Scientists David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the structure of proteins, the prize-awarding body said on Wednesday.
Considered one of the most prestigious awards in the scientific world, the prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is worth 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million).
“One of the discoveries recognized this year concerns the creation of spectacular proteins. The other is about fulfilling a 50-year-old dream: predicting protein structures from their amino acid sequences,” the academy said in a statement.
Half the prize was awarded to Baker “for computational protein design,” the academy said, while the other half went to Hassabis and Jumper “for protein structure prediction.”
The third prize given each year, the Chemistry Prize follows the prizes for Medicine and Physics announced earlier this week.
The Nobel Prizes were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the wealthy businessman and inventor of dynamite, and are awarded “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind”.
First awarded in 1901, 15 years after Nobel’s death, it is awarded for achievements in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace. Recipients in each category share prize money which has been adjusted over the years.
The economics prize is subsequently funded by the Swedish central bank.
Chemistry, which is close to Alfred Nobel’s heart and the discipline most applicable to his own work as an inventor, may not always grab the most headlines at awards, but radioactivity pioneers have been among the past recipients. Includes scientific greats such as Ernest Rutherford and Marie Curie.
Last year’s Chemistry Prize was awarded to Maungi Bawendi, Lewis Bruce and Alexey Ekimov for their discovery of tiny clusters of atoms, known as quantum dots, which are widely used today in flat screens, light-emitting diodes ( LED) is used to create colors in lamps and instruments that help surgeons see. Blood vessels in tumors.
As well as the cash prize, the winners will also be presented with a medal by the Swedish King on 10 December, followed by a gala banquet at Stockholm City Hall.
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