Three scientists honoured with Nobel Prize in chemistry for their research on proteins

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarding three scientists for their groundbreaking work on the structure of proteins, which are considered the vital elements of life.

The prestigious honour is shared between David Baker from the University of Washington (USA), Demis Hassabis and John Jumper from the UK-based Google DeepMind.

According to the Royal Swedish Academy, David Baker received recognition for his contributions to computational protein design, while Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were honored for their advancements in predicting protein structures using artificial intelligence (AI).

These scientists revolutionised the understanding of proteins through computational methods and AI.

Google DeepMind experts utilised AI to predict the structure of all known proteins, while Baker’s work focused on understanding the essential proteins of life and how new ones can be designed.

The Royal Committee highlighted the significance of their discoveries, noting that these breakthroughs can accelerate the development of vaccines and pave the way for an environmentally friendly chemical industry.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, a prize sum of $1.1 million will be shared among the three laureates.

Earlier, on October 7, the Nobel Committee announced the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine for two scientists, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun who discovered microRNA and its functions. 

On October 8, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton from the US and Canada were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on AI technology.

The Nobel Peace Prize is set to be announced on October 11, followed by the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on October 14.