Constructs novels in a tension between cultural opposites

Developed a technique that revolutionised laser technology

Conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes

Campaigning to end sexual violence in war

Gave voice to the post-Soviet individual

Discovered a novel therapy against malaria

Discovered the brain's positioning system

Advocate of girls' right to education

Master of the contemporary short story

Promoter of peace, justice and democratic rule in Liberia

Activist for women's rights, peace and social justice

Led work for women's rights in Yemen

Studied the management of common property

Writer depicting corruption, intolerance and repression

Discovered the vital role of telomeres

Discovered the vital role of telomeres

Mapped the ribosome at the atomic level

Discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Wrote about how and why we live

Founder of grass roots movement to combat deforestation

Discovered how our sense of smell works

Revealed the absurdity of society's clichés in her writing

Human rights activist and lawyer

Peace activist and campaigner against landmines

Wrote poetry that links the past with the present

Discovered genetic mechanisms controlling early development

Depicts the historical role of African-American women in society

Campaigner for the rights of indigenous peoples

Depicted the consequences of apartheid

Led a struggle for democracy and human rights in Myanmar

Discovered important principles for drug treatment

Investigated how the nervous system grows and develops

Discovered mobile genetic elements, "jumping genes"

Played a central role in the United Nations' disarmament negotiations

Worked for the poor in Calcutta through her order, the Missionaries of Charity

Developed a methodology for the determination of protein hormones in the blood

Founded a grass roots movement against violence in Northern Ireland

Founded a grass roots movement against violence in Northern Ireland

Presented the cultural heritage of the Jewish people

Determined the crystal structures of penicillin and vitamin B12

Made the first advanced model of nuclear structure

Proved insight into glycogen and glucose metabolism

Leader of the American peace movement

Wrote lyrical poetry on the theme of love, betrayal and nature

Portrayed peasant life in China

Discovered artificial radioactivity

Social worker active in the peace movement

Made vivid the life of medieval women

Portrayed the harsh life in Sardinia in her poetry

Storyteller and painter of peasant life

Leader in the international peace movement

Discovered the elements radium and polonium
Pioneering research on radiation