presents
Living Science
The Aaron Ciechanover Project
Curiosity: What Makes Us Human
What is Ubiqutin?
Photo Credit: Proteopedia.org
Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that was discovered in 1975. It’s present in all eukaryotic cells, directing the movement of important proteins in the cell, and participating in both the synthesis of new proteins and the destruction of defective proteins. The cells in your body build up and break down proteins at a rapid rate. Ubiquitin attaches to proteins, tagging them for disposal. This process is called ubiquitination. Tagged proteins are taken to proteasomes to be destroyed. Just before the protein enters the proteasome, ubiquitin is disconnected to be used again
Photo Credits: Nobelprize.org
Nobel Prize Lecture
Use In Medicine
Science, Medicine and the Future
Photo Credit: lindau-nobel.org
What was your dream job when you were a kid?
Aaron Ciechanover: I wanted to be a physician. And I am a physician, so I fulfilled that dream. I did not know anything about science. I did not know what one was supposed to do in science. I wanted to be a doctor, and I became indeed a doctor. But then, sometimes into my practice in medicine I realised that the job was not going to fully satisfied my curiosity and take me for a long time because I was more interested in the mechanisms of diseases that in curing patients. And then I decided to go to science...
Work in Peace
You might be inclined to wonder about your refuse collector if garbage was piling up in your neighborhood. What about in your brain? For years scientists have looked to cellular recycling mechanisms to explain the accrual of toxic protein aggregates, such as the senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles found in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), or the Lewy bodies found in Parkinson's. Two papers in this week's Journal of Neuroscience may bring us a few steps closer to understanding the relationship between the cell's protein recycling machinery—the ubiquitin-proteasome system—and AD.
Dr. Aaron Ciechanover
Dr. Aaron Ciechanover won the 2004 Nobel Science prize for his discovery of ubiquitin. Since, this discovery has driven innovative treatment for tumors, neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's), and, possibly, cancer. Although he focuses on science, he also works in peace-keeping, climate change, and education. As a scientist, he understands that the desire for knowledge, curiosity, is what unites humanity.
Dr. Ciechanover was one of three Nobel Laureates chosen to take part in a humanitarian visit to North Korea designed to promote education and peace.
Work in Education
Future of Medicine
Photo Credit: American Technion Society
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
At the turn of the century we did not know about cancer. People died from cancer, but we did not know it was such a big issue because very few people lived long enough to get it or Alzheimer. Now it is an issue. Should we fix them? I think we may, partially at least....The question is also the following: theoretically, if we should fix them all, we are going to live hundred and fifty and two hundred years, and then what about retirement, sustainability of earth, as well as other practical and philosophical questions?
Life's Work
Aaron Ciechanover discusses his mentors, his early experiences with science, his work with ubiquitin, and what being the Nobel Laureate means to him.
"There is academic deterioration at all levels. Even among people with academic degrees, I find garbled language, a lack of cultural depth, and ignorance of general history and of the history of the Jewish people. We need institutions of higher learning headed by path-breaking leadership, but that kind of leadership has disappeared. Where are the outstanding men of letters of the past? I see a close connection between the sinking of the Israeli spirit and the downfall of the State. Without developed humanities and Jewish studies, quality science of any kind cannot exist in the State of Israel – not physics, nor chemistry, nor mathematics, nor medicine. In order to flourish, scientists of nature and technology must be nourished by the humanities: by ethics, philosophy, literature, history, and Judaism."
"What makes a scientist into a great scientist is: creativity, depth, willingness to work hard, and willingness to take risks"
-Dr. Aaron Ciechanover
Photo Credit: American Technion Society