Two Americans, David Baker and John Jumper, and a Briton, Demis Hassabis, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Wednesday October 9, 2024, for their research on protein structures at “enormous potential”.
David Baker was awarded “for computational protein design” – computational meaning the use of computer methods in research –, while Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were for their work on “protein structure prediction” via artificial intelligence, indicates the jury in a press release.
New proteins and artificial intelligence
Biochemist, David Baker “achieved the almost impossible feat of building entirely new proteins”explains the jury. “Among a myriad of scientific applications, researchers can now better understand antibiotic resistance and create images of enzymes that can break down plastic”he adds.
Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who head the British company Google DeepMind, specializing in artificial intelligence, have “developed an artificial intelligence model to solve a 50-year-old problem: predicting complex protein structures”.
Their AI model, AlphaFold, can predict the three-dimensional structure of proteins based on their amino acid. The two men, who were favorites to receive this prize, had already received the prestigious Lasker Prize (for clinical and basic medical research) in 2023.
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