Nobel prize will have no gender or ethnicity quotas, academy head says

Only 59 Nobel prizes - or 6.2% of the total - have gone to women since their inception in 1901

Swedish scientist and head of the academy that awards Nobel prizes has ruled out the notion of gender or ethnicity quotas in the selection of laureates for the prestigious award.

Goran Hansson, the secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, accepted that there are so few women" in the running but conceded the prize would ultimately go to those who are found the most worthy".