The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced the winners of the 2025 Breakthrough Prizes, honoring scientists for their groundbreaking discoveries in gene editing, human diseases, fundamental particles of the Universe, and mathematical principles. Known as the “Oscars of Science,” the prizes were created to celebrate scientific advancements. This year, six prizes of $3 million each were awarded in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics. Additionally, early-career physicists and mathematicians received New Horizons Prizes and women mathematicians were recognized with the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes.

The laureates were honored at the annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles, where the prize money totaled $18.75 million. The foundation’s sponsors, including Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki, emphasized the importance of curiosity-driven basic science and the transformative power of scientific research.

In the field of Life Sciences, breakthroughs were recognized in diabetes and obesity treatment, multiple sclerosis research, and gene editing technologies. Scientists like Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Svetlana Mojsov, Stephen L. Hauser, Alberto Ascherio, and David R. Liu were acknowledged for their significant contributions to these areas. Their work has led to the development of effective treatments for various diseases and has paved the way for future advancements in healthcare. Base editing and prime editing clinical trials have commenced in five countries, showcasing positive outcomes in patients suffering from T-cell leukemia, sickle-cell disease, beta-thalassemia, and high cholesterol. These trials have proven to be beneficial and, in some cases, life-saving for the participants.

The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics has been awarded to researchers from over 70 countries involved in four experimental collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb. The prize, totaling $3 million, is distributed among the collaborations in recognition of their work based on LHC Run-2 data. The prize money will be used to fund grants for doctoral students from member institutes to conduct research at CERN.

Dennis Gaitsgory has won the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics for his significant role in proving the geometric Langlands conjecture, a part of the Langlands program that connects various mathematical concepts. This breakthrough is expected to have implications in number theory, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics.

Gerard ‘t Hooft, recipient of the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, is recognized for his contributions to the foundations of the Standard Model and his work on the theory of the strong force. His research has paved the way for a better understanding of subatomic particles and quantum mechanics.

The New Horizons in Physics Prizes this year honor early-career researchers like Waseem Bakr and Jeongwan Haah, whose work in atomic physics and quantum information, respectively, are pushing the boundaries of their fields. Their contributions have the potential to advance the study of quantum systems and quantum computing. In the field of astronomy, Sebastiaan Haffert, Rebecca Jensen-Clem, and Maaike van Kooten have developed innovative techniques for extreme adaptive optics, systems that counteract the impact of Earth’s atmosphere on light reaching telescopes. Their work shows promise in directly detecting the smallest exoplanets.

The New Horizons in Mathematics Prize recognizes the interconnectedness of modern physics and higher mathematics, with this year’s winners making significant contributions to quantum physics. Ewain Gwynne’s work in conformal probability studies random curves and surfaces, while John Pardon has made important advancements in geometry and topology, specifically in symplectic geometry and pseudo-holomorphic curves. Sam Raskin has played a key role in the recent progress of the geometric Langlands program.

The Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize honors exceptional women mathematicians who have recently completed their PhDs. Si Ying Lee, Rajula Srivastava, and Ewin Tang have each made groundbreaking contributions to various areas of mathematics.

The 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences acknowledges the achievements of researchers in the field, including Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, and Svetlana Mojsov. Their work on GLP-1 and its potential in treating diabetes and obesity is particularly noteworthy.

The Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics recognize the collaborative efforts of the ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb teams at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. Their contributions to the understanding of Higgs boson properties, symmetry-breaking mechanisms, and matter-antimatter asymmetry have significantly advanced the field of physics. Prize Money to Support Doctoral Research at CERN by Breakthrough Prize Winners

The collaborations behind the Breakthrough Prize awards will use the prize money to provide grants for doctoral students from member institutes. These grants will allow students to conduct research at CERN, offering them valuable experience working at the forefront of science. This opportunity will also provide them with new expertise to bring back to their home countries and regions.

The list of prizewinners can be found on the Breakthrough Prize website.

2025 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics:
– Gerardus ‘t Hooft from Utrecht University for fundamental insights into gauge theory and the standard model.

2025 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics:
– Dennis Gaitsgory from Max Planck Institute for Mathematics for foundational works and contributions to the geometric Langlands program.

2025 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize:
– Ewain Gwynne from University of Chicago for contributions to conformal probability.
– John Pardon from Stony Brook University for contributions to symplectic topology.
– Sam Raskin from Yale University for contributions to the geometric Langlands program.

2025 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize:
– Si Ying Lee from Stanford University for contributions to the theory of Shimura varieties.
– Rajula Srivastava from University of Bonn and Max Planck Institute for Mathematics for contributions in harmonic analysis.
– Ewin Tang from University of California, Berkeley for advances in quantum machine learning.

2025 New Horizons in Physics Prize:
– Waseem Bakr from Princeton University for the realization of quantum gas microscopes.
– Jeongwan Haah from Stanford University for the discovery of Haah’s code.
– Sebastiaan Haffert from Leiden University and Rebecca Jensen-Clem from University of California, Santa Cruz, and Maaike van Kooten from National Research Council Canada for demonstrating new adaptive optics techniques.

The Breakthrough Prize, known as the “Oscars of Science,” recognizes top scientists in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics. Each prize is worth $3 million and is presented at a gala award ceremony to celebrate achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists.

The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. Selection Committees composed of previous winners choose the recipients. More information on the Breakthrough Prize can be found on their website.

In conclusion, the Breakthrough Prize winners represent the pinnacle of scientific achievement. Their groundbreaking work not only advances our understanding of the world but also inspires future generations of researchers. Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding contributions to science and mathematics. The content you provided is missing. Please provide the content you would like me to rewrite.