The power of evolution won big at the Nobel prizes this year with three scientists being awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday.
BREAKING NEWS:
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the #NobelPrize in Chemistry 2018 with one half to Frances H. Arnold and the other half jointly to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter. pic.twitter.com/lLGivVLttB— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 3, 2018
Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter won the 2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday.
What did they do?
The scientists were awarded for their work in new and innovative methods of directed evolution and antibody engineering.
Frances H. Arnold led pioneering efforts in chemistry to create useful biological systems, including enzymes, metabolic pathways and organisms. These enzymes and bio-systems speed up chemical reactions to create high levels of clean energy or for use in pharmaceuticals.
George P. Smith developed a process called phage display that was then taken up by Sir Gregory P. Winter to evolve new proteins and antibodies. These antibodies help in creating drugs for humans counteracting several diseases.
The first one created using these processes, approved for use in 2002, was used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases. The process of phage display has, since then, been used to make humanised anti-bodies that can neutralise toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases or cure metastatic cancer.
What do they win?
Watch the moment the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is announced.
Presented by Göran K. Hansson, Secretary General of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. pic.twitter.com/j0hkL3rkpp— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 3, 2018
Apart from the biggest honour of being a Nobel laureate, the prize includes a US$1.01 million cash award. The 2018 Nobel Prize proceeds are being shared among three scientists, wherein half of the cash prize will be awarded to Frances H Arnold while the other half is to be awarded to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter.
