Dusseldorf The German-American scientist Südhof has uncovered how brain cells communicate with each other. “All functions in the brain – from sight, smell and decision-making to feelings – operate through cells communicating with each other,” he says. “I am interested in how this process comes about.” In 2013 he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research results.
Südhof originally dealt with cholesterol metabolism. When he was given the opportunity to conduct independent research, he recalls looking for questions that nobody had asked before. The decision to do brain research was also an emotional one: “There are still so many diseases that affect the brain that we don’t understand,” he says. And adds: “As a biologist, it is very difficult not to be fascinated by the brain.”
Südhof also explains how new technologies are changing the work of scientists and why US research is more dynamic than German.
This is due to the “possibility of quickly adapting to new ideas, people, technologies and therapies,” says Südhof. “I feel like there’s more momentum in the US on pharmacology and biotech — possibly because people can switch companies more quickly, and the companies themselves can come and go more quickly.”
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And he also gives career tips: “If you assume in science that you will win a Nobel Prize, you have the wrong job.” You have to have fun “discovering things and seeing new things”.
In the second part of the program, editor-in-chief Matthes takes a look behind the scenes of the Handelsblatt podcasts with Ina Karabasz, head of Journalism Live.
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More: The previous episode of Handelsblatt Disrupt can be found here