The Nobel Prize in chemistry for 2024 has been awarded for groundbreaking advancements in understanding and manipulating proteins, which are essential molecules for life.
This year's prize is divided between three significant contributions: one by David Baker for creating new proteins, and the other jointly by Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for developing an AI model that predicts protein structures.
What Are Proteins?
Proteins are large, complex molecules made up of smaller units called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids that combine in various sequences to form proteins.
These proteins play crucial roles in our bodies, acting as:
Enzymes: Catalysts that speed up chemical reactions.
Hormones: Regulators of physiological processes.
Antibodies: Defenders against infections.
Structural components: Building blocks of tissues like muscles and skin.
David Baker's work
David Baker has achieved the remarkable feat of designing entirely new proteins from scratch.
Since 2003, his research group at the University of Washington has created innovative proteins that do not exist in nature. These proteins can serve various purposes, such as:
Pharmaceuticals: New drugs that can target specific diseases.
Vaccines: Enhanced immune responses to infections.
Nanomaterials: Tiny materials with unique properties for technological applications.
Sensors: Devices that detect specific substances in the environment.
His work exemplifies a shift from merely studying existing proteins to actively creating new ones tailored for specific functions, opening up vast possibilities in medicine and technology.
Demis Hassabis and John Jumper's work
Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have developed an AI model called AlphaFold2, which addresses a long-standing challenge in biology: predicting the three-dimensional structures of proteins based on their amino acid sequences.
This prediction is crucial because a protein's shape determines its function.Before AlphaFold2, predicting these structures was notoriously difficult and had been a goal for researchers since the 1970s. With AlphaFold2, they successfully predicted the structures of nearly all known proteins—over 200 million—providing researchers with invaluable insights into how proteins work.
Why do their work deserve a Novel prize?
Their work merits a Nobel Prize due to its revolutionary impact across multiple fields. In pharmaceutical applications, their designed proteins have opened new avenues for drug and vaccine development, potentially transforming medical treatments. The environmental implications are equally significant, as engineered proteins show promise in breaking down plastics, offering solutions to critical ecological challenges. Their research has also driven technological innovations, leading to the creation of tiny sensors and nanomaterials with unique properties.
Perhaps most notably, their work solved a 50-year-old problem in science: predicting how a protein's linear sequence of amino acids folds into its three-dimensional structure, which is crucial for understanding protein function.
The wide application of their innovation, particularly through AlphaFold2, has successfully predicted the structures of nearly all known proteins—over 200 million—making it an invaluable tool accessed by more than two million scientists across 190 countries.
This breakthrough has significant implications for understanding mechanisms like antibiotic resistance and visualizing enzymes capable of decomposing harmful substances, showcasing the far-reaching impact of their scientific achievement.
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