2006_10_01_archive

Nobel Roundup

The blogosphere lit up this week with rampant Nobel prize-related

speculation and oddsmaking. So now that the big three science Nobels

have been announced (sorry, economists), let me throw in my two cents.

It looks like RNA-related research projects are the leggings of the

science community this fall. (I'll qualify that remark by saying that

I have much more hope for the staying power of RNA research). The

Nobels in Medicine and Chemistry both involve RNA in some way. You've

almost certainly heard of DNA. I'll go out on a limb with an analogy

here and liken RNA to DNA's free-spirited daughter. DNA usually is

stably linked to another strand of its own kind, and it's always there

when RNA is made. RNA is a more transient entity. It moves out of

DNA's house in the cell's nucleus pretty quickly and promptly

discloses all the family secrets. RNA has also been known to dabble in

some funky activites, things like picking up habits from enzymes and

dabbling in a little contortion.

The Chemistry prize was awarded for molecular-level snapshots of the

"birth" of RNA, a process called transcription. The Medicine Prize was

awarded for the discovery of RNA interference, an invaluable method

for scientists trying to uncover a gene's function. Much of the media

is framing both of the prizes as important for therapeutic

applications, but we're still very far away from a real, live drug.

By the way, It seems like the Nobel committee is sweet on structural

biology lately. The 2003 Nobel was awarded in part to another X-ray

crystallographer. I blogged a little about X-ray crystallography here.

I was proud of myself this year, because I'm no physicist and it's the

first time I can remember not having to read up on the science behind

the prize. The Physics prize was awarded for work in cosmic microwave

background radiation (CMB). Briefly, the CMB is a sort of residual

signature of the Big Bang, and studying it has lent further support to

the Big Bang theory and shed some more light (no pun intended) into

the origins of the universe. I had read about CMB in a book, The Light

at the Edge of the Universe, by my former science writing prof, Mike

Lemonick. Looks like he has a little dirt on the Physics prize here.

In case you're wondering why I chose the title "Nobel Roundup", it's

because I found this little gem while searching for a layperson-level