COMMENTS ON NOBEL PRIZE FOR CHEMISTRY 2003

Different channels of atoms such as Sodium, Potassium, Calcium etc are created because electro magnetic waves of different frequencies suitable to ionize these atoms pass through various nerves. These channels of similar atoms are sodium channels, potassium channels etc.

Common people around the world think that Nobel prizes are awarded to most satisfactory and perfect concepts put forward in subjects such as Chemistry, Physical sciences, medicine-physiology etc. I am convinced that this belief is a wrong one because of the Nobel prizes given in Chemistry (2003) and in medicine-physiology (2004). We can examine the hypotheses of these research workers, in the light of state of the art understanding in these areas.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003 was awarded for the "discovery" about the ion channels in living cell. At seventies it was thought that the ion channels were able to admit only certain ions because they were equipped with some kind of ion filters eg: Channels of potassium ions do not admit sodium ions.

The hypothesis for which the prize was given postulates that 'why potassium ions not sodium ions are admitted through the 'filter'- because "the distance between the potassium ion and the oxygen atoms in the 'filter' is the same as that between the potassium ion and the oxygen atoms in the water molecules surrounding the potassium ion when it is outside the filter. Then it can slide through the filter unopposed," It is explained that sodium ion which is smaller than the potassium ion, cannot pass through the channel because it (the sodium ion) does not fit between the oxygen atoms in the filter. It is also explained that the control of the ion channel is achieved by a 'gate' at the bottom of the channel which open and close molecular "Sensors" which are situated close to the 'gate'. It is also postulated that "certain sensors react to certain signals such as increase in concentration of calcium ions, an electric voltage over the cell membrane, or binding of a signal molecule of some kind” (!) It is also proposed that “by connecting different sensors to ion channels nature have created channels that respond to a large number of different signals.”