Most Nobel science prizes awarded to ‘paradigm-shifting’ research
‘Paradigm-shifting’ basic research has won most of the Nobel science prizes over the past three decades, says a South Korean think tank
Most Nobel science prizes over the past 30 years have been awarded to “paradigm-shifting” basic research rather than work that expands on or clarifies ideas from the past, said a South Korean think tank on Monday, ahead of the announcement of this year’s Nobel winner for medicine.
Paradigm-shifting research refers to the creation of new scientific frameworks through the discovery of new principles, methods, equipment, machinery and techniques, explained the Seoul-based Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) in a new report.
This year’s Nobel-winning research could also be defined as paradigm-shifting as it was awarded to scientists James E Rothman, Randy W Schekman and Thomas C Südhof, who discovered how cells organise their transport systems.
“The three Nobel Laureates have discovered the molecular principles that govern how this cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time in the cell,” announced the Nobel Assembly in Stockholm.
Some of the previous examples of paradigm-shifting Nobel-winning research included that of Bertram N Brockhouse and Clifford G Shull, who won the physics prize in 1994 for pioneering the development of neutron scattering techniques, and of Paul C. Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield, who won the physiology prize in 2003 for their discoveries on magnetic resonance imaging.
Because this kind of Nobel-worthy research tried to change pre-existing frameworks and create new ones, it often conflicted with established paradigms and faced difficulties in securing funds, said the report titled Paradigm-Shifting Scientific Research and Nobel Prizes.