Three distinguished scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their innovative contributions to understanding and manipulating proteins. David Baker received one half of the prize for his advancements in "computational protein design," while Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper shared the other half for their work in "protein structure prediction."
This year's laureates have harnessed the power of computing and artificial intelligence to unlock the mysteries of proteins, which are essential to life. Chemists have long aspired to fully grasp and control these chemical building blocks, and thanks to the efforts of these scientists, that goal is closer than ever. Hassabis and Jumper utilized AI to predict the structure of nearly all known proteins, while Baker mastered protein design, even creating new proteins from scratch.
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In an official statement shared on social media, the Nobel Committee praised the laureates' groundbreaking achievements. "Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper have successfully employed AI to predict the structure of almost every known protein, while David Baker has learned how to create entirely new ones, advancing science in ways that were once unimaginable."
The Nobel announcements began earlier this week with the Nobel Prize in Medicine going to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun. On Tuesday, John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, pioneers in machine learning, received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
The Nobel Prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million), established from the legacy of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor.
David Baker's work has achieved what was once considered nearly impossible—building entirely new types of proteins. His research group has since created a range of unique proteins with potential uses in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanotechnology, and even microscopic sensors.
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Meanwhile, Hassabis and Jumper, working at Google DeepMind in London, developed the revolutionary AlphaFold2 AI model, which can predict the structure of almost all 200 million known proteins. Since its release in 2020, AlphaFold2 has been used by over two million researchers from 190 countries. This tool has a wide range of scientific applications, from understanding antibiotic resistance to creating enzymes that can break down plastics.
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