The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 was divided, one half awarded to Frances H. Arnold “for the directed evolution of enzymes”, the other half jointly to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies.”
Announcement of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry by Professor Göran K. Hansson, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, on 3 October 2018.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018
with one half to
Frances H. Arnold
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
“for the directed evolution of enzymes”
and the other half jointly to
George P. Smith
University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
and
Sir Gregory P. Winter
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
“for the phage display of peptides and antibodies”
They harnessed the power of evolution
The power of evolution is revealed through the diversity of life. The 2018 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to 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.
Since the first seeds of life arose around 3.7 billion years ago, almost every crevice on Earth has filled with different organisms. Life has spread to hot springs, deep oceans and dry deserts, all because evolution has solved a number of chemical problems. Life’s chemical tools – proteins – have been optimised, changed and renewed, creating incredible diversity.
This year’s Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have been inspired by the power of evolution and used the same principles – genetic change and selection – to develop proteins that solve mankind’s chemical problems.
One half of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Frances H. Arnold. In 1993, she conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes, which are proteins that catalyse chemical reactions. Since then, she has refined the methods that are now routinely used to develop new catalysts. The uses of Frances Arnold’s enzymes include more environmentally friendly manufacturing of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, and the production of renewable fuels for a greener transport sector.
The other half of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry is shared by George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter. In 1985, George Smith developed an elegant method known as phage display, where a bacteriophage – a virus that infects bacteria – can be used to evolve new proteins. Gregory Winter used phage display for the directed evolution of antibodies, with the aim of producing new pharmaceuticals. The first one based on this method, adalimumab, was approved in 2002 and is used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases. Since then, phage display has produced anti-bodies that can neutralise toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases and cure metastatic cancer.
We are in the early days of directed evolution’s revolution which, in many different ways, is bringing and will bring the greatest benefit to humankind.
Illustrations
The illustrations are free to use for non-commercial purposes. Attribute ”©Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences”
