David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their remarkable work in protein research, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday. Their work has significantly advanced the understanding and designing of proteins, which are fundamental to life.

"One of the discoveries being recognized this year concerns the construction of spectacular proteins. The other is about fulfilling a 50-year-old dream: predicting protein structures from their amino acid sequences," the academy said in a statement.

Half of the award was given to Baker "for computational protein design," while the other half was shared by Hassabis and Jumper "for protein structure prediction," the academy said. The prize, considered one of the highest honors in science, comes with a monetary reward of 11 million Swedish crowns (about $1.1 million).

Baker, a scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, has led efforts in designing new proteins since 2003. His team has developed imaginative protein structures with diverse applications, including use in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials and tiny sensors, according to the Nobel committee.

Meanwhile, Hassabis and Jumper, both of Google DeepMind in London, developed an AI model capable of predicting the structure of nearly all of the 200 million proteins known to science. This achievement allows scientists to determine the complex three-dimensional structures of proteins based on their amino acid sequences.

Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, emphasized the significance of the achievement, "Four years ago in 2020, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper managed to crack the code with skillful use of artificial intelligence. They made it possible to predict the complex structure of essentially any known protein in nature."

He also noted the profound impact of Baker's work, "Another dream of scientists has been to build new proteins to learn how to use nature's multi-tool for our own purposes. This is the problem that David Baker solved. He developed computational tools that now enable scientists to design spectacular new proteins with entirely novel shapes and functions, opening endless possibilities for the greatest benefit to humankind."

This year's chemistry prize follows the announcement of the Nobel prizes in medicine and physics earlier in the week. Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the medicine prize, while John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, two pioneers of machine learning, were honored with the physics award.

Nobel prizes, first awarded in 1901, were established by the will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. The awards recognize significant contributions in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics. The chemistry prize, which has honored historical figures like Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford, continues to spotlight critical scientific advancements.

Last year, the chemistry prize went to scientists Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Aleksey Ekimov for their discovery of quantum dots, tiny particles used in electronics and medical imaging.

The Nobel laureates will receive their awards on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, in a ceremony in Stockholm, followed by a formal banquet hosted by the Swedish royal family.

(With input from agencies)