10.07.2009
thoughts on Nobel-ity
thoughts on Nobel-ity
it is my hope and belief that nobody enters science simply to pursue the N0bel Prize. if they do, not only are they not going to receive it, they’re in it for the wrong reasons.
Dr. Harry N0ller’s work on the ribosome over the past decades has proven to be groundbreaking. what i learned about translation in classes and from textbooks years ago has been re-written and made clearer by members of the N0ller Lab. though i have minimal knowledge of the chemical nature of what happens during translation, i can appreciate the body of work that he and his lab have done to elucidate the mechanisms by which the ribosome facilitates the transition from RNA to protein.
so, today’s announcement of the recipients of the N0bel Prize in chemistry leaves me feeling hollow and cheated. to put a restriction on the number of recipients for a given award is somewhat understandable; after all, it is almost always the contributions of a collective many that leads to seminal work. however, it is my (biased) opinion that Harry was cheated out of recognition that he deserves.
it’s not like the science does not remain out there – the discoveries that the N0ller lab has made and will continue to make will stand on their own as the mechanisms underlying the inner workings of the RNA-protein monster that is the ribosome continue to be revealed. but from this biologist’s perspective, there is a fourth person deserving of joining T.S., V.R., and A.Y. in Stockholm, and that’s Dr. Harry N0ller.
it is my hope and belief that nobody enters science simply to pursue the N0bel Prize. if they do, not only are they not going to receive it, they’re in it for the wrong reasons.
Dr. Harry N0ller’s work on the ribosome over the past decades has proven to be groundbreaking. what i learned about translation in classes and from textbooks years ago has been re-written and made clearer by members of the N0ller Lab. though i have minimal knowledge of the chemical nature of what happens during translation, i can appreciate the body of work that he and his lab have done to elucidate the mechanisms by which the ribosome facilitates the transition from RNA to protein.
so, today’s announcement of the recipients of the N0bel Prize in chemistry leaves me feeling hollow and cheated. to put a restriction on the number of recipients for a given award is somewhat understandable; after all, it is almost always the contributions of a collective many that leads to seminal work. however, it is my (biased) opinion that Harry was cheated out of recognition that he deserves.
it’s not like the science does not remain out there – the discoveries that the N0ller lab has made and will continue to make will stand on their own as the mechanisms underlying the inner workings of the RNA-protein monster that is the ribosome continue to be revealed. but from this biologist’s perspective, there is a fourth person deserving of joining T.S., V.R., and A.Y. in Stockholm, and that’s Dr. Harry N0ller.
# posted by cheddah : 12:29 PM
