Thursday, November 1, 2007

Apathy halts Nobel winner's talk

reposted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7036435.stm

Apathy halts Nobel winner's talk
Sir Martin Evans
Professor Sir Martin Evans was knighted in 2003
A day after he was awarded the Nobel Prize, a talk on stem cell research by Sir Martin Evans has been cancelled because of a "lack of interest".

The event, due to be held at Cardiff's Techniquest, was organised before he was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize for medicine on Monday.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council had arranged the event six weeks ago.

It will now be re-scheduled for sometime in the new year.

The public discussion on Wednesday was to feature Sir Martin and Dr Nick Allen, both from Cardiff University.

A similar discussion went ahead at Tehniquest in October 2006 involving the same people.

Sir Martin, a professor of mammalian genetics, is considered by many the chief architect of stem cell research.

Alter genes

He was knighted in 2003 and received the Lasker award - the American equivalent of the Nobel Prize for medicine - in 2001.

He is also a fellow of the Royal Society and fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

The 66-year-old scientist helped show how the cells that form all the tissues in a mouse's body - embryonic stem cells - can be removed and grown separately in the lab.

He also helped create a method to alter genes in mice.

Dr Christine Hauskeller from the University of Exeter was also expected to talk about the ethical and societal issues that stem cell science raises.

The meeting was to be chaired by Dr Anita Shaw, Development Director of Techniquest.

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