Nobel thoughts

Updated on: Monday, January 17, 2011

In a country where people never get tired of idolising cricketers and actors, it was heartening to see Nobel laureates Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz being mobbed.

Dr. V. Ramakrishnan

“Scientists are not movie stars or politicians. Scientists are not interested in accolades. Science is curiosity, testing and experimenting. It is an international enterprise where discoveries in one part of the world are useful in other parts. The traffic should be both ways; at present the flow from the West to India is more. I've been honest with you. You are free to disagree. That's science.”

Thomas Steitz...

Spoke on a variety of topics ranging from the structures of ribosome complexes to new antibiotics. Structural studies of the ribosome have not only illuminated how this largest of macromolecular machines carries out its central function in the cell, but have alsoprovided the essential information that is enabling the reaction of new families of antibiotics to combat the growing threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Ada Yonath

An Israeli crystallographer, she did a remarkable work on the structure of ribosome. In 2009, she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Dr. Venkatraman and Mr. Steitz. She explained their Nobel Prize winning project with a marked intricacy.

Martin Chalfie...

Enlightened the audience with his speech on translational research. Translational research emphasises studies that apply or translate findings in the laboratory into new treatments for medical conditions. He showed students how studies with a non-traditional organism lead to insights of general biological importance.

Dr. Amartya Sen

Spoke about the resurrection of the world's oldest university: Nalanda, Patna. He mentioned the teaching methodology of Nalanda and the immediate need to implement such an approach today. He stated that there have to be more deep arguments and defences, which is an integral part of scientific tradition. He also encouraged students to propagate knowledge because that is what Nalanda stood for. “Science has to fight parochialism and make the world a better place to live in.”

Nobel thoughts

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