- Title: Winning Nobel chemistry prize like achieving "Olympic gold", Feringa says
- Date: 5th October 2016
- Summary: GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS (OCTOBER 5, 2016) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE AT GRONINGEN UNIVERSITY NOBEL PRIZE WINNER FOR CHEMISTRY, BEN FERINGA, TALKING JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL CHEMISTRY PRIZE WINNER, BEN FERINGA, SAYING: "I am still a little bit in a shock and confused, because it came at such a surprise, but of course I am extremely honoured. And as I mentioned before, to win a gold medal at the Olympics, because it feels like that, is absolutely flabbergasting. I am really proud and honoured, and proud of my team etcetera. And I hope we contribute a little bit to make our world better to the kind of science that we set the stage for now, together with the other teams in the world." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL CHEMISTRY PRIZE WINNER, BEN FERINGA, SAYING: "We build this kind of devices, nano devices into a drug, so that we can switch on an antibiotic precisely on the spot where there is an infection and it doesn't harm any other bacteria in the body. And after six or 12 hours, when it has done its job, it automatically switches off, and when it comes in the environment it has not any harm anymore and you don't build up resistance. This is early days, but this is an example of a kind of a smart drug that we try to develop together with medical people." FERINGA TALKING NEWS CONFERENCE IN SESSION
- Embargoed: 20th October 2016 16:23
- Keywords: Nobel Prize chemistry Feringa Sauvage Stoddart science
- Location: GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS
- City: GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS
- Country: Netherlands
- Topics: Science
- Reuters ID: LVA00152QCX1J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Dutchman Bernard Feringa, one of a trio of European scientists who won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing molecular machines, said on Wednesday (October 5) winning the award is like achieving "Olympic gold".
Feringa, along with Frenchman Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Scotland's J. Fraser Stoddart, developed molecular machines that could one day be injected to fight cancer or used to make new types of materials and energy storage devices.
"I am still a little bit in a shock and confused, because it came at such a surprise, but of course I am extremely honoured. And as I mentioned before, to win a gold medal at the Olympics, because it feels like that, is absolutely flabbergasting. I am really proud and honoured, and proud of my team etcetera. And I hope we contribute a little bit to make our world better to the kind of science that we set the stage for now, together with the other teams in the world," Feringa, a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, told reporters.
The molecular machines can be developed in smart medicines that seek out disease or damage and deliver drugs to fight or fix it, and in smart materials that can adapt in response to external triggers such as changes in light or temperature.
"We build this kind of devices, nano devices into a drug, so that we can switch on an antibiotic precisely on the spot where there is an infection and it doesn't harm any other bacteria in the body. And after six or twelve hours, when it has done its job, it automatically switches off, and when it comes in the environment it has not any harm anymore and you don't build up resistance. This is early days, but this is an example of a kind of a smart drug that we try to develop together with medical people," Feringa said.
The Nobel committee's statement said the science of molecular machinery was now "at the same stage as the electric motor was in the 1830s" - when scientists displayed various spinning cranks and wheels, unaware that they would lead to electric trains, washing machines, fans and food processors.
The Nobel prizes are named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, literature and peace, in accordance with his will. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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