A year of scientific progress, optimism and sadness

It’s the time of year when we celebrate, we remember and we look forward. One achievement that certainly deserves to be celebrated is that of William Campbell, who this year became only the second Irish Nobel Prize winner in the sciences.

William Campbell (85), from Ramelton in Co Donegal, won the prize for his co-discovery of the drug ivermectin. The drug was first used against parasites in animals, and was later applied with great success in humans to treat river blindness and related diseases.

Incidentally, the other Irish winner, Ernest Walton, won for his work in Cambridge in the 1930s on splitting the atom, an event that heralded a new age in science and technology.

Something else worth celebrating is the continued extraordinary generosity of Atlantic Philanthropies and its founder, Chuck Feeney. Last month the organisation gave €138 million to Trinity College Dublin and the University of California, San Francisco, to train a worldwide cohort of leaders in dementia care and brain health.

This was the largest philanthropic donation in Irish history, and builds on Feeney’s immense track record of “giving while living”, which has transformed Irish research and higher education.

River blindness and dementia are devastating. In addressing them, Campbell and Feeney have, in their different ways, shown a faith in the ability of science to tackle big issues of concern to humankind.

We see something similar among the technology billionaires who choose to apply their great wealth to tackle great challenges. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is leading the fight against malaria, for example, and Elon Musk is targeting big changes in sustainable transport and space exploration.

Career-long immersion in the world of technology has not dimmed their enthusiasm, but it has reinforced their belief in the power of technology and science.

Another captivating example of that power came recently when Nasa transmitted design data to the International Space Station, where the information was used to produce a wrench from a 3D printer. We are living in a time when a hand tool can be emailed into space. What’s next?

There are many reasons to be hopeful about the extraordinary discoveries coming from science and technology. They open up the prospect of dramatic advances in the treatment of disease, the ability to connect the population of the world at a new level and much more.

Free medicine

The big achievement of William Campbell lies not only in his excellent science. He successfully made the case to his company, Merck, that ivermectin should be given away for free in places it was most needed. In this way, he has transformed the lives of millions of people in some of the poorest areas of the world.

Stories such as Campbell’s remind us of the hope, optimism and sense of possibility at the core of science. In a phrase used to describe the work of Carl Sagan, at that core is the belief that “somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known”.

It is this belief that will have school students converging in their thousands on the RDS in Dublin in two weeks’ time for the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

This year they will have a new Irish Nobel laureate to inspire them. Most will progress to universities, where they will benefit from the investments made by Feeney and others who support Irish science and higher education through their philanthropic giving. They will work in a world where the emailing of a wrench into space will seem as embryonic as Ernest Walton’s splitting of the atom.

That is something worthwhile to celebrate this Christmas.

Finally, one person who understood the optimism of science was the great journalist Mary Mulvihill. Her death in June left her many friends deeply saddened, but her legacy shines on through her writing, her example and the community she forged. She is remembered at this time. Orla Feely is vice-president for research, innovation and impact at University College Dublin. orla.feely@ucd.ie