Harvard’s Maya Jasanoff offers a peek behind the verdict for this year’s prize, awarded yesterday to Damon Galgut for “The Promise.”

Researchers pinpoint neurons needed to fight inflammation, shedding light on why technique works in some parts of the body and not others.

“I see archives, now, as the richest source of real life. You never know what detail, what strange twist, will … open up a new picture for you.”