With the last of the 2011 Nobel Laureates announced yesterday, it is noteworthy that five of these recipients have conducted research supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF)--Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess received the Nobel Prize in Physics; and Thomas J. Sargent and Christopher A. Sims received the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for showing that the expansion of the universe is constantly accelerating.

NEW YORK, June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Four astronomers who found a way to recreate the growth of the universe are the recipients of the 2011 Cosmology Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation.

Analysis of the new compilation significantly narrows the possible values that dark energy might take—but not enough to decide among fundamentally different theories of its nature.

Dark energy has shaken the fields of physics and astronomy, much as Copernicus did five centuries ago when he declared that the Earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around.