American, 2 Japanese Share Nobel for Chemistry

American Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki won the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry today for developing a chemical method that has allowed scientists to test cancer drugs and make thinner computer screens. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences called the process, known as palladium-catalyzed cross coupling in organic systems, one of the most sophisticated tools available to chemists today.

The method developed by the Nobel winners has been used to artificially produce cancer-killing substances first found in marine sponges, the academy said in its citation. While clinical testing has started, it's not yet clear whether they will turn out to be useful drugs. The electronics industry has used palladium-catalyzed cross coupling to make light-emitting diods used in the production of extremely thin monitors, the academy said.
(More Nobel Prize stories.)