Trio wins Chemistry Nobel for work on protein design and prediction of structures

• The Nobel Prizes for 2024 in Chemistry was awarded to David Baker “for computational protein design” along with Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper “for protein structure prediction”

Highlights:

• On October 9, 2024, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper for their groundbreaking work in computational protein design and protein structure prediction.
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized these scientists for advancing our understanding and manipulation of proteins, which are essential molecules in all living organisms.

Awardees and Their Contributions

David Baker:

• David Baker was awarded for his pioneering work in computational protein design. His team's research, starting in 2003, utilized bespoke software to create new proteins tailored for specific purposes.
• This development of ‘designer’ proteins has opened possibilities for their application in medicine, biotechnology, and synthetic biology. The ability to design almost any type of protein was described by Johan Åqvist, a former chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, as “absolutely mind-blowing.”

Demis Hassabis and John Jumper:

• Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were recognized for their work on AlphaFold 2, an artificial intelligence model developed by Google DeepMind.
• AlphaFold 2 revolutionized the field by accurately predicting the structures of millions of proteins, a task that had previously been performed manually by human scientists for only around 1.7 lakh proteins.
• The ability to predict protein structures with high accuracy is crucial for understanding their function and developing new drugs and therapies.

Implications of the Research:

• These discoveries have vast implications for biochemistry, molecular biology, and medicine. Protein design allows scientists to engineer proteins for specific uses, such as in drug development, disease treatment, and industrial processes. Meanwhile, AlphaFold 2's ability to predict protein structures accelerates research in fields like genetics, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.
• Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, emphasized that this research bridges the gap between the amino acid sequences that make up proteins and their three-dimensional structures, a connection critical for unlocking new scientific discoveries and applications.

Nobel Prize Trends: A Shift Toward Non-Chemists:

• The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry continues a recent trend where non-chemists are recognized for contributions to chemistry’s broad influence across disciplines, particularly in biochemistry and molecular biology. Roald Hoffmann, a Nobel laureate from 1981, viewed this as evidence of chemistry’s expanding reach and relevance.

Other 2024 Nobel Prize Announcements:

• The 2024 Nobel Prize season began with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics followed, with John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton being honored for their contributions to machine learning and artificial neural networks.

Prelims Takeaways:

• Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
• AlphaFold 2