Winners of Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Three scientists have shared 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.

Peter Brzezinski, Member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said that this year’s scientific invention enables us to see the molecules inside the cells and how they interact.

“In future, we are able to see the processes of how the molecules structures move,’’ Brzezinski added.

Brzezinski said this year’s achievement is a “good example” of inter-disciplinary researches in which technologies play crucial roles to scientific discoveries.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement that “the development of cryo-electron microscopy, which both simplifies and improves the imaging of biomolecules, has moved biochemistry into a new era.”

Speaking through a telephone interview at the press conference, Joachim Frank said “I never mind being woken up early” for the news of the Prize.

“I was pretty overwhelmed, it’s wonderful news,’’ Frank said.

This year’s prize is 9 million SEK (1.1 million dollars) and would be shared by the three laureates.

(Xinhua/NAN)