German Benjamin List and Scottish-born David MacMillan won today the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry following their development of asymmetric organocatalysis, a “new and ingenious tool for molecule building,” according to Reuters.
“Organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement. “Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells.”
The Nobel panel said List and MacMillan in 2000 independently developed a new way of catalysis, according to Reuters’ live.
It said these catalysts were both environmentally friendly and cheap to produce.
The chemistry award is the third to take place this week, after medicine American winners David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian following their discovery of receptors in the skin that sense temperature and touch, and physics trio winners Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, and Giorgio Parisi for their work in understanding climate change.
Today’s Nobel prize in Chemistry will be followed in the coming days by awards for literature, peace, and economics.
Last year, seven women have won in Chemistry, including laureates Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna following their creation of genetic ‘scissors’ that can edit DNA.
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