Three molecular chemists win Nobel Prize in Chemistry
On October 9, three molecular chemists, Austrian-American Martin Karplus, British-American Michael Levitt and American-Israeli dual citizen Arieh Warshel, became co-winners of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work in developing multiscale computer models capable of simulating complex chemical reaction processes and systems.
Because chemical reactions occur at such a rapid rate, the Nobel Prize committee said that thanks to this research, scientists can use computer programs to visualize and analyze the structure of complex molecules in detail, such as explaining which chemical processes can clean up exhaust gas or how photosynthesis occurs in plant leaves.
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| (Source: AFP/VNA) |
This allows researchers to understand and predict complex chemical reactions that can occur in a fraction of a millisecond. The discovery also lays the foundation for chemical reaction prediction and research programs that can be applied in the pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.
Karplus is 83, Levitt is 66 and Warshel is 72. All three work at universities in the United States. The three co-winners will share the prize of 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.25 million), down from previous years’ prize money due to the global economic downturn.
Traditionally, the laureates will receive their awards at a formal ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10, the anniversary of the death of prize founder Alfred Nobel.
The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to two American scientists, Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka, for their research that identified a class of cellular sensors, revealing the secrets of how the body works at the molecular level./.
According to (Vietnam+)- VT
