This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36344155
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Evolutionary engineer Frances Arnold wins €1m tech prize | Evolutionary engineer Frances Arnold wins €1m tech prize |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US engineer Frances Arnold has won the Millennium Technology Prize for pioneering "directed evolution". | US engineer Frances Arnold has won the Millennium Technology Prize for pioneering "directed evolution". |
| By driving a sped-up version of natural selection in the lab, the method has created new enzymes for industrial catalysts, household detergents, and even to make rocket fuel from sugar. | |
| The €1m (£0.8m) prize is awarded biennially and Prof Arnold is the first female winner in its 12-year history. | The €1m (£0.8m) prize is awarded biennially and Prof Arnold is the first female winner in its 12-year history. |
| It recognises developments that "change peoples' lives for the better". | |
| The Technology Academy Finland, which presents the prize, said the deliberations began in November 2015 but that "there was only one outstanding candidate". | The Technology Academy Finland, which presents the prize, said the deliberations began in November 2015 but that "there was only one outstanding candidate". |
| Prof Arnold, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), spoke to the BBC before travelling to Helsinki for Tuesday's ceremony. | Prof Arnold, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), spoke to the BBC before travelling to Helsinki for Tuesday's ceremony. |
| She said the "basic concept" of using evolution to create better enzymes emerged from her laboratory more than 20 years ago. | She said the "basic concept" of using evolution to create better enzymes emerged from her laboratory more than 20 years ago. |
| "Evolution, to me, is the best designer of all time. And I figured out that this should be the algorithm for forward design, for making new biological code that is useful to humans," Prof Arnold said. | "Evolution, to me, is the best designer of all time. And I figured out that this should be the algorithm for forward design, for making new biological code that is useful to humans," Prof Arnold said. |
| "I came in… from basically nowhere. That research was being done by biochemists and protein scientists - molecular biologists. And I was a chemical engineer. | "I came in… from basically nowhere. That research was being done by biochemists and protein scientists - molecular biologists. And I was a chemical engineer. |
| "I basically knew nothing about the field. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have done it, because I would have known how hard it was." | "I basically knew nothing about the field. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have done it, because I would have known how hard it was." |
| With her engineering background, Prof Arnold wanted to make new, useful, problem-solving proteins. So she took her cue from the way nature does the same thing. | With her engineering background, Prof Arnold wanted to make new, useful, problem-solving proteins. So she took her cue from the way nature does the same thing. |
| "I looked at nature and said, well, nature didn't actually design enzymes... How does this happen? You make mutations randomly, you look through a large number of things for the ones that have the properties you're interested in, then you repeat the process. | "I looked at nature and said, well, nature didn't actually design enzymes... How does this happen? You make mutations randomly, you look through a large number of things for the ones that have the properties you're interested in, then you repeat the process. |
| "And you iterate, accumulating beneficial changes over multiple generations - pretty much like we've done for cats, dogs, cows, chickens, you name it." | "And you iterate, accumulating beneficial changes over multiple generations - pretty much like we've done for cats, dogs, cows, chickens, you name it." |
| But instead of breeding animals, the directed evolution process works directly with small stretches of DNA and the proteins they encode. | But instead of breeding animals, the directed evolution process works directly with small stretches of DNA and the proteins they encode. |
| It is now used in laboratories worldwide and has produced many valuable enzymes, including a type 2 diabetes drug and various catalysts that allow chemicals and fuels to be made from renewable sources. | It is now used in laboratories worldwide and has produced many valuable enzymes, including a type 2 diabetes drug and various catalysts that allow chemicals and fuels to be made from renewable sources. |
| Prof Arnold is a leading proponent of this such "green" industrial chemistry and has co-founded a company, Gevo, that works in this area. | |
| "Isobutanol is not a natural product, but we evolved an enzyme that makes it possible to convert plant sugars to this precursor to jet fuel," she said. "So this company is producing jet fuel from renewable resources." | "Isobutanol is not a natural product, but we evolved an enzyme that makes it possible to convert plant sugars to this precursor to jet fuel," she said. "So this company is producing jet fuel from renewable resources." |
| Previous winners of the Millennium Technology Prize have included British computer pioneers Stuart Parkin, whose research radically expanded the capacity of computer hard drives, and Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web. | Previous winners of the Millennium Technology Prize have included British computer pioneers Stuart Parkin, whose research radically expanded the capacity of computer hard drives, and Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the world wide web. |
| Follow Jonathan on Twitter | Follow Jonathan on Twitter |