2011 nobel predictions

September 8, 2011 at 7:28 am | | news, nobel

Wow, it’s already Nobel season! ChemBark and the Curious Wavefunction already have predictions. My 2010 Nobel predictions are here (and, of course, the Simpsons had their own last year). I don’t have too much to add to my 2010 predictions; instead, I’m going to put my chips all in and give just one prediction for each category.

Physics: Moerner [awarded in Chemistry in 2014], for single-molecule spectroscopy

ChemistryMatyjaszewski, for polymer synthesis

Medicine: Djerassi, for The Pill

Peace: Twitter, for liberating Egypt

Literature: Twitter, for making literature shorter

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  1. […] 2011 predictions: Curious Wavefunction, Everyday Scientist […]

    Pingback by ChemBark » Blog Archive » Predictions for the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry — September 8, 2011 #

  2. If Krzy Matyjaszewski wins the Nobel Prize in chemistry this year I will eat my labcoat. ATRP is awesome, I use it daily, but it isn’t Noble awesome.

    Comment by agiantamongmolecules — September 12, 2011 #

  3. I really like single molecule biophysics but I don’t understand why Moerner deserves a nobel prize. Imaging single molecules became possible with the invention of CCD cameras and there was already a Nobel prize for that in 2009. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/press.html

    Also I never understood the contribution of single molecule biophysics to biology. It is cool and everything but what is the greatest achievement of single molecule biophysicists that wasn’t known by biologist? No offense but I can’t think of any example.

    Comment by dan — September 15, 2011 #

  4. Moerner imaged single molecules without CCDs. EMCCDs have recently made imaging single molecules easier and more commonplace, but he (and Orrit and Xie and Betzig and Zare and many others) detected and imaged molecules in the 90s before it was easy! Their work laid the groundwork to make single-molecule biophysics a field; moreover, they contributed to that field and continue contributing.

    As for applications, super-resolution microscopies (i.e. PALM and STORM) would not be possible without single-molecule detection. For instance, Moerner and Tsien reported the first photoswitching of a single fluorescent protein in 1997. In general, watching single motor proteins, enzymes, and genes has lead to a better understanding of how stochastic and dynamic behavior drives biology.

    Comment by sam — September 16, 2011 #

  5. […] Everyday Scientist’s Sam Lord[7], a chemist at the University California, […]

    Pingback by 2011 Nobel Prize Predictions Roll In | World Headlines News — September 21, 2011 #

  6. […] the above names, you could try some of the predictions made on science blogs, like ChemBark  or Everyday Scientist, and I’ll update this post as the predictions continue to come in. Or perhaps you might not […]

    Pingback by Let the predictions begin | Nobel Prize Watch — September 22, 2011 #

  7. I predict that the winner will be Charles L. Sawyers for “their development of imatinib and dasatinib, revolutionary, targeted treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia” .

    If am wrong I will blame a distant supernova explosion that perturbed the movement of the stars and messed my predictions.

    if Iam right you (and many people) may be curious to know how I predicted this. Superpowers?, Inside (leaked) information?, scientific method?, pure intuition?…………..let see.

    The answer after October 3, 2011 at my website

    Comment by Artificial Science — September 23, 2011 #

  8. Paul and I quoted in Science Insider:
    http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/09/2011-nobel-prize-predictions.html

    Comment by sam — September 26, 2011 #

  9. If the laser boys pick up the prize in physics, a triple/sweep for chemistry of chemistry, physics, and medicine is a tantalizing possibility. The birth control pill, statin/heart meds, Gleevec, hormone signaling, and several other items could easily be tapped for medicine.

    Comment by Paul — September 28, 2011 #

  10. Peace, Physics _and_ Medicine to :
    Lubos Motl and Viscount Monckton

    For curing Bright’s Syndrome by combining superluminal neutrinos and cosmic rays to cause faster than light climate change in 11 dimensions.

    Comment by Mnestheus — September 28, 2011 #

  11. chemistry matyjaszewski
    litterature rozewicz

    Comment by k — September 30, 2011 #

  12. fail. twitter better win.

    Comment by sam — October 5, 2011 #

  13. […] for GPCRs. In 2010, I got Heck and Suzuki. (You can find my previous predictions here: 2012, 2011, 2010, all Nobel posts.) Here’s this year’s stab at […]

    Pingback by Everyday Scientist » 2013 Nobel predictions — September 26, 2013 #

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