Chemistry Nobel prize awarded to pioneers of directed evolution
Top science gong recognises groundbreaking work that has harnessed evolution to produce biofuels and drugs
The 2018 chemistry Nobel prize has been awarded to three scientists who have developed techniques to direct the evolution of enzymes and proteins.
One half of the prize will go to Frances Arnold from the California Institute of Technology, US who first demonstrated directed evolution of enzymes, an approach that has since been used to make new biological catalysts for useful chemical reactions, including those used to synthesise new drugs and greener fuels. Her work has even enabled the creation of enzymes that can carry out reactions and form bonds unknown in biological organisms.