The Hindu : Front Page : Frenchman, two Americans share Nobel chemistry prize

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 06, 2005

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Frenchman, two Americans share Nobel chemistry prize

Stockholm, Sweden: France's Yves Chauvin and Americans Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock won the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for discoveries that let industry develop drugs and plastics more efficiently and with less hazardous waste.

The trio won the award for their development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis _ a way to rearrange groups of atoms between molecules that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences likened to a dance in which couples change partners.

To illustrate the process, two prize committee members from the staid and dignified academy invited two assistants to dance, changing partners on the floor.

The process is used in the chemical and biotechnology industries to develop stronger plastics and is ``an important weapon'' in the search for new drugs against the world's major diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and arthritis, the academy said.

By reducing the number of hazardous byproducts in a chemical reaction, metathesis also leads to cleaner and more environmentally friendly production.

``This represents a great step forward for 'green chemistry,' reducing potentially hazardous waste through smarter production. Metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society and the environment,'' the prize committee said.

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