A Nobel laureate who helped unlock key secrets of the cell's lifecycle is giving a free public lecture at NUI Galway tomorrow week. Prof Sir Paul Nurse, right, will be talking about controlling the cell cycle and discussing the remarkable discoveries being made about how cells divide, propagate and, occasionally, become dangerous, in cancer.
Prof Nurse, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, identified, cloned and characterised one of the key regulators of the cell cycle. Known as cyclin dependent kinase, or CDK, it drives the cell through the cell cycle by chemically modifying other proteins.
He and colleagues Timothy Hunt and Leland Hartwell made seminal discoveries about the control of the cell cycle. The team identified key molecules that regulate this essential life-promoting cycle in yeasts, plants and animals.
These fundamental discoveries have had a great impact on all aspects of research into cell growth. Understanding this crucial and complex process may open new possibilities for cancer treatments and the control of other diseases.
Born in London, Prof Nurse almost didn't make it into university, after failing O-level French while at school. Luckily for the future of medical research, an enlightened professor at Birmingham University recognised his talent and arranged for him to be accepted by the school of biology.
In keeping with this unorthodox researcher, he is frequently seen near Cancer Research UK weaving in and out of traffic on his 500cc Kawasaki motorcycle, which he bought with some of the proceeds of his Nobel Prize award.
To hear Prof Nurse's talk, be at the O'Flaherty Theatre at NUI Galway at 8 p.m. on March 28th.