A Nobel for you Brits

[dr b]

Robert Edwards has won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for developing in vitro fertilization (or fertilisation to you). Why no postings here? Are you all at the pubs toasting Dr. Edwards? Too busy celebrating the Ryder Cup? Thinking "it's already been done" after the UK has won (or shared) 3 of the past 4 medicine Nobels? Or has this already been posted somewhere else and once again I've made a fool of myself?

More seriously, is there any remaining controversy over Edwards' work that might dampen the mood?

Come on! Well done, UK! Three cheers for Dr. Edwards!

[Coobeastie]

Hip Hip Hooray ;)

Not bothered about the Ryder Cup result but thought Dr Edwards was a thoroughly deserving recipient of the Novel Prize. Shame his colleague Dr Patrick Steptoe isn't around to share the award though.

[jno]

it is well done, but Brits are not big on science (except those who win prizes, of course). I expect there'll be a bit about it on tonight's TV news and in tomorrow morning's papers.

There's no controversy over it at all as far as I know (there's very little Christian fundamentalism here, for instance) One of the reasons may be the time lag: it's a long time since Edwards first hit the headlines. The first 'test-tube baby' is 32 and has a baby of her own - conceived the usual way.

[fredpuli47]

We take our science in a very British way. The moment Crick and Watson cracked the secret of DNA,did they cheer? Dance in the streets? Tell the tabloids? Tell other scientists? No, they walked the 100 yards or so to their regular pub for a pint.On entering, Crick is supposed to have said "I think we've discovered the secret of life". Honestly, some people will say anything to get a free drink off their mates.. He went a bit far, in my judgment. A bit orff if you ask me, dontchya know. But I suppose he can be forgiven!.

The pub did get around years later to putting up a plaque to commemorate this event, but I can never find it (I live near Cambridge) so that's been done in a British way, probably to appease frustrated tourists who asked about the story !

And no, there's no controversy. This is Britain, man, we don't have religion (which is why we put Church of England on forms) LOL

[wolf63]

Church of England ? I am a true Scottish atheist.

;-)

[jake-the-peg]

Watson was an American - maybe he'd just "gone native"

There have been rather a lot (118) of British Nobel Laureates I don't think we go mad every year.

There is also a lot of politics around Nobel prizes which does seem to devalue them a bit for some people.

In the Science prizes particularly the issue is the time taken between the work and the award - you have to be long lived they're not awarded posthumously.

Then there's the deep conservatism of the awrds. Einstein's relativity was seen as too contraversial - he got his for the photo-electric effect instead.

And don't get me started on the Peace prize - Kissinger? - Obama?

[jno]

so it's a Scottish god you don't believe in, wolf?

I don't think the dodginess of some peace prizes affects the other prizes, it's sort of recognised that they're political to the point of irrelevance. It affects the literature prize a bit as well. Even the others get it wrong occasionally, despite the time it takes to award them. But lottery prizes always seem to go to the wrong people too, so nothing new there.

[modeller]

dr b # More seriously, is there any remaining controversy over Edwards' work that might dampen the mood? #
What controversy ? Do you mean those few weirdos that make a lot of noise ?
The last thing I heard of them they had migrated to the US and became history and geography consultants to Sarah Palin. S