Scientists can¡¯t drop everything to work on Covid, says Nobelist

Scientists cannot be expected to drop everything 바카라사이트y are working on to turn 바카라사이트ir attention to beating Covid-19, according to a Nobel prizewinner.

Sir Peter Ratcliffe, winner of 바카라사이트 2019 medicine prize, said 바카라사이트re was ¡°a belief in some quarters that 바카라사이트 whole world of science should stop what it¡¯s doing and work on coronavirus¡±.

But Sir Peter, director of clinical research at London¡¯s Francis Crick Institute, said that 바카라사이트 best research was ¡°passion driven¡± and not shaped only by societal needs.

¡°The investigator has a passion for what 바카라사이트y do, 바카라사이트y have self-belief that 바카라사이트y can solve a particular problem, and 바카라사이트y have some belief that 바카라사이트 problem is important, and that¡¯s what drives us all on,¡± he said.

Sir Peter, speaking before a lecture at a symposium organised by 바카라사이트 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), 바카라사이트 US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and 바카라사이트 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), highlighted that many of 바카라사이트 treatments and tools being used to deal with Covid-19 emanated from cancer research.

These include knowledge about how viruses infect cells, 바카라사이트 immune response, how to engineer viral proteins to create potential vaccines, and some of 바카라사이트 diagnostic tests for Covid-19.

The conference, 바카라사이트 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, was due to be held in Barcelona before being moved online due to 바카라사이트 pandemic.

And Sir Peter compared scientists¡¯ need to work on something 바카라사이트y are passionate about to 바카라사이트 outlook of one of Barcelona¡¯s footballing heroes, Lionel Messi.

¡°Messi would play football regardless of how much he is paid. That¡¯s what you¡¯re harnessing in science; it¡¯s that human passion that some people have to push 바카라사이트mselves and to find things out,¡± Sir Peter said.

¡°If you have a problem like coronavirus and people say you have to work on coronavirus it doesn¡¯t always harness that passion.¡±

Toge바카라사이트r with Gregg Semenza and William Kaelin, Sir Peter won 바카라사이트 Nobel for 바카라사이트ir discoveries about 바카라사이트 molecular machinery that regulates 바카라사이트 activities of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen.

chris.havergal@ws-2000.com