On jellyfish and federal funding

A lot has been made the past few weeks about various snubs by the Nobel Foundation in choosing the 2008 Nobel Prize recipients. The one that's received the most play in the media has been the Nobel in physiology/medicine, which went to two French scientists who isolated HIV in the 1980s. The prize didn't include Robert Gallo, an American scientist who linked HIV to AIDS.

Scientific American has an interesting list of 10 scientists who probably should've received Nobel prizes ... but didn't. (One fault is that the Nobel specifies that it can only be shared by three researchers, so everyone else loses out.) But the list doesn't mention Douglas Prasher, who probably should've had a hand in the 2008 Nobel Prize for chemistry.

Truth is, there's been relatively little media play over Prasher. The 30-second version: Dr. Prasher discovered a gene that makes jellyfish glow and believed the discovery could be used in detecting cancer and other diseases. Then his funding ran out. In an last-ditch effort to save his research, he sent test tubes with the gene to two other scientists. They continued his work and won the Nobel. He won nothing. (They have, however, conceded he made a vital contribution to the findings.) But here's the rub: While the winning scientists are sharing a $1.5 million prize, Prasher is driving a courtesy shuttle for an Alabama Toyota dealership. He makes $8 an hour. (CNET has a longer, well-written story if you're so inclined to read more.)

I think every scientist fears what happens when the funding dries up. I mean, everybody worries about how they'd pay the bills if they lost their jobs. (And boy, does it ever sting. Don't get me started about how hard it's been looking for a job in this economy, where job-seekers outnumber jobs three to one.) But scientists face a special kind of job insecurity. A lot of funding comes, in one form or another, from the government. And that means campaign-happy terms such as "spending freeze" can be scary. Something to think about during election season.

But back to Prasher. I don't know what I would've done had I been in his shoes. Would I have sent my research on or selfishly kept it for myself? Probably neither. Instead, I probably would've assumed my research wasn't really that good -- otherwise, wouldn't somebody want to pay for it? -- and quietly packed up my beakers and notebooks.

There's something to be said for Prasher's confidence in his work. He knew a good thing when he saw it. Unfortunately, the dollars don't always go where they should. In a perfect world, he'd see some of that Nobel cash. But even if he doesn't, here's hoping somebody recognizes he should be in a lab instead of behind the wheel of a Toyota courtesy shuttle.

Bonus link: "Obama, McCain Battle for Science Cred" (AP, Oct. 16)