Stockholm

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M. Jumper, as announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday. The prize is split into two halves: one half goes to David Baker for his work on computational protein design, while Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper receive the other half for their advancements in protein structure prediction.

The Academy noted that these scientists have cracked the code of protein structures. Baker has created entirely new types of proteins, while Hassabis and Jumper developed an AI model that solved a long-standing challenge in predicting complex protein structures. This breakthrough has significant implications for understanding how proteins work.

Proteins are made from 20 different amino acids, which are essential for life. Baker has designed new proteins for various applications, including medicines and vaccines. Meanwhile, Hassabis and Jumper’s AI model, AlphaFold2, has helped predict the structures of nearly all known proteins, benefiting research in fields like antibiotic resistance and enzyme development.

Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, highlighted that these discoveries offer immense possibilities. The Swedish Royal Academy will award the laureates a total of 11 million Swedish kronor, with Baker receiving half and Hassabis and Jumper sharing the rest.