Roger Penrose

The Nobel Prize for physics has been awarded to scientists from Japan, Germany and Italy.

Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann were cited for their work in "the physical modeling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming".

Stephen Hawking, a scientist and a science popularizer, died at the age of 76.

"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today," says the statement released by the scientist's family. The statement has been published early Wednesday.

Stephen Hawking, the brilliant British theoretical physicist who overcame a debilitating disease to publish wildly popular books probing the mysteries of the universe, has died, according to a family spokesman. He was 76./ CNN