The Nobel Prizes were handed out on December 10, 2016  to the winners for their ground-breaking work ranging from the development of the world’s smallest machines to song lyrics that have touched generations of fans.The Nobel Prize in LITERATURE to  singer-songwriter Bob Dylan for having created what the Swedish Academy described as “new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Dylan isn’t attending the ceremony.The Nobel Prize in MEMORIAL PRIZE IN ECONOMIC SCIENCES to  Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom for their contributions to contract theory, a field of research applicable to anything from CEO bonuses to the deductibles and co-pays for insurance.The Nobel PEACE PRIZE to  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end his country’s civil war after five decades of bloodshed.The Nobel Prize in CHEMISTRY to  Frenchman Jean-Pierre Sauvage, British-born Fraser Stoddart and Dutch scientist Bernard “Ben” Feringa for work on tiny molecular machines that scientists say can lead to new computer chips, batteries and energy storage systems.The Nobel Prize in PHYSICS to  British-born scientists David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz for research on superconductors and other unusual states of matter, which the judges said could pave the way for developments in electronics and quantum computers.The Nobel Prize in MEDICINE: Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi for discoveries related to autophagy, the “self-eating” process that lets a cell break down and recycle some of its contents. Breakdowns in the autophagy process have been linked to a number of grave diseases including Parkinson’s, diabetes and cancer.