It is well reported that I am women of a certain age; I have enjoyed the great luxury of a career in frontier science and then a career in education. Not sure what my next one will be. It will be no surprise then that this week has been one of interesting highs and low.
Two women chemistry professors were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in developing the premier gene editing technique, CRISPR. Deserved recognition of amazing work that has, and will, change people’s lives; I know Rosalind Franklin is smiling. They also shifted the statistics by lifting the percentage of female scientists so honoured up to an enormous 3.29% of all Nobel Prize recipients! Not news per se but still vaguely depressing… especially given the very real contributions women have made to science across centuries.
For the interested also see AEON – an Art installation created to celebrate CRISPR technologies.
Another uplifting moment was the announcement of Louise Gluck as the 16th female recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature (I am a great fan of her Wild Iris collection). |
Good luck in your next job or retirement, whichever comes first.