#OTD in 1914 the Franck-Hertz electron collisions experiment showing internal quantum levels of atoms was first presented and supported Niels Bohr's theory on the structure of the atom. Photos: James Franck, a vacuum tube used in the experiment, and Gustav Hertz.

#NobelPrize

'I'm old-fashioned and think that reading books is the most glorious pastime that humankind has yet devised.'

- literature laureate Wisława Szymborska.

What book are you reading right now?

#WorldBookDay

'I think the most fun and mysterious thing is creating characters.'

Watch author Olga Tokarczuk speak about her process of creating characters and the special relationship that creates between them.

#WorldBookDay #WorldBookAndCopyrightDay

Which laureate read before they started kindergarten?

Click to find out: nobelprize.org/prizes/medicin…

#WorldBookDay #NobelPrize

Max Planck originated the quantum theory but did you know he was also a gifted musician? He played the piano.

Learn more: bit.ly/3TaGHEM

Were you a late reader? You’re in good company.

Some laureates took their time to appreciate the joy of reading, including Richard Axel and Gerardus 't Hooft.

#WorldBookDay #NobelPrize

'The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.'

- Rabindranath Tagore, awarded the 1913 #NobelPrize in Literature.

#WorldBookDay

Physics laureates Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth’s climate – and how humanity influences it. They are not the only laureates that have made significant contributions to planet Earth.

Learn more: nobelprize.org/spotlight-on-s…

“I want my voice to help build the chorus of voices so that the clamor for justice will become deafening.”

Argentinian human rights activist and opponent of all violence Adolfo Pérez Esquivel has dedicated his life to advocating human rights for all: bit.ly/3ZQ5Czv

Benjamin List and David MacMillan developed an ingenious tool for building molecules – organocatalysis – which has made chemistry greener. Researchers can now more efficiently construct new molecules and have even identified an organocatalyst that can break down plastic waste.

“If at some point Earth becomes uninhabitable there’s no way to escape. We are linked to this planet.”

Our world is changing - and it's even more important that we each do our part to help the planet. What are you doing to look after our world?

#EarthDay

Take a look at Oliver Smithies' notebook from 1982 on gene targeting.

Smithies shared the 2007 medicine prize for discovering how to use embryonic stem cells to create genetic changes in mice. Today, genetically-altered mice are an invaluable tool for research.

'I came to understand that when the environment is destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine our quality of life and that of future generations.'

- Wangari Maathai in her #NobelPeacePrize lecture given twenty years ago.

Read more: bit.ly/3VCSKhc

#EarthDay

“I don't think you could buy these [science] sets today because I think they would be considered too dangerous for children!” chemistry laureate Moungi Bawendi says about his inspirational childhood toys.

Watch him talk about his youth and exams: bit.ly/3TVPhHX

“We play ping-pong with ideas. In this way you can go from a wide crazy idea to something that is possible to do.”

- May-Britt Moser's description of her and her collaborators' creative process.

How would you explain a creative process?

#WorldCreativityDay

Inspired by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf's books, Rita Levi-Montalcini first considered a career as a writer, but ultimately decided to study medicine.  In 1986, she received the medicine prize for looking into how the nervous system develops. Read more: nobelprize.org/prizes/medicin…

How do you define creativity?

When asked, medicine laureate Susumu Tonegawa had an inspiring reply.

Tonegawa was awarded the 1987 medicine prize 'for his discovery of the genetic principle for generation of antibody diversity.'

Did you know Jan and Nikolaas Tinbergen are the only siblings to both be awarded a #NobelPrize ?

Four years after Jan received the 1969 prize in economic sciences, his brother Nico was awarded the medicine prize for work on animal behaviour.

Read more: bit.ly/3jh3gWF

Physics laureate Roger Penrose had a puzzling childhood. From designing moving models and polyhedra he took on a massive mystery in 1964, when he proposed critical mathematical tools to describe black holes.

Read more about his life: nobelprize.org/prizes/physics…

Andrew Scullion (pictured) was one of the first babies to have a bone marrow transplantation – a procedure that has saved countless lives.

It was developed by medicine laureate Donnall Thomas who performed the first successful bone marrow transplant between two humans in 1956.