Five Nobel Laureates share inspiration in scientific careers

Professors and the five Nobel Laureates who attended the symposium. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Bruce A. Beutler, an American immunologist and geneticist, best known for his pioneering molecular and genetic studies, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 2011, in recognition of his discoveries relating to the activation of innate immunity.

Since the discovery of endotoxin in 1891, hundreds of people each year have been recorded dying from endotoxin infections. In the 1980s, scientists identified the structure of the main constituents of endotoxin, with LPS as the most typical, but how the cytokine receptor is activated remained unknown.

Interested in the mechanism by which LPS activates mammalian immune cells, Beutler used TNF production as a phenotypic endpoint to identify the LPS receptor. Bruce then introduced the process of forward genetics research as developed by his research group and emphasized the contribution of forward genetics as a powerful tool to the movement of human disease.

Ada E. Yonath, an Israeli scientist, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for her studies on the structure and function of the ribosome, the machinery of intracellular protein synthesis and the main target of antibiotics.

Using pictures and animations, Professor Yonath demonstrated the structure, function and mechanism of ribosomes and their relationship with antibiotic resistance. Since antibiotic resistance remains a worldwide problem, Yonath remains committed to studying it in detail.

Her work suggests it is possible to increase antibiotics’ effectiveness and selectivity, whilst as a scientist with professional ethics, she has also noticed the problematic economic issues associated with pathogen-specific antibiotics. Therefore, she proposed pharma companies should consider the human aspects of their business, not only profit margins. Finally, she stated that her research aims to minimize widespread resistance, microbiome destruction and environmental hazards.

Robert H. Grubbs, an American chemist, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005 for his work on olefin metathesis. In 1969, he learned of olefin metathesis applications in the industry, and has been devoted to conducting relevant research until today. He illustrated how he has applied olefin metathesis in natural products, pharmaceutical molecules, the chemical industry, insect attractants and oil pipeline coatings. In his view, good research must be sustainable and able to replace outdated technology and systems.

K. Barry Sharpless, an American chemist, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001 for his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions. He discussed the six valent sulfur fluorine exchange reactions from the perspective of click chemistry, and the difficulty behind activating them. By using this reaction, he synthesized the high molecular compounds and made predictions on the prospects of the reaction. He also provided a detailed introduction to the application of click chemistry in organic chemistry.

As well as the symposium, on the previous afternoon, over 400 high school students from 36 high schools around China gathered at the Lecture Hall of Tianjin University for a Q&A with Nobel Laureate J. Fraser Stoddart.

Professor Stoddart shared photos his childhood through to today and talked about his research team. Talking about his research career, he concluded that chemistry is about creativity and progress from what has come before. He noted, There is no first in science.”

The symposium demonstrated this, showing that Tianjin University is dedicated to exploring scientific creativity through providing a conducive environment for some of the finest minds to conduct ground-breaking research.