The 2013 Nobel Prizes

[The Outsider]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/health/3-win-joint-nobel-prize-in-medicine.html?_r=0 3 Win Joint Nobel Prize in Medicine

Three cell biologists at American universities won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for their work on how cells transport molecules, a system that involves small packages called vesicles that get the molecules where they need to go. The scientists, James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof, “have discovered the molecular principles that govern how this cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time in the cell,” according to a news release from the Nobel Foundation. Dr. Schekman, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley, identified the genes that regulate cells’ transportation system, originally studying yeast cells with faulty systems, where vesicles piled up in places they were not supposed to be. Dr. Rothman, a Yale professor who is currently chairman of the department of cell biology there, discovered a protein complex that allows vesicles to dock and fuse with the membranes they are targeting. Dr. Südhof, who is originally from Germany, is a professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford and an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work on how nerve cells communicate with one another in the brain built on the machinery discovered by Drs. Schekman and Rothman by pinpointing how vesicles know exactly when to release their molecular contents. Together, the work of the three newest Nobel Laureates has unlocked a “fundamental process in cell physiology,” as the Nobel committee put it, one that enhances scientists’ understanding and research of diseases like diabetes in which the cell transportation system goes awry. “Vesicle transport and fusion operate, with the same general principles, in organisms as different as yeast and man,” the Nobel Foundation said in its announcement. “Without this wonderfully precise organization, the cell would lapse into chaos.”

[Detonator]

This could change the method of treating diabetis . While they haven't found a way to cure, but it's still a huge step. :hatsoff: I hope Malala Yousafzai wins the Peace Prize. :bow:

[Macj]

Peace Price - Give the farce to Obama again.

[Sachin=GOD]

Peace Prize may go to Malala and Literature may go to Haruki Murakami.

[Brainfade]

Exciting stuff. Think about it. Each one of our trillion cells contains specialized compartments. This functional specialization is due to specific enzymes and other proteins that they contain. But, guess what? All of the cell's proteins are made in one or two places within the cell. So, how does each protein get "barcoded" and go to the exact compartment where it does its job? Secondly, many cell-types make proteins and dump them out (secretion) into the outside space, where they function - either in the vicinity (e.g., neurotransmitters) or at a remote site (e.g., insulin). So, how do these cells manufacture the protein, decorate it, barcode it, and route it to the cell's exterior in precise quantities at precisely the right time? For those of you in logistics, supply-chain management etc., these intricacies would be very familiar. It is fascinating to imagine how these systems have evolved over billions of years to the point everythng "makes sense." These guys helped figure it all out. The medical benefits may follow, but the beauty lies in the fundamental processes themselves. PS: I realize all this and more has been said in the OP's NYT link, but the excitement is too much for me and I had to express it.

[coffee_rules]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57606461/discoverers-of-higgs-boson-a.k.a--the-god-particle-awarded-nobel-prize-in-physics/ Discoverers of Higgs boson, a.k.a. "the God particle," awarded Nobel Prize in physics. Francois Englert of Belgium and Peter Higgs of Britain won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for their theoretical discoveries on how subatomic particles acquire mass. Fascinating!

Englert and Higgs theorized about the existence of the particle in the 1960s to provide an answer to a riddle: why matter has mass. The tiny particle, they believed, acts like molasses on snow - causing other basic building blocks of nature to stick together, slow down and form atoms. But decades would pass before scientists at CERN were able to confirm its existence in July 2012. To find it, they had to build a $10 billion collider in a 17-mile tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border. The particle, a boson, was first found last July and many thought that it might not be the correct boson, but once scientists finished recent testing an affirmative judgment was made. They were on the right track.

[Brainfade]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57606461/discoverers-of-higgs-boson-a.k.a--the-god-particle-awarded-nobel-prize-in-physics/ Discoverers of Higgs boson, a.k.a. "the God particle," awarded Nobel Prize in physics. Francois Englert of Belgium and Peter Higgs of Britain won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for their theoretical discoveries on how subatomic particles acquire mass. Fascinating!

Work done in 1964. Nobel in 2013. While such long gaps are not uncommon, 39 years is a lot! I wonder what the longest gap is between publication of a work and winning the Nobel. It is tough to be a theoretical physicist. As Dr. Sheldon Cooper might say, it would take the inferior skills of mere experimental physicists to confirm his work before he can win the Nobel Prize.

[Detonator]

Exciting stuff. Think about it. Each one of our trillion cells contains specialized compartments. This functional specialization is due to the presence of specific enzymes and other proteins that they contain. But, guess what? All of the cell's proteins are made in one or two places within the cell. So, how does each protein get "barcoded" and go to the exact compartment where it do its job? Secondly, many cell-types make proteins and dump them out (secretion) into the outside space, where they function - either in the vicinity (e.g., neurotransmitters) or at a remote site (e.g., insulin). So, how do these cells manufacture the protein, decorate it, barcode it, and route it to the cell's exterior in precise quantities at precisely the right time? For those of you in logistics, supply-chain management etc., these intricacies would be very familiar. It is fascinating to imagine how these systems have evolved over billions of years to the point everythng "makes sense." These guys helped figure it all out. The medical benefits may follow, but the beauty lies in the fundamental processes themselves. PS: I realize all this and more has been said in the OP's NYT link, but the excitement is too much for me and I had to express it.

Wow.. well written!!! :hatsoff:

[Brainfade]

Wow.. well written!!! :hatsoff:

Thanks, but now that I am re-reading it, I got to go in and fix my stupid grammar :-(.

[coffee_rules]

Work done in 1964. Nobel in 2013. While such long gaps are not uncommon, 39 years is a lot! I wonder what the longest gap is between publication of a work and winning the Nobel. It is tough to be a theoretical physicist. As Dr. Sheldon Cooper might say, it would take the inferior skills of mere experimental physicists to confirm his work before he can win the Nobel Prize.

In some cases, it is like Oscars given on life-time achievement. This is on Chadrashekar's wiki page:

Chandrasekhar developed a unique style of mastering several fields of physics and astrophysics; consequently, his working life can be divided into distinct periods. He would exhaustively study a specific area, publish several papers in it and then write a book summarizing the major concepts in the field. He would then move on to another field for the next decade and repeat the pattern. Thus he studied stellar structure, including the theory of white dwarfs, during the years 1929 to 1939, and subsequently focused on stellar dynamics from 1939 to 1943. .... He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his studies on the physical processes important to the structure and evolution of stars. Chandrasekhar accepted this honor, but was upset that the citation mentioned only his earliest work, seeing it as a denigration of a lifetime's achievement. He shared it with William A. Fowler.

Even that was about 40 years later.

[Brainfade]

In some cases, it is like Oscars given on life-time achievement. This is on Chadrashekar's wiki page: Even that was about 40 years later.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. In the Higgs boson case, it seems that the recent CERN discovery accelerated (no pun intended) the Nobel for these two scientists. But for that discovery, they may never have gotten it.

[diga]

Exciting stuff. Think about it. Each one of our trillion cells contains specialized compartments. This functional specialization is due to specific enzymes and other proteins that they contain. But, guess what? All of the cell's proteins are made in one or two places within the cell. So, how does each protein get "barcoded" and go to the exact compartment where it does its job? Secondly, many cell-types make proteins and dump them out (secretion) into the outside space, where they function - either in the vicinity (e.g., neurotransmitters) or at a remote site (e.g., insulin). So, how do these cells manufacture the protein, decorate it, barcode it, and route it to the cell's exterior in precise quantities at precisely the right time? For those of you in logistics, supply-chain management etc., these intricacies would be very familiar. It is fascinating to imagine how these systems have evolved over billions of years to the point everythng "makes sense." These guys helped figure it all out. The medical benefits may follow, but the beauty lies in the fundamental processes themselves. PS: I realize all this and more has been said in the OP's NYT link, but the excitement is too much for me and I had to express it.

Nicely put... Your writeup reminds me of "the short history of nearly everything" by bill bryson.

[The Outsider]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/science/three-researchers-win-nobel-prize-in-chemistry.html?hp&_r=0 3 Researchers Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers for computer simulations that enable the closer study of complex reactions like photosynthesis and combustion, and the design of new drugs. Martin Karplus of the University of Strasbourg in France and Harvard University, Michael Levitt of Stanford University, and Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California share the honor and the approximately $1.2 million that accompanies it. The computer simulations combine classical physics, which is able to track a multitude of atoms, and quantum mechanics, which is needed to capture the breaking and forming of chemical bonds. Last year, two Americans, Robert J. Lefkowitz of Duke University and Brian K. Kobilka of Stanford, shared the chemistry Nobel for deciphering the communication system that the human body uses to sense the outside world and send messages to the interior of cells.

Thanks for that write up, Cricaddict. A couple of older threads about the Higgs Boson on ICF for those interested: http://indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=120414 http://indiancricketfans.com/showthread.php?t=284779

[diga]

Alice Munro, a Canadian writer of short stories, won the Nobel Prize for Literature today, becoming in the process the thirteenth woman to win the prize in the history of the Nobel Prize.

[diga]

The Nobel Prize in Physics Is Really a Nobel Prize in Math The prediction of the Higgs boson is another beautiful example of mathematics driving progress in natural science. In the 1960s, physicists struggled with the fact that an attractive mathematical theory governing the behavior of elementary particles gave a nonsensical answer: It predicted massless particles that no one had seen. What we now know as the Higgs boson solved this problem. Inserted into the equations in just the right way, it gives particles their masses. The rest is history. The Higgs boson was the last missing piece of the Standard Model, and its experimental discovery was the end of an era.

[diga]

Three U.S. scientists won the Nobel chemistry prize on Wednesday for pioneering work on computer programs that simulate complex chemical processes and have revolutionised research in areas from drugs to solar energy. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, awarding the prize of 8 million crowns to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel, said their work had effectively taken chemistry into cyberspace. Long gone were the days of modelling reactions using plastic balls and sticks. "Today the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the test tube," the academy said in a statement. "Computer models mirroring real life have become crucial for most advances made in chemistry today." Chemical reactions occur at lightning speed as electrons jump between atomic nuclei, making it virtually impossible to map every separate step in chemical processes involving large molecules like proteins. Powerful computer models, first developed by the three scientists in the 1970s, offer a new window onto such reactions and have become a mainstay for researchers in thousands of academic and industrial laboratories around the world. 'LIKE A MOVIE' In drug design, for example, scientists can now use computers to calculate how an experimental medicine will react with a particular target protein in the body by working out the interplay of atoms. "The field of computational modelling has revolutionised how we design new medicines by allowing us to accurately predict the behaviour of proteins," said Dominic Tildesley, president-elect of Britain's Royal Society of Chemistry. Today, all pharmaceutical companies use computational chemistry to screen experimental compounds for potential as medicines before further testing them on animals or people. The ability to model chemical reactions has also grown as computers have become more powerful, while progress in biotechnology has produced ever more complex large molecules for use in treating diseases like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. "It has revolutionised chemistry," Kersti Hermansson, professor in organic chemistry at Uppsala University, said of the computer modelling. "When you solve equations on the computer, you obtain information that is at such detail it is almost impossible to get it from any other method." "You can really follow like a movie, in time and in space. This is fantastic detail..." Karplus, a U.S. and Austrian citizen, carries out research at the University of Strasbourg and Harvard University. Levitt, a U.S. and British citizen, is at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Warshel, a U.S. and Israeli citizen, is a professor at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The approach has applications in industrial processes, such as materials science, the design of solar cells or catalysts used in cars. For the former, programs can be used to mimic the process of photosynthesis by which green leaves absorb sunlight and produce oxygen. EARLY SETBACKS It was not an easy scientific journey, however. Warshel said he had been convinced of the case for using computers to simulate chemical reactions since 1975 but did not know if he would live to see it adopted. "I always knew it was the right direction, but I had infinite difficulties and setbacks in the research. None of my papers were ever published without being rejected first," he told Reuters. Karplus said his early work using computers was initially met coldly by many of his scientific colleagues in the '70s. "My chemistry colleagues thought it was a waste of time," he told reporters at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, adding that the next generation of scientists should be courageous and "not believe their colleagues necessarily if they say they can't do something." Karplus's family brought him to the United States in 1938 after the Nazi annexation of Austria. Austrian President Heinz Fischer said on Wednesday the Nobel Committee's decision to award the prize to Karplus "is gratifying and at the same time an occasion to reflect on Austria's responsibility." A unique insight of the trio's work was to use computer simulations to combine quantum mechanics, which explains the making and breaking of chemical bonds, with classical Newtonian mechanics, which captures the movement of proteins. Ultimately, the ability to computerise such complex chemical processes might make it possible to simulate a complete living organism at the molecular level - something Levitt has described as one of his dreams. "I am a computer geek," Levitt told Reuters. Back in the 1960s there were no personal computers, he said, so the only way for scientists to get their hands on a computer was to find ways to use it in their work. "That's not to say that I became a computational chemist in order to play with computers, but a large part of any creative activity is to feel that you're playing." "I think if everybody did everything with passion, the world would be a better place," he said. Chemistry was the third of this year's Nobel prizes. The prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of businessman and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.

[diga]

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons gets Nobel Peace prize

The Nobel Peace Prize was given to the group overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, as the award committee's chairman emphasized the importance of disarmament in the pursuit of world peace.

Pakistan's Tailban say they are "delighted" Malala Yousafzai, the teenage education activist they tried to kill, missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize.

:wall:

[The Outsider]

The Nobel Peace Prize seems to have got it right this time, for a change. Also, regarding the Chemistry Nobel it's quite interesting to see large scale simulations starting to get their due recognition beyond lab experiments.

[coffee_rules]

I haven't followed OPCW, any articles/effectiveness of OPCW, please share. I have a serious doubt that , like UN, they are as useless when it comes to matters of big 5 (security council) or NATO.

[hhunaeh]

They use the peace prize to make political statements on current events. As a kid i thought it was more like a life time achievement award that movie people give out, given to someone with years or decades of respected work.