The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

The prize was given for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.

Among the researchers who were expected to be honored this year were those who were instrumental in the development of the mRNA technology that went into Covid-19 vaccines, which saved millions of lives across the world.

Last year’s recipients were David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries into how the human body perceives temperature and touch.

The medicine prize kicks off a week of Nobel Prize announcements. It continues Tuesday with the physics prize, with chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the economics award on Oct 10.

The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on Dec. 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.