John Hall and Theodor Hänsch have developed a "frequency comb", an instrument which makes it possible to measure wavelengths to an accuracy of fifteen decimals. It can be used for extremely accurate atomic clocks, GPS devices and fiber optics equipment. Roy Glauber laid the theoretical basis for Hall and Hänsch in the sixties when he succeeded in describing the behaviour of light using quantum mechanical methods.

Chemistry laureates Yves Chauvin, Robert Grubbs and Richard Schrock have developed what is known as metathesis, a method which has become very important in the chemical industry. It's based on special catalysts that make atoms change places, so that new molecules are formed. Medicine laureates Robin Warren and Barry Marshall have shown that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori causes stomach ulcers, gastritis and stomach cancer. Their findings contradicted all prevailing dogma. Previously doctors had been convinced that stomach ulcers were caused by stress, poor diet and genetic factors, and that no bacteria could survive in the acid environment of the stomach. The discovery made by Warren and Marshall meant that stomach ulcers could now be cured in a couple of weeks using antibiotics. It saved a lot of people from operations and life-long medication with acid inhibitors.

This year the Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to the British dramatist Harold Pinter. His plays include "The Caretaker", "The Homecoming" and "No Man's Land". He has also written the screenplay of the films "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and "Betrayal". His mastery is revealed above all in his dialogue, which is distinguished by black humour and charged silences. He mercilessly strips away power games and deception.

Harold Pinter is seriously ill with cancer and has not been able to travel to Sweden and the Nobel Festival.

The Peace Prize, which is presented in Oslo, has been awarded to the international atomic energy body, the IAEA, and its current head, Mohamed ElBaradei. They received the Prize for their efforts in preventing atomic energy being used for military purposes, and for ensuring that nuclear energy is used in the safest possible way. The Swedish central bank, the Riksbank, awards a Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, which this year goes to Robert Auman and Thomas Schelling for their mathematical work in the field of games theory, with special reference to cooperation and conflict.