2018年1月4日，清华大学施一公教授研究组在Science期刊上以Research Article在线发表了题为Structure of a human catalytic step I spliceosome的文章。该文在近原子分辨率的尺度上观察到人源剪接体的结构，进一步揭示了剪接体催化的机理。这些结构的解析都离不开2017年获得诺贝尔奖的冷冻电镜。

2017年诺贝尔化学奖授予了Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank andRichard Henderson，以表彰他们在“研发出冷冻电镜，用于溶液中生物分子结构的高分辨率测定”作出的重要贡献。诺贝尔化学奖有人将其戏称诺贝尔“理综奖”，冷冻电镜获奖被戏称为“一个发给物理学家的诺贝尔化学奖，奖励他们帮助了生物学家”。细细分析，过去20年内诺贝尔化学奖多次将获奖成果授予传统化学之外的生物学研究，如2015年“DNA修复机制”、2012年“G蛋白偶联受体研究”、2009年“核糖体结构和功能”、2006年“真核转录的分子基础”、2004年“泛素调节的蛋白质降解”、2003年“细胞膜通道”等。这也充分说明了“生物和化学不分家”、“生物的基础是化学”，哈哈。实际上，随着科技水平的提高及学科交叉的深入，不同学科之间也越来越难以明确的区分开来。以下对近20年来诺贝尔化学奖获得者及其贡献进行了描述。

2017年，瑞士科学家Jacques Dubochet、德裔科学家Joachim Frank和苏格兰科学家Richard Henderson获奖，获奖成果为“研发冷冻电镜，简化了生物细胞的成像过程、提高了成像质量”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frankand Richard Henderson "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution".

2016年，法国科学家Jean-Pierre Sauvage，英国科学家Sir J. Fraser Stoddart和荷兰科学家Bernard L. Feringa获奖，获奖成果为“分子机器的设计与合成”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016 was awarded jointly to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa "for the design and synthesis of molecularmachines".

2015，瑞典科学家Tomas Lindahl、美国科学家Paul Modrich和土耳其科学家Aziz Sancar获奖，获奖成果为“DNA修复机制研究”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015 was awarded jointly to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar "for mechanistic studies of DNA repair".

2014年，美国科学家Eric Betzig、德国科学家Stefan W. Hell和美国科学家William E. Moerner获奖，获奖成果为“研制出超分辨率荧光显微镜”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 was awarded jointly to Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy".

2013年，美国科学家Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt和Arieh Warshel获奖，获奖成果为“为复杂化学系统创立了多尺度模型”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013 was awarded jointly to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel "for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems".

2012年，美国科学家Robert J. Lefkowitz和Brian K. Kobilka获奖，获奖成果为“G蛋白偶联受体研究”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012 was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka "for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors".

2011年，以色列科学家Dan Shechtman获奖，获奖成果为“发现准晶体”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2011 was awarded to Dan Shechtman "for the discovery of quasicrystals".

2010年，美国科学家Richard F. Heck、日本科学家Ei-ichi Negishi和AkiraSuzuki获奖，获奖成果为“有机合成中钯催化交叉偶联”研究。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010 was awarded jointly to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki "for palladium-catalyzed crosscouplings inorganic synthesis".

2009，美国科学家Venkatraman Ramakrishnan、Thomas A. Steitz和以色列科学家Ada E. Yonath获奖，获奖成果为“核糖体结构和功能研究”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009 was awarded jointly to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E.Yonath "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".

2008年，美国科学家Osamu Shimomura、Martin Chalfie和Roger Y. Tsien获奖，获奖成果为“发现并发展了绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008 was awarded jointly to Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien "for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP".

2007年，德国科学家Gerhard Ertl获奖，获奖成果为“表面化学研究”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007 was awarded to Gerhard Ertl "for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces".

2006年，美国科学家Roger D. Kornberg获奖，获奖成果为“真核转录的分子基础”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2006 was awarded to Roger D. Kornberg "for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription".

2005年，法国科学家Yves Chauvin、美国科学家Robert H. Grubbs和Richard R. Schrock获奖，获奖成果为“烯烃复分解反应”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005 was awarded jointly to Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock "for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis".

2004年，以色列科学家Aaron Ciechanover、Avram Hershko和美国科学家Irwin Rose获奖，获奖成果为“泛素调节的蛋白质降解”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004 was awarded jointly to Aaron Ciechanover,  Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose "for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation".

2003年，美国科学家Peter Agre和Roderick MacKinnon获奖，获奖成果为“发现细胞膜通道”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003 was awarded "for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes" Jointly with one half to Peter Agre "for the discovery of water channels" and with one half to Roderick MacKinnon "for structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels".

2002年，美国科学家John B. Fenn、日本科学家Koichi Tanaka和瑞士科学家Kurt Wüthrich获奖，获奖成果为“生物大分子鉴定和结构分析方法”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2002 was awarded "for the development of methods for identification and structure analyses of biological macromolecules" with one half jointlyto John B. Fenn and Koichi Tanaka "for their development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules" and the other half to Kurt Wüthrich"for his development of nuclearmagnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structureof biological macromolecules in solution".

2001年，美国科学家William S. Knowles和日本科学家Ryoji Noyori和美国科学家K. Barry Sharpless，获奖成果为“手性催化氢化反应”和“手性催化氧化反应”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2001 was divided, one half jointly to William S. Knowles and Ryoji Noyori "for their work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation reactions" and the otherhalf to K. Barry Sharpless"for his work on chirallycata lysedoxidation reactions".

2000年，美国科学家Alan J. Heeger、Alan G. MacDiarmid和日本科学家Hideki Shirakawa获奖，获奖成果为“导电聚合物的发现”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000 was awarded jointly to Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers".

1999年，美国科学家Ahmed Zewail获奖，获奖成果为“运用激光技术观测原子在分子中的运动”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1999 was awarded to Ahmed Zewail "for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy".

1998年，美国科学家Walter Kohn和英国科学家John A. Pople获奖，获奖成果为“密度泛函理论”和“波函数方法”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1998 was divided equally between Walter Kohn "for his development of the density-functional theory" and John A. Pople "for his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry".

1997年，美国科学家Paul D. Boyer、英国科学家John E. Walker和丹麦科学家Jens C. Skou获奖，获奖成果为“三磷酸腺苷的酶催化过程”。The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1997 was divided, one half jointly to Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker "for their elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosinetriphosphate(ATP)" and the other half to Jens C. Skou "for the first discovery of an ion-transporting enzyme, Na+, K+ -ATPase".