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| Frances H Arnold, George P Smith and Gregory P Winter win Nobel prize in chemistry | Frances H Arnold, George P Smith and Gregory P Winter win Nobel prize in chemistry |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Three scientists have won the Nobel prize in chemistry for their work in harnessing evolution to produce new enzymes and antibodies. | Three scientists have won the Nobel prize in chemistry for their work in harnessing evolution to produce new enzymes and antibodies. |
| British scientist Sir Gregory P Winter and Americans Frances H Arnold and George P Smith will share the 9m Swedish kronor (£770,000) prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. | British scientist Sir Gregory P Winter and Americans Frances H Arnold and George P Smith will share the 9m Swedish kronor (£770,000) prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. |
| The winners’ work has led to the development of new fuels and pharmaceuticals by making use of nature’s evolutionary processes themselves, leading to medical and environmental advances. | |
| Half of the prize goes to Arnold, from the California Institute of Technology, for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes – proteins that speed up chemical reactions. In a nutshell, Arnold introduced genetic mutations into enzymes, and then looked to see what effect the mutations had. She then selected the cases where a particular mutation proved useful – for example, allowing the enzyme to work in a solvent it would otherwise not work in. The process can then be repeated, with further genetic mutations introduced into these selected enzymes. | Half of the prize goes to Arnold, from the California Institute of Technology, for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes – proteins that speed up chemical reactions. In a nutshell, Arnold introduced genetic mutations into enzymes, and then looked to see what effect the mutations had. She then selected the cases where a particular mutation proved useful – for example, allowing the enzyme to work in a solvent it would otherwise not work in. The process can then be repeated, with further genetic mutations introduced into these selected enzymes. |
| The upshot is “directed evolution”, with Arnold’s work making it possible to cut out the use of many toxic catalysts, providing enzymes for all manner of fields, including the development of biofuels and the production of pharmaceuticals. | |
| The other half of the award goes to Winter and Smith, for their work on “phage display of peptides and antibodies.” A phage is a virus that can infect bacteria and trick them into reproducing it. Smith found that it was possible to tinker with the genetic material of a phage to change the molecules stuck on its outside. He realised this could be handy: for example, if it was not known what protein a particular gene gave rise to, the gene could be put into a phage and the mystery protein would appear on the surface and could be identified. It also meant scientists could introduce a whole host of unknown genes to phages and the see if any of them gave rise to proteins they already knew about, allowing them to work out which genes were responsible for which proteins. | The other half of the award goes to Winter and Smith, for their work on “phage display of peptides and antibodies.” A phage is a virus that can infect bacteria and trick them into reproducing it. Smith found that it was possible to tinker with the genetic material of a phage to change the molecules stuck on its outside. He realised this could be handy: for example, if it was not known what protein a particular gene gave rise to, the gene could be put into a phage and the mystery protein would appear on the surface and could be identified. It also meant scientists could introduce a whole host of unknown genes to phages and the see if any of them gave rise to proteins they already knew about, allowing them to work out which genes were responsible for which proteins. |
| . The approach has also opened the door for scientists to engineer phages bearing particular proteins in order to explore how those proteins might interact with particular targets. Winter used this technology to develop new drugs that have transformed medicine, offering therapies for diseases ranging from cancer to autoimmune conditions. | . The approach has also opened the door for scientists to engineer phages bearing particular proteins in order to explore how those proteins might interact with particular targets. Winter used this technology to develop new drugs that have transformed medicine, offering therapies for diseases ranging from cancer to autoimmune conditions. |
| Arnold is only the fifth woman to be awarded the prize for chemistry – the last female scientist to scoop the award was Ada E Yonath in 2009, who shared the prize for her work on understanding the structure of ribosomes: the protein-manufacturing structures inside cells. | Arnold is only the fifth woman to be awarded the prize for chemistry – the last female scientist to scoop the award was Ada E Yonath in 2009, who shared the prize for her work on understanding the structure of ribosomes: the protein-manufacturing structures inside cells. |
| Upon being indicted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2004, Arnold said: “25 years ago, it was considered the lunatic fringe. Scientists didn’t do that. Gentlemen didn’t do that. But since I’m an engineer and not a gentleman, I had no problem with that.” | Upon being indicted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2004, Arnold said: “25 years ago, it was considered the lunatic fringe. Scientists didn’t do that. Gentlemen didn’t do that. But since I’m an engineer and not a gentleman, I had no problem with that.” |
| Prof Carol Robinson, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said the award highlighted “the tremendous role of chemistry in contributing to many areas of our lives including pharmaceuticals, detergents, green catalysis and biofuels” and that the research was “transforming medicine”.” | Prof Carol Robinson, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said the award highlighted “the tremendous role of chemistry in contributing to many areas of our lives including pharmaceuticals, detergents, green catalysis and biofuels” and that the research was “transforming medicine”.” |
| On Monday, James Allison and Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 medicine Nobel for their work on harnessing the immune system to combat cancer, and on Tuesday the physics prize was shared between Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their work on laser physics. | On Monday, James Allison and Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 medicine Nobel for their work on harnessing the immune system to combat cancer, and on Tuesday the physics prize was shared between Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland for their work on laser physics. |
| The peace prize winner will be announced on Friday, followed by economics on Monday. The literature award is not being given this year after a scandal that resulted in a rape conviction earlier this week. | The peace prize winner will be announced on Friday, followed by economics on Monday. The literature award is not being given this year after a scandal that resulted in a rape conviction earlier this week. |
| More details soon … | More details soon … |
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