Theory Thursday: From Molecules to Markets: Nobel Prizes and the Spirit of Discovery

Science is amazing. For example, it creates AI systems. This month, the Nobel committee has announced the winners of this year. It’s always amazing to look at what has been happening.

Start with economics. Joel Mokyr is recognised for explaining why growth began in the 18th century. No, it’s not engineering. Instead, Europe’s culture of ideas, institutions like the Royal Society, and tolerance for “creative destruction” enabled industrialisation. Certainly a timely reminder. The prize is shared with Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt.

Next, “chemistry full of holes”: building crystal-like structures with immense surface areas. With this surface area, you can trap and store molecules. This is used for water cleaning or drug delivery, for example. Definitely good to have. The prize went to Kitagawa Susumu, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi.

Like John Clarke, John Martinis, and Michel Devoret, I like to translate abstract concepts into practical applications. That’s what they did with Josephson junctions - the basic processes for quantum computers.

The application which I prize the most is the discovery of gene Foxp3 and the regulatory T-cells (Tregs): too few Tregs cause autoimmunity (Diabetes Type I is a common one), too many allow cancer. I really am thankful that people spend time on topics like this one. The prize went to Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Sakaguchi Shimon.

Innovation. Curiosity. Dedication. Perseverance. The same qualities behind every Nobel discovery also drive progress in AI and data. Whether exploring molecules, markets, or models: it’s about understanding complex systems, about learning from feedback, and about turning insight into impact.

Which of these discoveries inspires you most?