I feel deeply honored, says David Baker, who is participating in the press conference via link.
Proteins are often referred to as the building blocks of life, and understanding their structures provides crucial knowledge about all living things. This includes, among other things, the body's functions, diseases, and the development of medicines.
David Baker is being awarded for designing entirely new proteins that can function as medicines, vaccines, nanomaterials, and minimal sensors.
The 62-year-old American recounts that he was sleeping when the phone rang and the news reached him.
My wife screamed so loudly that I didn't quite hear what the person said.
3D structures
The second half of the chemistry prize goes to Brit Demis Hassabis and American John Jumper, who are being rewarded for their work on developing protein structures using artificial intelligence (AI).
I was really shocked and became sort of empty for a few minutes, says Hassabis to TT.
48-year-old Demis Hassabis is co-founder and CEO of Google's DeepMind division, where 39-year-old John Jumper is also active. Four years ago, they presented the AI model Alphafold 2. It led to a long-awaited breakthrough in predicting protein structures in 3D, which has puzzled researchers since the 1970s.
With the help of the model, they have been able to predict the structure of virtually all 200 million proteins that researchers are familiar with. Since the breakthrough, the model has been used by over two million people from 190 countries. Among many other things, researchers can better understand antibiotic resistance and create images of enzymes that can break down plastic.
AI times two
Peter Brzezinski, professor of biochemistry and member of the Academy, says that the insight into protein structures has created entirely new conditions for researchers:
Just being able to see all the fantastic structures ahead of you and then being able to think about how experiments can be designed, it has opened up a whole new world for us.
It's the second day in a row that artificial intelligence (AI) is the foundation of the Nobel laureates' research. But Tuesday's physics prize and Wednesday's chemistry prize have not been weighed against each other in any way.
Each Nobel Prize must be able to stand on its own, says Heiner Linke, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.
David Baker, who just turned 62, is an American and is based at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Demis Hassabis, a 48-year-old Brit, is active at University College London, UK. He is also co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, London, UK.
John Jumper, a 39-year-old American, is active at the University of Chicago, IL, USA. He is also active at Google's DeepMind division.
Prize amount: 11 million Swedish kronor, with one half going to David Baker and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper.
