Nobel Prize

by Lewis Wolpert How responsible are scientists for science and its applications? In a recent issue of the journal Science the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, , proposes a Hippocratic oath for scientists. He is strongly opposed to the idea that science is neutral and that scientists are not to be blamed for its misapplication.…

Short biography Lionæs, Aase Wind 1907 – 1999 Politician labour Lionæs was a member of the Storting in 1958-1977. In 1965 and 1973-1977 she was a member of the parliament’s presidency and the first woman to preside over the Storting. Within the Labour Party she belonged to the right wing. Lionæs was a Norwegian delegate…

Short biography Thallaug, Axel Andreas 1866 – 1938 Jurist and Politician Conservative Axel Andreas Thallaug got his Master of Law degree in 1889. From 1894 he worked as a solicitor in Lillehammer. He gradually specialized in business law. Thallaug was engaged in the local government from 1894 until he died in 1938. He was a…

Short biography Tranmæl, Martin Olsen 1879 -1967 Politician, Newspaper EditorLabour Martin Tranmæl had little formal education, but he took great interest in reading, especially history. He became a member of a trade union that was associated with the Labour Party in 1896. Three years later, he was one of the founders of the newspaper Ny…

by Frank Fenner and Suzanne Cory Medical research in Australia in the early 20th century Although politically independent since 1901, in the 1920s Australia was still culturally, scientifically and industrially a dependency of the United Kingdom. The total population then was some 7 million and there were three medical schools, in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.…

Short biography Horst, Hans Jacob 1848 – 1931 Educationist and politician Liberal Hans Jacob Horst received his M.A. (Cand. Philol.) in 1874. He first became a teacher and later, Headmaster. From 1881 he was engaged in ‘The Liberal Union’ (Venstreforeningen) and ‘The Workers’ Union’ (Arbeiderforeningen) in Tromsø. He soon became engaged in the local government…

Short biography Nordli, Odvar 1927 – 2018 Auditor and politician Labour Odvar, Nordli worked as an auditor in Hedmark county (fylke) in 1949-1957 and District Auditor from 1957. He became engaged in politics as a young man and was elected chairman of the regional branch of the Labour Party’s youth organisation in 1951-1961. Nordli was…

by 1962 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Haphazard growth On a summer day in the late fifties a delegation from the Soviet Union appeared in Cambridge demanding to see the “Institute of Molecular Biology”. When I took them to our shabby prefabricated hut in front of the University Physics Department, called Cavendish Laboratory after its nineteenth…

Frederick Grinnell UT Southwestern Medical Center In early 1985, when philanthropist Ralph Rogers spoke with Texas billionaire Ross Perot to ask for a “considerable” amount of money for UT Southwestern Medical School, he anticipated no great difficulty. Rogers, who recently had led the $80 million campaign to modernize Parkland Memorial Hospital, was friends with Perot…

Short biography Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne Martinus 1832 – 1910 Dramatist, author, poet, prominent Norwegian patriot Liberal Bjørnson finished Upper Secondary School in 1852 and then became a journalist. He wrote literary reviews and short stories. In 1857 he made his literary debut with the peasant tale Synnøve Solbakken. He was instructor and artistic leader at the…