tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post7686531224717153978..comments2024-03-27T14:50:47.345-04:00Comments on <center>Sandwalk</center>: Nobel Laureate: Kary MullisLarry Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-17617845302062727792010-11-23T21:00:01.166-05:002010-11-23T21:00:01.166-05:00I don't think that's correct. My opinion i...<i>I don't think that's correct. My opinion is the minority opinion. Most scientists these days are much more interested in techniques than in concepts.</i><br /><br />I have to disagree. Most scientists are interested in <b><i>applying</i></b> the latest zippy technique, to rapidly pick all the newly-made low-hanging fruit after the heavy lifting of <b><i>developing</i></b> the new technique has already been done. The people who propose doing the impossible (building a new technique) get no love at all. They vastly deserve accolades for enabling the science of everyone around them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-43743119401566988332009-02-27T10:13:00.000-05:002009-02-27T10:13:00.000-05:00Anonymous says,Your comments about tool builders f...Anonymous says,<BR/><BR/><I>Your comments about tool builders for science are proof of what I have always experienced during my career in science, that students/researchers who spend their time creating new techniques are not as important as those using the techniques to make new discoveries.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't think that's correct. My opinion is the minority opinion. Most scientists these days are much more interested in techniques than in concepts.Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-2920918982872208312009-02-27T09:35:00.000-05:002009-02-27T09:35:00.000-05:00I've always liked the idea of Mullis getting the N...I've always liked the idea of Mullis getting the Nobel for PCR for the simple reason that it's a technique that could have been invented by any competent scientist who used a little imagination and who happened to be in the right place at the right time. It gives hope to all scientists that the Nobel prize is something that they can all aspire to, so long as they follow through with the necessary experiments to prove that flash of inspiration. Yes, Mullis is a bit of a lightweight compared to the greats (and thats an understatement if there ever was one) but PCR has been one of the most important technological advances in molecular biology ever and has been instrumental in creating the current post genomic scientific world.Sigmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00262375488263086844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-40627416849846182932009-02-27T00:49:00.000-05:002009-02-27T00:49:00.000-05:00Quote:"I'm much more comfortable with awards to sc...Quote:<BR/><BR/>"I'm much more comfortable with awards to scientists who directly advance our understanding of how life works."<BR/><BR/>And yet, in the case of biology, how would our modern understanding of the importance of molecular structure and function as related to biochemical pathways have been gained without truly deserving techniques such as X-ray crystallography? It is a fact that new science is driven by the creation of new tools to study nature such that we can eventually understand how life works. Your comments about tool builders for science are proof of what I have always experienced during my career in science, that students/researchers who spend their time creating new techniques are not as important as those using the techniques to make new discoveries. Tool builders are treated like second-class scientists sometimes. It's a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. You really can't have one without the other. How could we have got to where we are today in terms of our understanding of the world without the telescope or the microscope for example?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-23105413943795914922009-02-26T20:23:00.000-05:002009-02-26T20:23:00.000-05:001. Dr. Mullis is something of a Pecks' bad boy wh...1. Dr. Mullis is something of a Pecks' bad boy who has spent his time since his discovery of PCR chasing beach bunnies, smoking pot, and occasionally taking hits of LSD.<BR/><BR/>2. Does Prof. Moran think that the late William Shockley should have been awarded the Nobel Prize for his development of the transistor?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com