Richard Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki-The Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry
Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry today for developing a process that, among other things, helps synthesize medicines.
Richard Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki were cited for their work in “palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis.” That’s a way of joining together carbon atoms — using the element palladium as a catalyst — in a more efficient and precise way than was previously done. And joining together carbon atoms helps scientists do a lot of nifty things, including making medicines.
