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Application of science important: Martin Chalfie

KOCHI: It is not only science that is important, but also how you apply it that matters, Nobel laureate Martin Chalfie has said.

He was addressing a gathering of doctors and researchers at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences on Thursday.

Work done by scientists today would become the tool of another group to make more discoveries and innovations, Prof. Chalfie, who shared the 2008 prize for chemistry with two other scientists for the discovery and development of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), said.

The discovery of GFP was being used to understand the problems related to human health as a biological marker, like tracking the movement of cancer cells and understanding the infections caused by HIV/AIDS.

All life should be studied and not just model organisms as we did not know much about a lot of them, Prof. Chalfie, who is a professor of biological sciences at Columbia University, said.

Prof. Chalfie, in his charming style, made light of his work and quipped, “If you do an experiment and it gives you what you did not expect, it is a discovery.” Scientific success came via many routes and most discoveries were accidents, Prof. Chalfie said, sending the audience into peals of laughter.

On his impressions during his growing-up years, Prof. Chalfie said many of his notions had proved to be false, mainly that scientists are generally geniuses and always experimenting and that scientific methods are purposeful, they usually work alone although they may have an assistant, and that with the exception of Marie Curie, all scientists are men.

On a serious note, Prof. Chalfie called for focus on research in basic sciences. It was an engine that drove innovators, leading to insights into human diseases, and the advantages of research could be applied for human benefit, he said.

The function was organised by the Amrita Nanoscience Centre. Shanti Kumar Nair, director of the centre, welcomed and introduced the guest. Sarah Heilshorn, professor, Stanford University; Prathapan Nair, Principal, Amrita Medical College; and Vipin Nair, Dean, School of Biotechnology; spoke.

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