Scientist learns he has won Nobel prize while on digital detox in US mountains

"Out on a digital detox in the western US backcountry, scientist Fred Ramsdell was startled when his wife let out a yell. He feared she had spotted a grizzly bear, only to discover a far better surprise he had won the Nobel prize in medicine. The Nobel committee had been unable to reach the immunologist, whose phone was on airplane mode as he was on a hiking and camping trip, but finally got through to the couple early on Tuesday morning, Swedish time."

"They were still in the wild and there are plenty of grizzly bears there, so he was quite worried when she let out a yell, said Thomas Perlmann, secretary general of the Nobel committee. Fortunately, it was the Nobel prize. He was very happy and elated and had not expected the prize at all. Perlmann said Ramsdell and his wife, Laura O'Neill, had been heading back to their hotel when they stopped to fix something on their car. That was the moment Ramsdell's wife switched on her mobile phone and saw the dozens of congratulatory messages."

"Ramsdell shared the 2025 prestigious prize with Mary Brunkow of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle and Shimon Sakaguchi of Osaka University in Japan for their discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system. They will recieve a prize of 11m Swedish kronor (about 871,400). The award celebrates a fundamental discovery relating to T-cells, an important player in the immune system. T-cells are a type of white blood cell, produced in the bone marrow, that help to flag invading microbes and kill infected or cancerous cells. They are often referred to as security guards."

Fred Ramsdell won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine while on a digital detox hiking and camping trip in the western US backcountry. The Nobel committee initially could not reach him because his phone was on airplane mode, and they finally contacted the couple early Tuesday morning, Swedish time. Ramsdell and his wife were returning to their hotel after stopping to fix their car when she switched on her phone and saw dozens of congratulatory messages. Ramsdell shared the prize with Mary Brunkow and Shimon Sakaguchi for discoveries about T-cell function. The award amounts to 11 million Swedish kronor (about $871,400).

Read at www.theguardian.com