STOCKHOLM: US scientists Frances Arnold and George Smith and British researcher Gregory Winter won the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for applying the principles of evolution to develop enzymes used to make everything from biofuels to medicine.
Arnold, just the fifth woman to clinch chemistry’s most prestigious honor since Marie Curie was honored in 1911, won one half of the nine million Swedish kronor (about $1.01 million or 870,000 euros) award, while Smith and Winter shared the other half.
“The 2018 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind,” the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences said.
Life on Earth exists because over the past 3.7 billion years organisms have adapted to their environment, with evolution solving complex chemical problems: fish can for example swim in polar oceans because they have antifreeze proteins in their blood.
The trio used the principles of evolution — genetic change and selection — to develop proteins now used in a range of fields, in what is known as directed evolution.
“They have applied the principles of Darwin in test tubes. They have used the molecular understanding we have of the evolutionary process and recreated the process in their labs,” the head of the Academy’s Nobel Chemistry committee, Claes Gustafsson, told reporters.
“They have been able to make evolution many 1000s of times faster and redirect it to create new proteins.”
Arnold, 62, who has survived breast cancer and is a single mother to three sons, is a professor of chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology.
Her method of rewriting DNA to mimic evolution has helped solve problems such as replacing toxic chemicals like fossil fuels.
As a result, renewable resources like sugar cane are being converted into biofuels. More environmentally friendly chemical substances are being developed, improving everyday products such as laundry and dishwashing detergents to enhance their performance in cold temperatures.
“The most beautiful, complex, and functional objects on the planet have been made by evolution. We can now use evolution to make things that no human knows how to design,” Arnold said in 2016.
“Evolution is the most powerful engineering method in the world, and we should make use of it to find new biological solutions to problems,” she said.
“Instead of pumping oil out of the ground for making gasoline, now we can use sunlight stored in plants.”
Meanwhile, Smith, of the University of Missouri, and Winter, a 67-year-old genetic engineer at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge, developed an “elegant method” known as phage display, where a bacteriophage — a virus that infects bacteria — can be used to evolve new proteins, the jury said.
Pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases have resulted from their research, as well as antibodies that can neutralize toxins, counteract autoimmune diseases and in some cases cure metastatic cancer.
“The discoveries by George Smith and Greg Winter are having an enormous impact, particularly on medicine with antibody drugs that have fewer side effects and are more efficient,” Goran Hansson, the head of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, told reporters.
Alan Boyd, president of Britain’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, hailed the award.
“The use of antibodies has resulted in a paradigm shift in the way that we now treat so many diseases which has brought significant benefits to patients across the world and will continue to do so for years to come,” he said.
Alfred Nobel, who created the prizes in his will, was himself a chemist, and devised his famed awards in part to atone for inventing dynamite.
Arnold, Smith and Winter will receive their prize from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s 1896 death.
The 2018 Nobel season continues on Friday with the announcement of the peace prize, and wraps up on Monday with the economics prize.
For the first time since 1949, the Swedish Academy has postponed the announcement of the 2018 Nobel Literature Prize until next year, amid a #MeToo scandal and bitter internal dispute that has prevented it from functioning properly.
Trio win Nobel Chemistry Prize for research harnessing evolution
Trio win Nobel Chemistry Prize for research harnessing evolution
- The 2018 Nobel season continues on Friday with the announcement of the peace prize
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaching Easter truce
The 30-hour truce had been meant to start Saturday to mark the religious holiday, but Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of keeping up its attacks on the front line.
While Ukrainian troops told AFP that fighting had eased, Zelensky said Russian forces staged hundreds of shelling and drone assaults along the front line despite the surprise truce.
“The Ukrainian army is acting and will continue to act in an absolutely mirror image” of Russia,” he warned.
Zelensky also renewed a proposal for a 30-day truce.
Moscow said it had “repelled” assaults by Ukraine and accused Kyiv of launching hundreds of drones and shells, causing civilian casualties.
“Despite the announcement of the Easter truce, Ukrainian units at night made attempts to attack” Russia’s positions in the Donetsk region, its defense ministry added.
Russian troops had “strictly observed the ceasefire,” the defense ministry insisted.
Rescue services in the eastern town of Kostyantynivka said they had recovered the bodies of a man and a woman from the ruins of building hit the previous day by Russian shelling.
The Russian-appointed mayor of Gorlovka in occupied Donetsk, Ivan Prikhodko, said two civilians had been wounded there, without giving details.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and now occupies around 20 percent of the country.
Putin’s order to halt all combat over the Easter weekend came after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get the war rivals to agree to a ceasefire.
But on Friday, Trump threatened to withdraw from talks if no progress was made.
Ukrainian soldiers told AFP that they had noticed a lull in fighting.
A drone unit commander said that Russia’s activity had “significantly decreased both in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions,” combat zones in the south and northeast where the unit is active.
“Several assaults were recorded, but those were solitary incidents involving small groups,” the commander told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Fewer guys (soldiers) will die today.”
Russian “artillery is not working. it is quiet compared to a regular day,” Sergiy, a junior lieutenant fighting in the Sumy border region, wrote to AFP in a message.
Ukrainian troops “are on the defensive,” he added. “If the enemy doesn’t move forward, they don’t shoot.”
AFP journalists monitoring in eastern Ukraine heard fewer explosions than usual and saw no smoke on the horizon.
Putin announced a truce from 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) Saturday to midnight Sunday Moscow time (2100 GMT), saying it was motivated by “humanitarian reasons.”
Zelensky responded that Ukraine was ready to follow suit and proposed extending the truce for 30 days to “give peace a chance.”
But he said Sunday that Russia “has not yet responded to this.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had given no order to extend the truce.
In Kyiv, as Easter Sunday bells rang out, people doubted Russia’s good faith.
“They’ve already broken their promise,” said 38-year-old Olga Grachova, who works in marketing. “Unfortunately, we cannot trust Russia today.”
Natalia, a 41-year-old medic, said of Zelensky’s 30-day proposal: “Everything we offer, unfortunately, remains only our offers. Nobody responds to them.”
People in Moscow welcomed an Easter truce and hoped for more progress toward an end to the war.
“We dreamt of course that peace would come by Easter. Let it come soon,” said Svetlana, a 34-year-old housewife.
“I think that this awful thing will end at some point, but not soon,” said Irina Volkova, a 73-year-old pensioner.
“All is not going well for us in Ukraine,” she added. “People are dying, our guys are dying.”
Moscow said this weekend that it had now recovered 99.5 percent of its Kursk region, which Ukrainian troops occupied in a surprise offensive in August.
Syrian refugee says UK government has ‘broken her heart’ by blocking terminally ill mother’s visit
- Ola Al-Hamwi fled Syria with her husband, Mostafa Amonajid, in 2015 after the couple lost their baby in a bombing
LONDON: A Syrian refugee has said the British Home Office has “broken her heart” after it moved to block her terminally ill mother from traveling to the UK to spend her final days with the grandchildren she has never met, it was reported on Sunday.
Ola Al-Hamwi fled Syria with her husband, Mostafa Amonajid, in 2015 after the couple lost their baby in a bombing.
They were unable to take Al-Hamwi’s mother, Soaad Al-Shawa, with them when they escaped the conflict.
Now living in Glasgow with their three children, aged seven, five and one, Al-Hamwi and Amonajid were granted refugee status and applied to bring Al-Shawa, 57, to the UK under the refugee family reunion scheme — but their request was rejected, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Al-Shawa, who has only communicated with her grandchildren via video calls, was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last year.
In November, doctors in Syria gave her about six months to live. A second application for family reunion was submitted following her diagnosis, but was again rejected by the Home Office.
The family appealed the decision, and in April a judge at the first-tier tribunal of the immigration court ruled in their favor, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to family life.
The family were overjoyed by the decision.
“My mum really perked up when she heard the news and started to eat more,” said Al-Hamwi. “All she wants to do before she dies is to see us and the kids.”
Plans were swiftly made for Al-Shawa’s neighbors to help her travel to neighboring Jordan or Lebanon, where Amonajid would meet her and accompany her to the UK.
Because Al-Hamwi and Amonajid are refugees, they are unable to return to Syria themselves to be with her.
However, on April 10, the Home Office submitted a request for permission to appeal the judge’s ruling to a higher court — a process that can take an average of eight months.
The news has left the family devastated.
“There isn’t much time, if we can get her here we will provide everything for her. When the Home Office asked for permission to appeal against the decision of the judge who said my mum could come here they didn’t think about how they are breaking my heart,” Al-Hamwi said.
“My message to the Home Office is, ‘Please help my mum to see us before she dies.’ We haven’t told my mum that the Home Office has asked to appeal against the decision for her to come to the UK,” she added.
The family’s solicitor, Usman Aslam, said: “We could feel the family’s relief when they won the appeal, then their horror that the Home Office have sought permission to appeal. We immediately sought an expedition of their permission application.
He continued: “I have written to the Home Office directly expressing my outrage. Whilst I fully respect their right to seek permission to appeal, it is regrettable they have chosen this case of a dying woman. We are hoping that the Home Office will show compassion and allow her to spend what little time she has left with her family.”
A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian: “It would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.”
Bangladeshi police seek Interpol red notice for ex-PM Hasina
- Authorities are also requesting Interpol red notice for Hasina’s ministers
- Police move is part of trial process over student protest killings last year
DHAKA: Bangladeshi police have requested an Interpol red notice against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is wanted for alleged involvement in the killings of hundreds of people during student protests that forced her to step down and flee last year.
In early July, a student-led movement began with peaceful demonstrations initially sparked by opposition to public-sector job quotas.
But they were met with a violent crackdown by security forces after two weeks, which according to UN estimates left more than 600 people dead. The deaths led to a nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to resign and leave for neighboring India in early August, ending her 15 years in power.
By October, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal had issued arrest warrants for Hasina and more than 40 other people who are linked to the protest killings.
“The assistance from Interpol is being sought to repatriate the accused persons,” Enamul Haque Sagor, assistant inspector general at the Bangladesh Police Headquarters, told Arab News on Sunday.
“Our all-out efforts are there to make (the red notice issuance happen) as soon as possible.”
Red notices are published by Interpol, an intergovernmental organization of 196 member countries. They serve as requests for law enforcement around the world to detain individuals for whom member states have issued arrest warrants.
Bangladeshi police are also seeking red notices for 11 other people linked to the protest killings, including Hasina’s Awami League general secretary, Obaidul Quader, and former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
The red notice application was submitted at the request of the International Crimes Tribunal, which had sought police assistance after issuing the arrest warrant last year.
The special court will hear at least 70 cases related to the July-August violence.
Established in 2010 during Hasina’s rule, the International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court responsible for investigating and prosecuting suspects of the 1971 genocide committed by the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It also has jurisdiction over other war crimes and crimes against humanity.
King Charles and Queen Camilla greet crowds after Easter service
- Prince Andrew’s attendance was notable after he was absent from the royals’ Christmas service amid scrutiny of his links with an alleged Chinese spy
LONDON: Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla briefly greeted onlookers after an Easter service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, an important fixture in the calendar of the monarch, who is supreme governor of the Church of England.
Charles and Camilla, who was wearing a pale blue hat and dress, were joined by the Princes Andrew and Edward, Anne, the Princess Royal, and other family members at the 15th Century chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Prince Andrew’s attendance was notable after he was absent from the royals’ Christmas service amid scrutiny of his links with an alleged Chinese spy. The scandal-hit prince was accompanied by his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York.
The king’s oldest son and heir William, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Catherine were absent. They are spending Easter with their children in Norfolk, east England.
Camilla, who was handed a posy of flowers, wished “Happy Easter” to members of the crowd after the Easter Matins service.
On Thursday, the king used his annual Easter message to reflect on war, human suffering and the heroism of those who risk their lives to help others.
In 2024, the Easter service was Charles’ first appearance at a public event following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis in the previous month.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, was also treated for cancer last year. She said in January she was relieved in be in remission.
India seeks to strengthen energy ties with Saudi Arabia during Modi’s visit
- Saudi-India trade worth nearly $43bn in 2023-24; energy alone worth $25.7bn
- Modi, crown prince to co-chair second meeting of Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for his third visit, as India seeks to strengthen strategic ties with the Kingdom, particularly in the energy sector.
During his two-day trip, Modi is scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, where they will hold bilateral talks and co-chair the second meeting of the Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council.
“The visit is important also on account of the obvious significance of Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner for India … Saudi Arabia is a leading voice in the Islamic world, and is increasingly playing an important role in regional developments,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a press briefing on Saturday.
As premier, Modi made his first trip to Saudi Arabia in 2016. Following the crown prince’s first visit to India in February 2019, the Indian leader made his second trip to the Kingdom that October, when the two countries established the Strategic Partnership Council.
In 2023-24, Saudi-India trade reached nearly $43 billion, making India Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner, while the Kingdom stands as New Delhi’s fifth-largest.
Saudi Arabia is “a key player” in India’s energy scenario, Misri said.
“We are looking at infusing an even more strategic outlook in the energy partnership between the two countries. And we expect that the forthcoming visit will have some developments related to this as well,” he added.
Bilateral energy trade alone was worth $25.7 billion in 2023-24, with Saudi Arabia being the third-largest source of India’s LPG, crude and petroleum imports.
Modi’s upcoming visit is a follow-up to the crown prince’s trip to India in 2023, when he attended the summit of the Group of 20 biggest economies.
This was followed by the crown prince’s state visit, which saw the two leaders co-chairing the first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, and both countries signing around 50 initial pacts and agreeing to form a joint task force for a $100 billion Saudi investment in India.
“This is a very important visit as Saudi Arabia is one of the most important partners of India in the Gulf and Middle East region,” Muddassir Qamar, associate professor at the Center for West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Arab News on Sunday.
“It is also important as the visit to Saudi Arabia comes at a time of great regional turbulence and uncertainty in international politics, given that Saudi Arabia and India are two of the G20 members and have a similarity of views in regional and global issues.”
Two-way flow of investments, energy security, food security and defense cooperation are likely to be high on the agenda, he said, adding that discussions on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor Agreement are likely to be “top on the priority list,” referring to the trade connectivity plan.
As both countries are working on their respective development plans, namely the Saudi Vision 2030 and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047, they have “ample opportunities to collaborate among businesses and the private sector” across various sectors, including energy, logistics and infrastructure, he added.
Modi’s trip will also boost India’s role in geopolitics, according to Mohammed Soliman, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C.
“Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia marks a pivotal moment in the deepening of the India-Saudi strategic partnership — strengthening economic ties with $40 billion in trade, securing vital energy supplies, and elevating India’s voice in West Asian geopolitics,” he told Arab News.
“The visit positions India as a key player in West Asia.”
