2009 Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau
Nature Video presents five short films on chemistry plus a special film feature on climate change.
Each year, hundreds of young researchers from around the world meet with Nobel Prize winning scientists on Lindau Island in Germany. In 2009 it was the turn of the chemists, and we were there to capture moments of this unique meeting of minds.
Join Laureates and young researchers as they discuss the future of medicine, consider the ethics of nanotechnologies, plan new collaborations, and seek ways to avoid dangerous climate change.
Episode Summaries
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24 Aug Trailer: An introduction to the Lindau Meetings and the films
The goal of the Lindau Meetings is to educate, inspire and connect scientists across generations. When we followed a group of young Lindau participants at this year's chemistry get-together, we found that they had just as much to teach the Nobel Laureates as they had to learn from them. This trailer introduces the 2009 Lindau Meeting and offers a taster of the dialogues in the films that follow. -
27 Aug Breaking down Alzheimer's with Aaron Ciechanover
Alzheimer's disease is caused by abnormal clumps or aggregations of proteins in the brain. Simon Pöpsel is about to embark on PhD work on a protein that might help us to treat this devastating disease, and Nobel Prize winning biochemist Aaron Ciechanover is clearly excited by his ideas. -
3 Sept Nanotechnology: Use and misuse with Harold Kroto
Sir Harry Kroto won the Nobel Prize for discovering the soccer-ball-shaped fullerenes, strangely-structured carbon molecules also known as buckyballs. These molecules led to the development of carbon nanotubes and the burgeoning field of nanoscience. But young chemists Stephanie Benight and Maher El-Kady want to know how we can use buckyballs in the future, and whether we should be worried by some aspects of these new nano-scale technologies. -
10 Sept Smart drugs and sneaky microbes with Peter Agre
Young scientists like Maartje Bastings are set to revolutionise the way we deliver drugs. Her work will aid the development of 'smart drugs' which target specific proteins in the membranes of particular cells, proteins like the aquaporins discovered by Nobel Laureate Peter Agre. And knowing more about aquaporins might help Australian chemist David Jacques with his research. -
17 Sept Seeing green with Roger Tsien & Richard Ernst
The 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Roger Tsien and colleagues for work on the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This protein, originally found in jellyfish, enables scientists to track the activity of individual proteins within living cells. But student Tyler Arbour is worried that sometimes, using GFP as a label is messing things up. Can Roger Tsien put his mind at ease? Tyler also has questions about science education for chemistry Laureate and Tibetan art enthusiast Richard Ernst. -
24 Sept Catalysts and collaborations with Richard Schrock
Catalysts facilitate almost every reaction in the human body. They also enable us to make all kinds of molecules in the lab, and few people have contributed more to this field than Richard Schrock. Can he help Norweigan student Christer Øpstad to catalyse reactions with his carotenoid molecules. And what will happen when another young chemist, Jeffrey Lancaster, proposes a collaboration with this Nobel Prize winning chemist? -
1 Oct Climate change: The two-degree target
In December, policy makers will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark to thrash out a new global deal on climate change. The aim is to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. We sent three young climate researchers along with Nature's Olive Heffernan to find out just how much of a challenge this ambitious target will be. Join them as they seek advice from climate experts including the IPCC's Rajendra Pachauri, challenge the sceptical views of political scientist Bjørn Lomborg, and learn lessons from the Nobel Laureates who showed that CFCs were destroying the ozone layer.
