Eight scientists whose discoveries have dramatically expanded human understanding in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience have been recognised with the award of the million-dollar Kavli Prizes.

The laureates were chosen for research that has transformed our knowledge of basic units of matter, laid the foundations for the field of nanotechnology, revealed the molecular basis for the transfer of brain signals and other physiological functions, and made possible the building of telescopes that can see deeper into space and further back in time.

These are the second group of recipients of the biennial Kavli Prizes, following the successful launch of the awards in 2008. They were set up to recognise outstanding scientific research, honour highly creative scientists, promote public understanding of scientists and their work and to encourage international scientific cooperation. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research created the prize scheme in partnership.

The 2010 Kavli Prize winners are:

Astrophysics: Jerry Nelson, of the University of California, Santa Cruz, US, Ray Wilson, formerly of Imperial College London and the European Southern Observatory, and Roger Angel, of the University of Arizona, Tucson, US, for their respective innovations in the field of telescope design that have allowed us glimpses of ever more distant and ancient objects and events in the remote corners of the Universe.

Nanoscience: Donald M. Eigler, of IBM’s Almaden Research Centre, San Jose, California, and Nadrian Seeman, of New York University.

Neuroscience: Thomas Südhof, of Stanford University School of Medicine, Richard Scheller, of the biotech company Genentech, and James Rothman, of Yale University, for their work to reveal the precise molecular basis of the transfer of signals between nerve cells in the brain.

For more information, visit the Kavli Prize website.