In a landmark achievement for both the fields of artificial intelligence and biochemistry, British computer scientist Professor Demis Hassabis has been awarded a share of the prestigious Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The Nobel committee recognized Hassabis, co-founder of the AI company Google DeepMind, for his “revolutionary” contributions to understanding the structures of proteins—the essential building blocks of life.
This breakthrough, which has opened new avenues in medical research, is shared with his colleague, Professor John Jumper, and US-based scientist Professor David Baker. Together, their work has transformed how scientists approach the intricate science of proteins, providing a foundation for advances in treatments for diseases, the development of new pharmaceuticals, and even tackling environmental challenges.
The Power of AI in Science
At the heart of this Nobel-winning research is AlphaFold2, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence tool developed by Hassabis and Jumper. This software has solved one of biology’s most complex challenges: predicting the 3D structure of proteins based on their amino acid sequences. Proteins, composed of chains of amino acids, fold into complex shapes that determine their function in living organisms. However, understanding these structures has long been a time-consuming and difficult process for scientists.
“Before AlphaFold, the scientific community could only predict a small percentage of known protein structures,” said Prof Hassabis. “Now, with AI, we’ve mapped the structures of nearly all known proteins—an unprecedented leap forward in science.”
The Nobel committee described AlphaFold2 as a “complete revolution” in biology, a sentiment echoed by researchers worldwide who are now using the tool to study over 200 million protein structures. This work has implications for the development of new medicines and has already contributed to solving critical problems like antibiotic resistance and creating enzymes that can decompose plastics.
A Lifetime Devoted to AI
Hassabis, 48, was born to Greek-Cypriot and Singaporean parents in London. A chess prodigy, he became a master by age 13 and completed his A-levels at 16. Despite being offered a place at Cambridge University, he was encouraged to take a gap year due to his young age. During this time, his interest in computer science and AI took shape, leading him to pursue a career that has ultimately reshaped our understanding of both technology and biology.
In 2010, Hassabis co-founded DeepMind, a company dedicated to using AI to solve some of the world’s most complex problems. By 2014, Google had acquired DeepMind, and since then, it has achieved several notable breakthroughs, including AlphaGo, the AI that defeated the world champion in the ancient game of Go.
Reflecting on his Nobel win, Hassabis said, “I’ve dedicated my whole life to working on AI because I believe in its potential to change the world. This is the honour of a lifetime.” He also encouraged young people to not just play video games but to create them, pointing to his own early experiences in game design as a gateway to AI experimentation.
Colleague Jumper Shares in the Glory
Professor John Jumper, 39, who worked alongside Hassabis on the AlphaFold project, shares the Nobel Prize. He expressed his disbelief upon receiving the news: “It felt so unreal at this moment. But this prize represents the incredible promise of computational biology.”
Jumper recounted his surprise at receiving a call from a Swedish number, initially thinking it might be a delivery. “I was really hoping it wasn’t a delivery or something,” he said with a laugh during the press conference.
Together, Hassabis and Jumper’s AlphaFold2 has opened doors to a deeper understanding of how proteins work in the body, paving the way for more effective drug development and medical treatments.
US Scientist David Baker Also Recognized
The other half of the Nobel Prize was awarded to Professor David Baker, 60, from the University of Washington, Seattle. Baker has spent decades working on computational biology and is credited with building new proteins from scratch. In 2003, Baker’s groundbreaking work allowed for the creation of new proteins using amino acids, a feat that had once seemed impossible.
His software, Rosetta, developed in the 1990s, was instrumental in predicting protein structures and designing new ones used in vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and other applications.
Baker, like his colleagues, was caught off guard by the Nobel announcement. “I was sleeping when the phone rang, and when my wife heard the news, she started screaming very loudly,” Baker told reporters, describing the moment the Nobel committee called.
A New Era in Science
The significance of this Nobel Prize extends far beyond individual recognition. The groundbreaking work of Hassabis, Jumper, and Baker represents a shift in how science approaches biological and medical research. With AlphaFold2 and other computational tools, scientists can now predict protein structures at a scale and speed once thought unimaginable.
The Nobel Prize comes with a shared fund of 11 million Swedish kronor (£810,000), half of which will go to Baker, and the remaining half split between Hassabis and Jumper.
The achievements of these scientists mark the dawn of a new era in computational biology—one where artificial intelligence plays a pivotal role in solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges in health, medicine, and beyond.
