By Yosef Scher, Senior Science and Technology Editor
This past week, the Nobel Prizes for chemistry, physics, and physiology or medicine were awarded to a handful of scientists who have significantly contributed to their fields. Although their contributions can be challenging to understand, the Nobel Prize committees for each prize have made it relatively easy for the layman to understand each of their works.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to three pioneering scientists in the field of nanotechnology: Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov. More specifically, they were awarded the prize for developing quantum dots, which are nanocrystals made of semiconductor materials that are small enough to exhibit quantum mechanical properties. If you have ever taken chemistry, you know that an element’s properties are governed by the number of electrons the element has. However, if matter shrinks to nano-dimensions, then quantum physics properties arise, where the size of the matter determines the properties. While scientists predict that quantum dots will have more applications in the field of nanotechnology in the future, quantum dots are currently used in various electronic devices, such as computer monitors, television screens, and medical devices that help doctors map biological tissue.
Similar to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists who provided researchers with “new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules.” Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier discovered a way to measure the fast processes in which electrons move or change energy using short light pulses. Before this discovery, it was almost impossible for scientists to measure and understand the movement of electrons because electrons move in a few tenths of an attosecond, a billionth of a billionth of a second. Through decades of research, these scientists developed pulses of light that can be measured in attoseconds. As such, they were able to look inside atoms and molecules to research the movement of electrons in these particles. Eva Olsson, the Nobel Committee for Physics chair, was very excited by their discovery and is confident that “[a]ttosecond physics gives us the opportunity to understand mechanisms that are governed by electrons.” Additionally, scientists believe their discovery will improve medical diagnostic technology and other electronic devices.
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awarded Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó for their work that helped to devise the mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. Before their breakthrough, scientists tried to develop mRNA vaccines but ran into two issues: the difficulty with delivering mRNA to its target and the inflammatory response that ensued when introduced into the host organism. Weissman and Karikó found that if they modified the nucleotides of the mRNA, they could prevent the inflammatory response from occurring. While vaccines usually take a decade to develop, their discovery contributed to the “unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.”
As one can clearly see, these scientists have made major breakthroughs in chemistry, physics, and medicine that have––and will continue to––benefit humanity. One has to wonder what the future holds for the potential applications that these discoveries have for the development of new technologies and devices.