Nobel Prize 2024 in Chemistry: Scientists Honored for Their Contributions in Protein Science

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was revealed on Wednesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. As per the announcement the Nobel Prize for Chemistry is going to be divided in two halves, with one half going to David Baker, while the other half is to be shared by Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper. This year's Nobel Prize has went to scientists for their ground-breaking work in the field of protein science.

The Nobel Prize 2024 in Chemistry has been awarded to David Baker of the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, for his "computational protein design," and to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind in London, UK, for their contribution in "protein structure prediction."

BREAKING NEWS
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPrize in Chemistry with one half to David Baker “for computational protein design” and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper “for protein structure prediction.” pic.twitter.com/gYrdFFcD4T

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2024

Baker’s Contribution to Protein Design

In 2003, Baker created a novel protein from the ground up with success. Since then, his research team has produced a variety of novel proteins that are being used in drugs, vaccines, nanomaterials, and sensors all over the world.

Hassabis and Jumper's AI Based Protein Prediction Model

In the meantime, Hassabis and Jumper's AI-based innovation, AlphaFold2, was unveiled in 2020. Their model is able to predict the structure of almost all 200 million proteins that have been discovered by scientists till now. This feat was previously thought to be impossible. The thought of using Artificial Intelligence in prediction protein model can be seen as an example of scietific technology convergence.
Millions of scientists worldwide have utilized AlphaFold2 to address problems like antibiotic resistance and plastic degradation.

Nobel Prize 2024 Chemistry: Cash Prize

Each Nobel Prize winner receives 10 million Swedish kronor (about $900,000). When there are multiple winners, the cash prize is split.

In this case, David Baker will receive half of the prize, around $450,000. The remaining amount will be shared between Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Aleksey Ekimov for their discovery of quantum dots. These dots are minuscule atom clusters that are used to produce color in flat screens, light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, and instruments that aid surgeons in seeing blood arteries in tumors.

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