Why Nobel prizes fail 21st-century science

It is the ultimate accolade, but critics claim the award is now out of step with modern collaborative research methods

A small group of scientists will achieve international stardom this week. They will learn they have won Nobel prizes in physiology, chemistry and physics, and their lives will be transformed. Each will win hundreds of thousands of pounds and they will be feted as infallible sages on science - and other topics outside their expertise.

But many now question this deification of scientists and believe Nobel prizes are dangerously out of kilter with the processes of modern research. By stressing individual achievements, they say, Nobels encourage competition at the expense of cooperation. They want the system to be changed.