The Nobel Chemistry Prize was awarded to a trio of chemists from the US and Denmark for developing way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to design medicines.
Americans Carolyn Bertozzi and Barry Sharpless, together with Denmark's Morten Meldal, were honoured, the jury said.
Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the winners Wednesday at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, reports AP.
Their work, known as click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions, is used to make cancer drugs, map DNA and create materials that are tailored to a specific purpose.
Bertozzi is based at Stanford University in California, Meldal is at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Sharpless is affiliated with Scripps Research, California.
Sharpless previously won a Nobel Prize in 2001. He is the fifth person to receive the award twice.
Last year the prize was awarded to scientists Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for finding an ingenious and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that the Nobel panel said is “already benefiting humankind greatly.”
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
