Limited means, Unlimited minds

On the 2004 Nobel Prize.

Hershko, Rose and Ciechanover, in their respective Nobel Lectures, reminisce on how the concept arose, how difficulties and misconceptions were overcome, how an experimental model was identified, how technologies slowly improved, how experimental evidence gradually built a novel molecular mechanism, how pharmacological modulators were identified, and how these progressed from the lab to the clinic. The concept was unprecedented: a 2.5 million Dalton protease, three tagging enzymes and a large protein tag. However, the most interesting, and unusual aspect of these lectures is the opportunity to see the individual personalities of these investigators. The three interviews bring to the attention of our reader, and to young scientists in general, the determination, perseverance, logic and experimental stringency of young scientists with limited means and unlimited minds. 

G Melino on behalf of The Editors Cell Death & Differentiation volume 12, pages1155–1157 (2005)Cite this article