Remember When The Nobels Used To Be Inspiring?
Double Facepalm The 2012 Nobel Prizes have thus far inspired only snores. This is usually one of the best weeks of the year for me: Nobel week, when a select group of scientists are publicly lauded for their research and awarded a medal, some bragging rights for the faculty lounge, and a chunk of change. Some years have fantastic choices -- my recent favorite was the beautiful scientific narrative behind the discovery, implementation and fine-tuning of green fluorescent protein and its use as a reporter molecule in cell research. Others provide drama in the way of glaring snubs, like when the committee ignored Robert Gallo's work in HIV research. This year has provided neither. We have thus far gotten two entirely pedestrian awards. This isn't to say that any of the work was bad -- it's not. But awards should either show some creative flair on the part of...