The biochemical engineer Frances Arnold received the 2016 Millennium Technology Prize, the most important distinction in that area, which is known as the “Nobel Prize for Technology”. It is the first woman to receive this indication.
This prize, awarded by the Technology Academy Finland every two years, highlights innovations that help improve the quality of life and is a million euros.
The expert developed a method to create, in the laboratory, enzymes (protein molecules that act as catalysts) and proteins with specific molecular characteristics. A breakthrough for directed evolution.
Through a process that mimics natural evolution, Arnold managed to generate random mutations in the DNA of the proteins so that they acquire new properties. The idea is to repeat this process until molecules are obtained with an industrial application in particular.
This innovation is particularly important to develop materials that can be used to replace non-renewable raw materials. Also is used to modify production processes that are usually very expensive. It is beneficial for the paper industry, agricultural companies and the manufacture of textiles, for example.
“Innovations Arnold have revolutionized the slow and costly process of protein modification, and today his methods are being used in hundreds of laboratories and companies around the world,” he said in a statement of Technology Academy Finland.
the country’s president, Sauli Niinistö, handed the award to the engineer during a ceremony held in the auditorium of the University of Helsinki.
the prize is awarded every two years and highlights those innovations that improve the quality of life
“we can now use evolution to do things that no human being knows how to design. evolution is the method most powerful engineering in the world and we must use it to find new biological solutions problems, “she said Arnold.
innovation presented by the expert seeks to offer an alternative to the use of materials that are non-renewable. It is thus a breakthrough in sustainable matter.
The award is aimed at scientists, companies and all kinds of institutions dedicated to technology, except to develop innovations in military matters.
The first edition of Millennium was in 2004 and the winner was the British scientist Tim Berners-Lee, known as the “father of the web”.
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