The World's Biggest Science Prize Is Announced Today. Here's Who Might Win

By Jagjagran | 5 October 2026

Somewhere in Sweden this afternoon, a phone is about to ring. And whoever picks it up is going to have the best day of their life.

Today, Monday 5 October, the Nobel Assembly in Stockholm announces the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It's the first of this year's Nobels, and the announcement is expected around 3:00 PM Indian time. By evening, we'll know the name.

So who's in the running? Nobody knows for sure — the committee guards its secrets fiercely. But every year, scientists and science-watchers make their guesses, and a few names keep coming up.

The hot favourites are the people behind GLP-1. Never heard of it? You've heard of what it led to: Ozempic and Wegovy, the weight-loss and diabetes drugs that have taken over the world. The scientists who first uncovered how this hormone works — among them Daniel Drucker, Jens Juul Holst and Svetlana Mojsov — are widely tipped. Given how dramatically those drugs have changed millions of lives, it would be a popular choice.

Another name in the mix is the team that discovered why some people suddenly fall asleep in the middle of the day — the sleep disorder narcolepsy. Their work recently won another big award that often hints at a Nobel.

Why does any of this matter to you and me?

Because the Nobel isn't just a shiny medal. It shines a global spotlight on the kind of research that quietly saves lives for decades. The drugs in your pharmacy, the vaccines in your arm — much of it traces back to a discovery that once won, or deserved, a prize like this.

There's a small sadness too. The Nobel can only go to the living, and to a maximum of three people. Every year, brilliant scientists miss out simply because the rules are so tight, or because they passed away before the world caught up with their work.

For now, though, the excitement is real. In a few hours, three lives will change forever.