For his revolutionary work on protein structures, British computer scientist Professor Demis Hassabis—co-founder of Google DeepMind—has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Professors John Jumper and David Baker, who were honored for their groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of proteins—the building blocks of life—share the award with him.
Every cell in the human body depends on proteins, and our growing understanding of their structures has produced important medical improvements. These findings have made it possible to address problems like antibiotic resistance and create plastic-breaking enzymes.
Prof Hassabis, 48, expressed how happy he was to win the prize, calling it the “honor of a lifetime.” He described the funny moment of the Nobel committee trying to get in touch with him and having to go through his wife, who at first did not take the calls, not understanding their importance.
AlphaFold2 is the product of the collaboration between Prof Hassabis and Prof Jumper; it is an AI tool that can predict the structures of virtually all known proteins. The Nobel committee calls this breakthrough “a complete revolution” already applied to understanding 200 million proteins worldwide.
Before the creation of AlphaFold2, predicting the protein structure was extremely daunting. The contribution of this duo has really broadened the scope of our understanding by giving the researchers the ability to create new medical treatments and instruments with maximum possible precision.
In addition, Prof. Baker, 60, of the University of Washington in Seattle, has made important advancements in the field of protein design. His research on the synthesis of novel proteins paved the way for advancements in vaccinations and medicine. He created the Rosetta program in the 1990s, and it’s still a vital resource for protein structure prediction.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm revealed the Chemistry Nobel Prize recipients, who will split a prize amount of 11 million Swedish kronor (£810,000). This esteemed prize honors the accomplishments of these forward-thinking experts while highlighting the revolutionary potential of AI in scientific research.
