trials. The challenge is threading the needle—suppress Tregs enough to let cancer-fighting T cells work without triggering autoimmune side effects. Success requires precision timing and dosing. Sakaguchi's improved Treg generation methods might also help restore tolerance after aggressive immunotherapy, preventing long-term autoimmune complications. This approach could make solid tumor CAR-T therapy finally work.

Historical Context

1960 Nobel Prize: Acquired Immune Tolerance

1945-1960

What Happened

MacFarlane Burnet and Peter Medawar discovered that the immune system learns to tolerate 'self' tissues—you can train an immune system during development to accept foreign tissue. Medawar showed that mice exposed to cells from another strain as fetuses would later accept skin grafts from that strain. Burnet provided the theoretical framework: the immune system develops tolerance by eliminating self-reactive cells during development.

Outcome

Short Term

Explained why organ transplants fail and pointed toward how to prevent rejection.

Long Term

Laid foundation for transplant medicine and the entire field of immune tolerance research that produced the 2025 laureates' discoveries.

Why It's Relevant Today

Burnet and Medawar explained central tolerance—deleting self-reactive immune cells during development. Sakaguchi, Brunkow, and Ramsdell discovered peripheral tolerance—regulatory T cells that patrol the body and suppress autoimmune attacks that escaped central tolerance. Together, they explain how we don't destroy ourselves.

2018 Nobel Prize: Cancer Immunotherapy via Checkpoint Blockade

1992-2018

What Happened

James Allison and Tasuku Honjo discovered immune checkpoints—CTLA-4 and PD-1—that act as brakes on T cells. They realized blocking these brakes unleashes immune cells to attack tumors. Allison's 1996 work on anti-CTLA-4 antibodies cured cancer in mice. Honjo cloned PD-1 in 1992 and showed it's another checkpoint. Their discoveries led to drugs like ipilimumab and pembrolizumab that have saved hundreds of thousands of cancer patients.

Outcome

Short Term

Checkpoint inhibitors became standard treatment for melanoma, lung cancer, and other malignancies.

Long Term

Revolutionized cancer treatment and created a $50+ billion immunotherapy industry. Side effect: autoimmune complications in 10-20% of patients.

Why It's Relevant Today

Allison and Honjo took the brakes off immunity to fight cancer. Sakaguchi, Brunkow, and Ramsdell discovered the brake system itself—regulatory T cells controlled by Foxp3. Both Nobel-winning discoveries manipulate the same fundamental immune tolerance machinery, just in opposite directions: one to attack tumors, one to prevent autoimmunity.

1980 Nobel Prize: Major Histocompatibility Complex

1960-1980

What Happened

Baruj Benacerraf, Jean Dausset, and George Snell described the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)—the genetic system that lets immune cells distinguish 'self' from 'non-self.' Snell discovered MHC genes control tissue rejection in mice. Dausset found the human equivalent (HLA system). Benacerraf showed MHC determines which antigens trigger immune responses. This explained why transplants between unrelated individuals fail and why some people develop autoimmune diseases.

Outcome

Short Term

Enabled tissue typing for transplants and explained genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases.

Long Term

Created the foundation for understanding T cell recognition and immune system specificity, which regulatory T cells regulate.

Why It's Relevant Today

MHC explains how T cells recognize targets. Regulatory T cells—the 2025 laureates' discovery—use that same MHC system to police other T cells and prevent autoimmune attacks. Without MHC, you can't have adaptive immunity. Without regulatory T cells, that adaptive immunity destroys you.

Sources

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NobelPrize.org NPR Wikipedia Britannica ABC7 Chicago Xinhua Nature Reviews Immunology PMC NobelPrize.org Wikipedia Wikipedia NobelPrize.org NobelPrize.org NobelPrize.org NobelPrize.org