A man is driving down a country road, when he spots a farmer standing in the middle of a huge field of grass. He pulls the car over to the side of the road and notices that the farmer is just standing there, doing nothing, looking at nothing. The man gets out of the car, walks all the way out to the farmer and asks him, “Ah excuse me mister, but what are you doing?” The farmer replies, “I’m trying to win a Nobel Prize.” “How?” asks the man, puzzled. “Well, I heard they give the Nobel Prize to people who are out standing in their field.” (from Winning Nobel Prize Jokes).

If that farmer was Mario R. Capecchi, Oliver Smithies or Sir Martin J. Evans, he has achieved his goal! On Monday, October 08, 2007 CNN.com published a story called Mice gene trio win medicine Nobel. According to the story, these three men won this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine for their

.. . .groundbreaking discoveries that led to a technique for manipulating mouse genes. . . .they were honored for a technique called gene targeting, which lets scientists inactivate or modify particular genes in mice. That in turn lets them study how those genes affect health and disease. . . To use this technique, researchers introduce a genetic change into mouse embryonic stem cells. These cells are then injected into mouse embryos. The mice born from these embryos are bred with others, to produce offspring with altered genes.The first mice with genes manipulated in this way were announced in 1989. [Hyperlinks added]

How to Turn This News Event into an Inquiry-Based, Standards-Related Science Lesson

Everyone’s heard of it. Once a year, the stories start on who won what, from where and for what. Students might even know it’s actually not just a single prize, but it is awarded in several categories. But what is the history of the Nobel Prize? How are the winner’s chosen? What does winning mean for the recipient and for their discipline? Why does there seem to be a rather long time lag, in some cases 10 or more years, after the science is published, until the prize is awarded? Is the award ever given posthumously? These are questions for inquiry that align with the National Science Education Standards of History and Nature of Science, and one or more of the life, physical, and earth and space science content standards, depending on the particular prize or winner on which you choose to focus. This story focuses on the Nobel Prize in medicine for biotechnological advances in genetics, thus meeting some of the life science and science and technology content standards.

A study of the Nobel Prize history and winners lends itself to interdisciplinary studies in social studies, history, literature, and science. You might have students be alert to news releases in the coming weeks of other prize winners this year. You may also channel student attention to past winners in chemistry, physics, or medicine and ask them to relate how the winner’s work has contributed to society or how it is likely to impact society in the future. Students may notice the dearth of female prize winners and can be encouraged to research the possible reasons for this trend. Students should also be encouraged to find out how the recipients were chosen, what they actually were awarded and what the prize means to the winner, their institution, and their field.

Here are some additional resources that are part of the NSDL Middle School Portal collection to facilitate your instruction regarding gene targeting or the Nobel Prize: Your Genome, The Genetic Science Learning Center: The Biotechniques Laboratory Teacher Resources, and Nobel Prize Women in Science : Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries, Second Edition.

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Let us know what you think and tell us how we can serve you better. We want your feedback on all of the NSDL Middle School Portal science publications. Email us at msp@msteacher.org.