Click chemistry is like making small molecular robots out of building blocks
THE WEEK India|July 07, 2024
Chemistry is everything, including when you fall in love.
Nirmal Jovial
Click chemistry is like making small molecular robots out of building blocks

That is Danish scientist Morten Meldal’s oft-repeated statement. His wife, Phaedria Marie St Hilaire, also a distinguished scientist, agrees. Dominican-born Hilaire, founder of the nonprofit The Professional Women of Colour (ProWoc) network, says that “the chemistry of love” between them ‘clicked’ during their shared lab endeavours.

Meldal, along with American chemists K. Barry Sharpless and Carolyn R. Bertozzi, won the Nobel Prize in 2022 for their groundbreaking discovery of 'click chemistry,' a revolutionary method for constructing complex molecules. This innovation holds immense potential to shape our future. But in an exclusive chat with THE WEEK, Meldal, 70, remains humble, characterising it as something simple. Excerpts:

You often mention that your curiosity and early interest in science was instilled by nature, on your grandfather’s farm.

Yes, I have a lot of wonderful memories from my childhood. That’s why I love nature so much, in particular in connection with being in nature. I have very clear images of sitting on a cherry tree, eating the wild cherries and then going to the beach and swimming. I think that childhood should be a happy time where you learn all of these things and get a feeling for what the world is all about.

Your Nobel Prize was for click chemistry. Building complicated molecules is something very important in different domains. Your discovery introduced an efficient and time-saving method to create these complex molecules. What is click chemistry and how has it revolutionised the field?

Denne historien er fra July 07, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 07, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE WEEK INDIASe alt
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024