While we here at Therefore I Geek are focused on NYCC (I still have to finish laundry…) the science community is focused on their highest awards, the Nobel Prize. Named for inventor Alfred Nobel and originally funded with the majority of his estate, the awards are given to those to confer the “greatest benefit on mankind”. Most people are familiar with the Peace Prize, however prizes are also awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Economics. Today we’ll look at the winners in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine.
This year’s physicists are probably some of the most well known physicists in the world, and certainly the best known of this year’s Nobel laureates. François Englert and Peter Higgs are well known for the Higgs Boson. The Higgs Boson is frequently known as the “god particle” because it may be the key to explaining why particles, such as electrons, have mass. These particles provide the mechanism by which Einstein’s Theory of Relativity equates mass to energy.
This is what happens when you look for the Higgs Boson.
An amusing side note, the Nobel Committee was unable to get in contact with Peter Higgs and there is a distinct possibility that he doesn’t even know he has won the prize.
In Chemistry, the Nobel Prize goes to Arieh Warshel, Martin Karplus, and Michael Levitt who pioneered computer modeling of chemical reactions. This eventually allowed for solving complex chemical equations without having to consult dozens of books for information. These programs were first used to model how enzymes break down toxins in the body.
So much power!
The programs were first written in the 1960’s when the most powerful computers in the world were less powerful than my iPhone.
James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman, Thomas C. Südhof have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. These men are responsible for determining the mechanism that cells use to get the right stuff to the right place at the right time. Each of the winners was responsible for figuring out a piece of the mystery.
It’s the cellular version of “what can brown do for you”
It’s like a global logistics network, but contained completely within a cell.
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