Life: A pile of books

Unfinished business has somewhat disturbing, nagging effect. One of "loose ends" of this year is the pile of books I bought and meant to read but I have not.


This Winter break is a great time to take care of the "loose ends" of this year. Here is a few notes from books I recently finished reading.

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A Japanese book about how Chinese immigrants-small business people start up their business ("Chinese immigrants' Notebook for entrepreneurship"). 

When they start up a (small) business, they focus on profit. They divide three main business functions to three different persons; "One who thinks (plans)", "one who works (on daily activities)", and "one who provides money". And the "thinker" should leave his schedule open. Calculate return of investment even for education.  ....some of the advice were based on logic that were somewhat counter-intuitive. But the book claims the advice work.

Scientific research labs in academic settings are like small businesses. Intentionally or not, traditional lab startup is structured in just like the Chinese business people's way. The PI thinks, the lab tech/post-doc/student works, and the institute or the granting agency provides money. I found the parallel interesting.

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Another Japanese book about Alfred Adler's individual psychology, titled "Courage to be disliked". It was a best seller in Japan, sold over 1.4 million copies since 2013.

The book is written in a form of dialog between a young "seeker" character and an older philosopher who explains Adler's psychology and philosophy. There are unique viewpoints in the philosophy that may be different from common views. 

"People forge emotions such as anger of fear to justify themselves"
"Anger is like a tool that you can turn on and off"
"Trauma from the past does not exist"
"All the problems are interpersonal issues"
"Desire for acceptance takes away your freedom"
"Sense of community and contribution to the community are the key to your happiness"
"Live like dancing, with spotlight on the moment"
 etc. etc.

While reading the book, the ideas were aligned in context and looked more convincing, but after a few days I am not so sure if I understood them correctly. I read similar ideas in a book on Buddhism, so they may not be entirely unique, but likely based on a functional viewpoint as a whole. 

Probably it would take a few more reading to fully comprehend the notions.


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There are still many books in the pile, including "Age of Propaganda", "Impossible to ignore",  and a classic "Business Adventures". (they are English books).

["Age of propaganda" book cover. Bought before the election]

Adding to the pile, I ordered some more Japanese books from Japanese Amazon on contemporary politics and capitalism. They should provide viewpoints that are different from analyses in the US media. I was compelled to read some books on the subjects to navigate upcoming "post truth" (aka Trumpism) era and act accordingly, at the beginning of 2017. 


Like it or not, changes will be coming. Some will sink, some will swim. I'd rather swim (or stay on the boat comfortably).

Life/Science: Year end 2016

Yesterday we had another good holiday party. Tomorrow (12/22) is the last working day before the Winter break. It is about time to look back 2016, and schedule and plan for 2017.

Overall, 2016 was a good year.


I got two original research papers and two review articles published.

A new research initiative has been taken. Some research "seeds" were planted and growing.

Thanks to exercising and dieting, I lost 15 lbs in May-September. That helped. Throughout the year, I stayed in good health. My cat stayed in good health, too.

I traveled to Japan, meeting my family.

A few new projects were initiated in 2016, including book writing and participating in a Tango formation choreography. I should see the results in 2017.

  etc.etc.


I've written up most of the plans for 2017. 

Since "Trump risk" remains high and uncertainty will rise, I want to make more detailed plans than usual (plans A, B, and C) for four key life subjects. That makes the planning more complicated, but it should be worth doing (and actually is fun). I'll finish the planning during the Winter break.


Things are usually easier if we start visualizing things from the goal, list the tasks, and just do them in a timely manner. The planning is for that. Don't just hope. Do things necessary and make the goals real.


In January 2017, I'll be working on research plans, writing grants, and preparing for a symposium talk. We got to send out the review manuscript, too. The month should go quickly.

[12/16/2016 "Secret Santa" gift exchange in the lab]

Dance: movie "Our last Tango"

At the end of Thanksgiving off, I watched a movie "our last tango". 

 ['Our Last Tango" Trailer (English)]

I saw the trailer on Facebook some time ago, and sort of remembered the movie's name. Then the movie came up in a chat after a Tango class.

"OK, enough cues. I'll watch it."


Commercial full length (< 90 minutes) Tango movies pop up every now and then, but not very often. "The Tango lesson (1997)", "Tango (1998)",  and, ........ well, it's been quite a while.

The movie was a documentary about the lives of a famous Argentine Tango couple, Maria Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes. They contributed "evangelizing" Argentine Tango by reinventing Stage Tango and traveling the world showing it. 

The life story unfolded chronologically. They met young, danced Tango together for 40 years with ups and downs. Their career was that of professional tango dancers who tour the world. But they finally broke up as a dance couple as well as in real life.

Partner dancers as a couple develop two-layered symbiotic relationship, in the art of dance and in the real life. When the partnership is over, their art as a couple, and whole efforts they made to develop their art, are over as well. That doubles the pain.


At the time of filming, they were 83 (Juan) and 80 (Maria). They narrated their own lives, with the director and other Tango dancers  who reenact their lives (two couples for two stages of their lives, earlier and later. One of them is Pablo Velon who played the lead in "The Tango Lesson").

The reenactments symbolically presented events in their lives, of course with Tango dancing. Their own dance footage were inserted here and there. In a sense, the movie was a dance movie with many tango scenes.



In spite of many Tango scenes,  the feeling I had after watching the movie was sadness. It was not pensive or pity-kind of sadness. Rather, it was a transparent sadness that we feel when we are reminded of the inevitable; all people, good or not, eventually age, lose what they used to have, fade and disappear. Life is ephemeral.



It was similar kind of sadness that you feel when you look up the clear blue sky and see your life from other perspective, or listen to a certain type of music (some of works by Mozart come to mind).


I recommend the movie.

Dance: Bonnie and Jerome Subey party, a thought on "naturals" in dancing

On 12/3/2016 (Sat), Bonnie and Jerome Subey were visiting OKC swing dance club, gave workshops, and dancing in the party.

Bonnie is our alumni, so to speak. She started West Coast Swing in the OKC swing dance club in her junior high-high school years. After high school graduation, she moved to Philadelphia, met her now-husband Jerome, and they have been actively dancing in national WCS circuit.

Quoting the workshop notice;

"Bonnie and Jerome met on the dance floor in 2012 and have been inseparable ever since. Jerome is originally from Montpellier, France, and Bonnie is from Oklahoma City, OK, USA. They now travel full-time: teaching, judging, and performing West Coast Swing all over the US and the world, competing in the champions division.

Between the two of them, they have over 25 years of partner dance experience, and pull from multiple and varied movement disciplines including hip hop, bellydance, acrobatics, and modern dance to create their unique style. Jerome's technique and discipline from his background as a karate teacher complements Bonnie's artistry, versatility, and perceptiveness to form a remarkable partnership."


This year (2016) they competed in the US open showcase division. They are developing a unique style (as most WCS couples do), incorporating elements of partner gymnastics and some Lindy hop, to WCS. I hope their continuing success in coming years.

[YouTube, US open showcase 2016, Bonnie and Jerome Subey]

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In the party, on the big TV screen in the club, they were playing entire US open showcase division. It was interesting, because it showed moving trend in WCS.


I have liked WCS dancers with quiet frames, which can allow more deliberate, stylized, and dramatic moves. For male dancers, the examples are Jordan Frisbee and Kyle Redd, both are known as great champions.

In 2016, some dancers are using body roles and shoulder shimmy more prominently, almost to the point that can be shunned as 'overactive frame' (using a term in ballroom dance circuit). I don't know if the preferred look is shifting, but it may be a part of trend, I guess.


****************************

In the party, I danced a fast song with Bonnie. She was as good as ever, very smooth, fast, and fluid. It was a fun dance.


I just used an expression "as good as ever". Because, the feel was very similar to what I remember form her junior years. 

I am not saying she made little progress over years. On the contrary, she can do a lot fancier stuff as a professional and has much more in her arsenal now compared with her earlier years. I am pointing out that there are some people whose bodies have a particular feel while dancing, even from the beginning.

As a social dancer, I've danced with hundreds of partners in many different kind of partner dances. National champions and performer-level dancers included. Every body comes with unique feel. Some have that characteristic, "natural" feel. Many of them with the feel are (or later became) fantastic or even great dancers.

The dance last night made me wonder, again, where the "natural" feel comes from. 


In fact, I have given thoughts on the question for a long time. I do have a hypothetical answer.

Since "natural" is a very broad and misused term (that strongly implies genetics that you cannot change), in recent writing, I am using a term "preparedness" instead. "Preparedness" is something that you can assess from your age, past experience, knowledge, willingness, condition (including health status), and some genetics. It is true that some people have better overall "preparedness" for partner dancing than others, which is often referred by most people as "talented" or "natural". 

Dance instructors develop their own standards for assessing their students, and use the standards in private lessons. "Preparedness" is one of the concepts I use, and the term is more measurable than the blanket word "talented" or 'natural". And, scientists (me) and engineers, as well as good business people, like to break things down to something measurable, thus workable.

You can ask yourself about your own "preparedness", how well-prepared you are.


Partner dancing is an art that has been around for ages. But the art may not be accessible or shared well, beyond imitation, anecdotal teaching, or discussions in crowd forum for which many less-qualified can participate. I want to collect the best knowledge on the art, format, and present the art in a more communicative manner to a broader audience/readers. That is my hope as an author of dance articles/books.

Dance: TangoLife OKC one-minute video, Tango in Oklahoma City

This blog on 9/12/2016 (Dance: an afternoon for a video project for Tango) reported that we were working on a short Tango video project for the purpose of TangoLifeOKC.com promotion. 

The TangoLifeOKC.com, run by David and Martha Wells, is a web site to provide Tango event information in central Oklahoma area and to promote Argentine Tango dancing in the state.


They made the materials into a one-minute video, and released it a few days ago (11/20/2016). It came out nice. Have a look.

[TangoLife OKC YouTube Video]

For many Tango dancers, Tango is not a dance, but represents a lifestyle. A lifestyle that can be very different from your mundane everyday life. You might find the dance as an escape route to a new world, like that closet door to Narnia.

In Oklahoma City, as of Nov 2016, two dance studios offer regular milonga (Argentine Tango party).

Everything Goes Dance studio (Martha and David Wells), Second Friday ($5), PM7-10:30ish, 

idance studio (Hazel Lopez), First and Third Fridays ($10), PM7-11ish

If you are interested in Tango in OKC, give one of their parties a try. They usually have a short class at the beginning. No partner required.

PS.
They offer regular weekly Tango classes, too.

 Everything Goes Dance studio, Tuesdays
 idance studio, Wednesdays

Dance: Art is mightier than thou

I went to a milonga at idance studio on Friday, then to Thanksgiving Party at the OKC swing dance club yesterday (Saturday). With many familiar and new people, the party was fun. 


The Thanksgiving party boasted attendance of 104 people. If you looked at the Thanksgiving party from a dancer's standpoint, the party was a social dance party, and there were many different levels of dancers.

Most dancers were recreational, and happy with having fun dancing. It was good. I love the lively energy.

A few were more skilled, dancing beyond "just having fun". Meaning that they were aiming at dancing good West Coast Swing dance.

Even fewer were dancing at a level of minding how they look from others, in addition to feeling good and having fun themselves. Most of the few had experience in competitions. Objective beauty of partner dance emerges when both dancers know how good dancing should feel and look like, and adhere to it.

These few can serve as "seeds" of the art of the dance. 


Anything that you do and take seriously can have elements of an art. Dancing included. You can work to improve it by learning and practicing it. In fact, that is the only way to make progress in any art.

If you look dancing as an art form, you may realize that not everyone is qualified as the successor of the art. It depends on how much quality you could attain at the art. Also, taking it seriously can mean that you put higher priority on the quality of the art than your comfort. 

Thus, "Art is mightier than thou".

Nobody is good at an art from the beginning. Untrained body often finds comfort in dancing with lesser quality. Good looking postures and coordination of motions can be alien to your body at first, and you may find them uncomfortable.

Some instructors try to convey the message above. Depending on the student's mindset, reception of the message varies. For the most, having fun is top priority, and nothing is wrong with it. But if you want to go beyond a certain level and have different kind of fun out of partner dancing, change in your mindset to prioritize the quality is necessary.


Is this view elitist? Perhaps. But I would rather enjoy small amount of good quality dances than many rough dances. For me, dancing is becoming somewhat like drinking wine.

And, believe me, dancing with higher quality really is fun.

[It's a party season. Get your shiny holiday jacket and party shirts on.]

Life: 5 days after "Trump shock"

Trump was elected. I live in a Red state, where 2/3 of voters (meaning many of my facebook friends) voted for him. In disbelief, I took my time trying to make sense out of it.


A few articles, comments, and conversations provided clues to organize my thoughts.


It turned out, Trump supporters were a mix of very different kind of people.

(i) Middle/lower class who feel hopeless/helpless/cornered/losing ground/resentment, because their needs were not addressed neither by Democrats nor Republicans (an overlooked population).

Basically, from their eyes, Trump was a third, independent party who can bring changes. 

Especially, such people in Rust belt tipped electoral college votes to Trump. Whether their hopes of Trump as an agent of change are addressed or not remains to be seen.


(ii) "Republican nominee" supporters

These were people who usually support Republican party. Even after this election split Republican party (e.g., Establishments, far-rights, etc), they went along with generally-aligned party interests with authoritarian mentality. They ignored downsides, inconsistency, and hypocrisy for the sake of party.


(iii) Rural Americans

Percentages of Trump supporters were high in rural areas, while Clinton supporters concentrated in cities. For now, I'd rather not to over-analyze the reason. Some good explanations should come.


(iv) True "Deplorable"s

KKK, neo-Nazi, racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic, etc. This segment was most featured, criticized, mocked, and feared as "Trump supporters" before the election. 

But other categories of Trump supporters would claim people in this category are different from them.




[These categories are not totally inclusive, nor mutually exclusive. They list some notables.]

*******************

For me, over-analyzing the past probably would do little at this moment.

As in my previous entry, I wanted Clinton to win. She knows the system (esp., Government and congress) inside and out, and well-tested as career politician, which came as negative with Trump supporters category (i). Too bad. She has also been targeted by her political enemies with extremely prejudiced smearing tactics for 30 years. Unfortunately, it had effect, too. 

Much of scientific research relies on stability and predictability in research environment, and she could have provided that. With untested Trump's elect, uncertainty has certainly risen.


However,....

It's been 5 days already. Although there are much uncertainty, it is time to think about what may come and formulate plans for best, better, good, bad, worse, and worst cases. 


In this era of social network, people's response and good ideas can be disseminated quickly.

For example, there are many articles and what-to-dos in daily bad case situations, such as "what to do when you witness harassment by an Islamophobic", "how to deal with Trolls", etc. I have borrowed some ideas, and will continue to take good ideas.

Like bare-handed martial arts evolved quickly in 90's and 2000's by early Brazilian jujitsu dominance, people's rational response to bad political situations and absurdities may evolve. That is one of my hopes.


Uncertainty may even prove to be an opportunity. Preparation is the key.

In fact, national popular vote went to Clinton, and there were even more non-voters whose opinions we do not know. The numbers actually provide some hope that America may not be filled with true deplorables. Yet. That should be a "better case" scenario. We will see.

Life: A week around the 2016 US Presidential election

For politics, I'll cut to the chase.

I want Hillary Clinton to win, and Trump to lose tomorrow.  

I wrote up a long version to elaborate this, but changed mind about posting.




Other than that, life is going quite normal.

Last Friday 11/4 was a milonga night.

Last Saturday 11/5, I went to Tulsa for the OK/KS swing dance championships. It was fun dancing with a variety of people and watch some contests.


On Sunday 11/6, the journal office notified us that our review manuscript on genomic instability and liver cancer has been accepted for publication. It took a major revision and almost a year for the project to reach here. I am very happy about the acceptance.


Today 11/7 was a sample collection day. Tomorrow, too. We will process them by Thanksgiving, and should see results later this year. Looking forward to it.


On Wednesday 11/9 and Thursday 11/10, there will be a conference, "National Meeting on Precision Medicine and Cancer in American Indian and Alaska Native communities".


This week is going to be an eventful week.

Science/Dance: NCI site visit, Halloween Party

This week at my work site, we had a site visit by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) program directors. The Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development at the OU Health Sciences Center, together with the Stephenson Cancer Center and the College of Public Health, carry out many studies for the NCI's contract programs. And the NCI program directors were visiting us to know or ensure we have the right environment and capability to complete the studies.


Certainly, the US government does not want to spend tax money on a wrong investment. Contrary to propaganda statements by Naysayer-right wing populists, the US government is doing meticulous job on medical science research, as far as I know, with systematic third party review processes for the grant and contract programs and with occasional site visits such as this visit.


Contemporary science has gotten bigger. A lab doing everything inside the lab belongs to the past. We need right and interactive environment to get the job done. In fact, we work with many core facilities and other laboratories and PIs (Principal Investigators). They include Bioinformatics core facility, imaging core, chemical synthesis, HPLC analysis, animal facility and support staff, histopathology core, etc. We were showing the Directors that they are real and capable facilities, not made-up on-paper-only entities.


The change in scientific research is a reason that a student needs proper training to get into the contemporary scientific research industry, even in academic settings. We need to think bigger and have skills to coordinate everything needed to get the research done as a PI. Don't be naive. 



Yesterday (10/29/2016), we had a Halloween Party at the OKC swing dance club.

[10/29/2016 Halloween Party]

Perhaps I should put a disclaimer here just in case? My opinions expressed in this blog do not represent those of my workplace organization's.

Dance: George and Jairelbhi Furlong Tango workshops in OKC (10/23/2016)

George and Jairelbhi Furlong are professional Argentine Tango instructors based in Dallas. Martha and David Wells invited them to have workshops on 10/23/2016 weekend in OKC. Together with Friday and Saturday milonga, the weekend was a Tango weekend.


In addition to the workshops on Sunday, I booked a private lesson slot and had an interview with George on how they work on Stage Tango. They are one of few professional dancers who actively perform Argentine Tango on stage, as well as directing their performance group for stage tango performance. They have unique and advanced knowledge on Stage Argentine Tango as specialists.


It is a pleasure to work with good professionals, because they know their stuff. 

I asked about 15-18 questions, depending on how you count, on performing Stage Tango. For example, "how do you define the difference between Stage Tango and Social Tango?" 

His answers were well-articulated and clear-cut, which is only possible by people with deep experience and thoughts on the subject. 

At the same time, I was under impression that "smart people think alike". I have previous interview results from other instructors and dance professionals on Stage dance. What they said have a lot in common.


Previously I read a book titled "How rich people think" by Steve Siebold. The book was about ideas and beliefs rich people have in common about money and moneymaking. The author extracted the ideas and beliefs from interviews with many rich and successful people.

I was assuming that by interviewing many Stage dancers, a common view and work ethics would emerge. They have.


Thanks to the shared answers, I am confident that the concept and contents of this new book project on Stage Tango are on target. I am very happy about it. 


Now, I got to work on the writing.


Big thank you for George and Jairelbhi.

[10/23/2016 Workshops for Sacada, Colgada, etc]

[Science] 
Today (10/24) we had a meeting with researchers working on public health and health disparity issues. We are attempting to launch an inter/intra-programmatic project that aims at (eventually) improving public health. The project might become a shortcut and a bridge between our lab research and their public health aspects. I am looking forward to further develop this project.

Dance: Friday milonga (10/14/16) and Tulsa Fall Fling, a WCS event (10/15/16): plus, why do you dance?

I went to a milonga on Friday. There came a friend of mine, who was taking a hiatus from dancing for a while. It was nice to see him. We went for a drink afterwards, and had a good time.


On Saturday, I drank water like a fish and took shower twice to shake off the hangover, then went to Tulsa to attend a WCS event/party (Tulsa Fall Fling). The event has been a nice, cozy, not too big, not too small event for some years now.

[Friday milonga 10/14/2016]

The hiatus of my friend led me to think;

There are many ways to get involved in dancing. For example: You dance as a dancer. You compete in events as a dancer. You teach dancing. You demonstrate dancing to get attention, or for a show, which may help "evangelizing" dancing. You run events. You volunteer in or help events. You write about dancing. You support dance place. You like particular kind of songs and a dance for them. You like dancers. You cheer dancers. You make friends and socialize. etc. etc.

I have been involved in dancing for quite a while. I have gotten involved in all activities listed above. But, occasionally, I review my reason to dance.

"Why am I doing it?"

In this entry, I choose to keep my reasons private. But I suggest you to ask the same question to yourself.

"Why do you dance (or get involved in dancing)?"

Reasons are important. If you dance on stage, for example, you'll need stronger reason(s). Your reason may help you overcome stage butterflies and jitters.

There are some "stronger" dancers who shine on dance floor. I'd assume they have stronger reasons as well. Maybe I should start asking, instead of assuming.

Life: Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) by Hideaki Anno (movie)

Today we sent off two grants to the grant office. In the evening, a Tango choreo class was cancelled.

So I went to watch a movie, "Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence)". 

The movie is open for a few days in Oklahoma City this week (limited running in the US). It was the biggest box office hit in Japan in 2016 Summer, and was heavily hyped and talked movie.


[I'll be careful, but there may be some spoilers. You are alerted.] 


US trailer (YouTube link)


Everyone in or from Japan knows the basic story of Godzilla movies. It's somewhat like most Americans know the basic story of Star Wars.

Likewise, there was a monster anime hit "Evangelion" in the 90's in Japan, directed by Hideaki Anno. "Eva" is known to many Japanese as a cultural reference. (The reboot theatrical Evangelion movies are still on going).


Then there came the Godzilla movie in 2016, directed by Hideaki Anno. It got attention.

That was what I was guessing as the reason for the hype.


The movie was more than that. The Japanese were talking about the movie, because it was oh-so-very Japanese.

Think some of Miyazaki/Ghibli movies, like Princess Mononoke or Spirited away. They are very Japanese, and very different from Hollywood movies, right?

What made me think "it's Japanese" was the social references, or reminders, of recent Japan, especially the 2011 disasters; Earthquake, Tsunami, Fukushima nuclear plant accident, people's evacuation, radiation map, recovery efforts, and associated Governmental and bureaucratic hush as well as heroic acts.

The Godzilla disaster immediately reminded the Japanese of these real-life disasters, both natural and man-made. In fact, a most common response was "realistic".


Presentation-wise, this Gozdilla had imprints of the director Hideaki Anno everywhere. There were many scenes I thought to be from Evangelion. 

Throwing in the concept of Japan being an US underling, or the complex position of Self Defense Force in the country, or political calculation, or nameless bureaucrats and soldiers working tirelessly to get their job done in an emergency even if it's life-threatening, all at the same time, could be seen as the director Anno's another signature of information overload. In other words, there are many angles you can talk about, depending on what you focus. For example, I am a biologist. I can even wonder the biology of Godzilla, if I want to.


Sure, it was a very well-made sci-fi movie. I was fully entertained. The idea of evolving and metamorphosing Godzilla was clever, and amped up Atomic breadth scenes were spectacular. Even the cheesy factors, such as the "they'll be back" ending and music from previous Godzilla and Evangelion movies (they sounded somewhat dated to me), were enjoyable as references.


Well, it was certainly a very different Godzilla movie compared with two Hollywood Godzillas (1998, 2014). Since it was a very Japanese movie, I understand why it was very talked about in Japan. 

The movie will be appreciated by Americans who can enjoy difference. You might feel too busy in reading subtitles, though. But now you know that information overload is a signature effect by the director. It's a part of the package.

Go watch it. It's fun.

[2 minutes before on, with a cup of ice cream]

Science: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2016

This morning (10/3/2016), I found a news article about Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for this year (2016).

Link to the MSN article.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/japans-ohsumi-wins-nobel-for-studies-of-cell-self-eating/ar-BBwVBZj?li=BBnbcA1


Here is another link to CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/health/nobel-prize-2016-physiology-medicine-yoshinori-ohsumi/

The prize went to. Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi. His research was involved in autophagy, a process of recycling cellular components. Thanks to the autophagy mechanism, we can survive up to a month just by water. Research on the process has been getting popular in cancer research meeting, as well as neurodegenerative disease research field. 

In short, autophagy is a basic mechanism encompassing many biological processes. But the involvements in diseases came to research focus in broader fields relatively recently.


Dr. Ohsumi made a series of discoveries on autophagy using yeast model system. I also used to use yeast model system.  In my student days I saw his (or his lab's) presentations in yeast meetings. Too bad I didn't really "get it". I didn't think autophagy was sexy or exciting. I guess I was wrong about the potential (saying without a sense of guilt, though).


As a part of small games I play to entertain myself, I was predicting that this year's Prize would go to Immunology, possibly researchers involved in PD1 and/or immunotherapy. I was wrong about that, too (also saying without a sense of guilt).


Come to think of it, this is 3 years in a raw when a Japanese researcher wins the Nobel Prize. That is great achievement.

To win Nobel prize, you have to do discovery- or pioneer-type work, and also have to keep leading the research field for a while (usually 20+ years). Whether the research would have broader impact or not is beyond your control. But if it has, after winning some other international awards, you may (have a chance to) win the prize. 

You need good work plus staying power. It certainly is not easy.


Congratulations, Dr. Ohsumi.