The Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year is shared by three scientists for their pioneering work in the fields of directed evolution and phage display, which apply the power of evolution at the molecular level to create novel enzymes, proteins, antibodies and pharmaceuticals.
Frances Arnold of Caltech becomes the 5th woman and the first American woman in the 118 year history of Nobel Prizes to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This follows on the heels of yesterday’s announcement of Donna Strickland from Canada becoming the third woman in history to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics.
The 3 winners are -
- Frances H. Arnold, Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.
- Born 1956 in Pittsburgh, USA. Ph.D. 1985, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
- George P. Smith, Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA.
- Born 1941 in Norwalk, USA. Ph.D. 1970, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
- Sir Gregory P. Winter, Research Leader Emeritus, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
- Born 1951 in Leicester, UK. Ph.D. 1976, University of Cambridge, UK
Women Nobel Laureates
So far, Nobel Prizes have been awarded 846 times to men, 51 times to women (Marie Curie won it twice), and 27 times to organizations. See en.wikipedia.org/… and www.nobelprize.org/… for details.
Nobel Prize |
Number of Women Winners To Date |
Number of Women Winners in 2018 |
Peace |
16 |
|
Literature |
14 |
|
Physiology or Medicine |
12 |
0 |
Chemistry |
5 |
1 |
Physics |
3 |
1 |
Economic Sciences |
1 |
|
WomEn WinnerS of The Nobel PRIZE in Chemistry |
Year |
Country |
Marie Curie |
1911 |
Poland and France |
Irène Joliot-Curie |
1935 |
France |
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin |
1964 |
UK |
Ada Yonath |
2009 |
Israel |
Frances H. Arnold |
2018 |
USA |
The Inventions
The 2018 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have taken the principles of evolution and used it for purposes that have brought tremendous benefits for all of humankind. Enzymes produced through directed evolution are used to manufacture everything from biofuels to pharmaceuticals. Antibodies evolved using a method called phage display can combat autoimmune diseases and in some cases cure metastatic cancer.
The fundamental idea behind Arnold’s directed evolution technique is to use the principles of evolution (genes, reproduction, mutations and selection) to create new enzymes and proteins. Instead of explicitly designing long complex genes from first principles, scientists start with a “population” of copies of a gene with small random variations, test them for desired properties, select the best (fittest) candidates and produce the next generation of gene “offsprings” using combination and mutation of the selected genes. Over several cycles, all done in the laboratory at much higher speeds than in nature, the genes “evolve” and improve in their ability to produce the desired enzymes and proteins.
This technique is even used for solving non-biological problems in computer programs, aka genetic algorithms.
Smith developed a method that uses viruses that infect bacteria to produce new proteins while Winter used the same phage display technique to engineer the evolution of antibodies, with the aim of producing more effective medicines.
Humira, or adalimumab, an antibody injection for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, was the first drug based on Winter’s work to win regulatory approval in 2002. It has since gone on to become a blockbuster, with sales last year of $18bn.
Meet the New Nobel Laureates
Interesting tidbit from www.nobelprize.org/...
Even in 1979, as a newly graduated mechanical and aerospace engineer, Frances Arnold had a clear vision: to benefit humanity through the development of new technology. The US had decided that 20 per cent of its power would come from renewable sources by 2000, and she worked with solar power. However, prospects for the future of this industry changed radically after the 1981 presidential election, so instead she turned her gaze to the new DNA technology.
Frances Arnold is one of the few people to be a member of the exclusive National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering.
Greetings and Congratulations from around the world
From NIH Director Francis Collins — “Today’s Nobel winners in chemistry demonstrate the essential nature of basic research to medical breakthroughs. These three Laureates wonderfully exemplify the kind of creative approach to fundamental biomedical science that reveals new insights about the life process and ultimately leads to advances in human health. The human benefits from the taxpayer’s investment in basic research through NIH are enormous.”
Discussion
The Nobel Prize categories have remained largely unchanged since 1901, except for the addition of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1968. Yet, the world of science and technology has evolved by leaps and bounds since then. Should the Nobel Prizes categories be expanded to reflect the modern world and to provide greater opportunity to recognize researchers whose work does not fall into the current narrow categories?
How about mathematics, technology, information processing, climate science, geo-science, ecology, sustainability, social sciences, and behavioral science? Or should some of these fields be explicitly folded into existing categories?
Further Reading
- Frances H. Arnold — www.che.caltech.edu/… and en.wikipedia.org/...
- George P. Smith — biology.missouri.edu/… and en.wikipedia.org/...
- Sir Gregory P. Winter — www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/... and en.wikipedia.org/...
- The announcement — www.nobelprize.org/…
- Technical summary — www.nobelprize.org/…
- In-depth technical description — www.nobelprize.org/...
- The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics - First Woman Nobel Laureate in 55 years — www.dailykos.com/…
- What's Missing From the Nobel Prizes? Scientists Weigh In — www.livescience.com/…
- There’s nothing noble about the Science’s Nobel Prize gender gap — www.wired.com/…
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Are the Nobel Prizes Missing Female Scientists? — www.scientificamerican.com/...