The Nobel Prize of 2019 in Physics was awarded to three astronomers for their contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and the Earth's place in the cosmos. They are professor James Peebles at Princeton University "for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology" and professors Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz at the University of Geneva "for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star." The three astronomers have different research directions. Peebles'research is on cosmology, while Mayor and Queloz's research is on searching for extra-solar planets (exoplanets). In the present paper, we reviews the scientific accomplishment by Mayor and Queloz and their important impacts on planetary sciences and astronomy, as well as the diversity of exoplanets and the great challenges to our traditional understanding of the formation of the Solar system. We also comment on the progresses on searching for potentially habitable exoplanets and the s exo-life.

A half of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star. In this paper we review the academic achievements of these two scientists, the scientific significance of this important discovery, and the future development of this research area in China.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was awarded to John B. Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino, three scientists in the field of lithium-ion battery. This paper points out the important role of the lithium-ion battery, and reviews the development history and the research and industrialization processes in China. Finally, the key points for the future development of the lithium-ion batteries are pointed out.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019 was awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. They discovered that cells employ the hydroxylation of HIF-1α, a subunit of the transcriptional factor HIF-1, to sense the cellular oxygen level, and, consequently, the unhydroxylated HIF-1α under hypoxic conditions will be rapidly accumulated and enter the nucleus to regulate the transcription of over one thousand genes. The hypoxic response is closely related to a number of human diseases, including anemia, polycythemia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer. This paper reviews the history of the discovery of the cellular hypoxic response pathway, as well as human diseases involved.

The hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is a heterodimer DNA-binding transcription factor that can bind with specific nuclear cofactors and activate a variety of genes to optimize the oxygen utilization under hypoxia conditions. The American oncologist William G. Kaelin Jr., the British medical scientist Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and the American medical scientist Gregg L. Semenza won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how cells sense and adapt to the oxygen availability where the HIF plays an important role. This paper reviews the research progress of the HIF in the treatment of renal anemia, tumor, cardiovascular disease, as well as its significance to human health.