The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given out on Wednesday to three scientists for their groundbreaking achievements in predicting and even designing protein structures, which are essential to life. The recipients include David Baker from the University of Washington in Seattle, along with Demis Hassabis and John Jumper from Google DeepMind, a prominent AI research lab based in London. Heiner Linke, who chairs the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, highlighted that this award recognizes research that links amino acid sequences to protein structures.
He noted that this connection has been considered a major challenge in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry for many years. It’s this significant breakthrough that is being celebrated with the award today.