Paul Nurse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Paul Nurse
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| Chancellor of the University of Bristol | |
| Assumed office 2017 |
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| President | Hugh Brady |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Hale of Richmond |
| 61st President of the Royal Society | |
| In office 1 December 2010 – 1 December 2015 |
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| Preceded by | The Lord Rees of Ludlow |
| Succeeded by | Venkatraman Ramakrishnan |
| 9th President of Rockefeller University | |
| In office 2003–2011 |
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| Preceded by | Arnold Levine |
| Succeeded by | Marc Tessier-Lavigne |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Paul Maxime Nurse
25 January 1949 Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| Spouse |
Anne Teresa Talbott
(m. 1971) |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Education |
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| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions |
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| Thesis | The spatial and temporal organisation of amino acid pools in Candida utilis (1974) |
| Doctoral advisor | Anthony P. Sims |
| Doctoral students | Alison Woollard |
Sir Paul Maxime Nurse, born on January 25, 1949, is a famous English scientist. He is a geneticist, which means he studies genes. He used to be the head of the Royal Society and now leads the Francis Crick Institute. In 2001, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shared this award with Leland Hartwell and Tim Hunt. They won for finding special protein molecules that control how cells divide.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Paul Nurse grew up in North West London with his grandparents. He thought they were his parents. He went to Lyon Park school and then Harrow County Grammar School.
He studied Biology at the University of Birmingham, getting his first degree in 1970. Later, in 1973, he earned his PhD from the University of East Anglia. His research was about a type of yeast called Candida utilis. After that, he continued his studies at other universities like the University of Bern and the University of Edinburgh.
When he was in his 50s, Paul Nurse discovered a surprising family secret. He learned that the person he thought was his sister was actually his mother. This discovery happened when he needed a full birth certificate for a green card application in the United States.
Career and Scientific Discoveries
After finishing his PhD, Paul Nurse worked at the University of Edinburgh for six years. He joined the lab of Murdoch Mitchison in 1973.
In 1976, Nurse made a very important discovery. He found a gene called cdc2 in a type of yeast. This gene acts like a control switch for the cell cycle. It helps cells decide when to grow and when to divide.
Later, in 1987, he found a similar gene in humans, called Cdk1. This human gene also helps control cell division. These discoveries were key to understanding how cells grow and reproduce.
In 1984, Nurse started working at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. He later became the Director General there. This organization became Cancer Research UK in 2002. From 2003 to 2011, he was the president of Rockefeller University in New York City. In 2011, he became the first Director of the Francis Crick Institute.
From 2010 to 2015, Sir Paul Nurse was the President of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected scientific organization. He believes that good scientists need to be curious and honest. They should always test their ideas and be open to new information.
Awards and Special Honours
Sir Paul Nurse has received many awards for his scientific work. In 2001, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.
He was also made a Knight in 1999 by the Queen. This means he is called "Sir Paul Nurse." Other important awards include the Royal Medal in 1995 and the Copley Medal in 2005. In 2013, he received the Albert Einstein World Award of Science.
Many universities have given him honorary degrees. This means they recognize his great achievements. In 2016, he became the Chancellor of the University of Bristol. In 2022, he was given two very special honors: he became a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour and was appointed to the Order of Merit.
Personal Life
Sir Paul Nurse married Anne Teresa Talbott in 1971. They have two daughters. Sarah works for ITV, a television network. Emily is a physicist who works at University College London and CERN. Sir Paul Nurse describes himself as a sceptical agnostic, meaning he questions things and doesn't claim to know if there is a God.
Views on Science and Society
Sir Paul Nurse believes that scientists should speak up about science in public life. He thinks they should challenge politicians who support ideas that are not based on scientific facts. He has said that science helps us understand the world reliably. This is because it respects evidence, uses careful thinking, and always tests ideas.
He feels that scientific leaders have a duty to correct wrong information. They should speak out during elections and make sure that science is understood correctly.
Books
- What Is Life?: Five Great Ideas in Biology (2021)
See also
In Spanish: Paul Nurse para niños
