In the complex balance between virus and host the T cells and the properties of the virus play an important role. The unexpected discovery of the MHC-restricted T cell recognition (MHC = major histocompatibility complex) prompted many important investigations. Which have led to a detailed understanding on a molecular level of T cell recognition of virus-infected target cells. As a result of these findings the immunological specificity as well as the immunological memory, and above all, pathogenesis of infectionus diseases and of autoimmunity can be better understood.

“Being isolated in those pre-fax and pre-e-mail days in Australia was a great advantage, as it allowed time to discuss and to think things through. We had outspoken and informed local critics, the freedom and resources to pursue our own ideas, and were given full credit for our efforts. Those of us who have senior roles in science need to do everything possible to ensure that comparable opportunities and environments remain available to young scientists.” With this provocative exhortation P.C. Doherty ended his Nobel Lecture.

Bucky get the prize—eleven years after the discovery of C₆₀ in 1985, the realization that carbon makes this truncated isosahedral molecule, and larger geodesic cages, all by itself is honored with the Nobel Prize. Only with the development of laser-vaporization cluster beam methods did the particular signification of C₆₀ become apparent. Indeed the discovery process with respect to fullerenes and the properties of carbon is far from being complete.

Basic research must continue to be supported! This is one of the conclusions clearly evident from the story behind the discovery of the fullerenes. The questions to which answers were originally sought would not have been posed within the current confines of programs aimed increasingly at applied research. This and the fascination associated with C₆₀ and other members of the fullerene family are the central messages in this Nobel lecture.

Although counterintuitive, the conjecture that high-symmetry, low-entropy truncated icosahedron C₆₀ spontaneously forms out of the chaos of condensing carbon vapor proved to be true. The observation that the cluster of 60 carbon atoms is singularly chemically unreactive, as exemplified by its flagpole prominence in mass spectra, could be explained only by this hypothesis. This resulted in more conjecture, some of which proved correct, whereas others relating C₆₀ to diffuse interstellar bonds and soot formation remain speculative. Even if of questionable validity, these speculations have played a useful role in driving chemists to think about the formation of fullerenes and other carbon morphologies.

Establishing inbred lines from single flies carrying mutagenized chromosomes was the strategy behind the mutagenesis experiments conducted by E. Wieschaus and C. Nusslein-Volhard in Heidelberg. Within two generations, homozygous flies were obtained whose development was compared with that of their heterozygous siblings. The results from 27000 inbred lines led to first indications of the causes of early morphological changes in embryogenesis.

Vertebrate genes can often be identified based on analogies to Drosophila genes. This homology has been important in advancing the understanding of vertebrate development on a genetic level, and indicates that a basic body plan is common to the vertebrates and arthropods. Comparisons of patterning in flies and vertebrates have been successful most recently in studies of zebra fish.

Hope for the atmosphere is the cautiously worded resumé of F. S. Rowland based on his knowledge of the developments in recent years about the influence of the CFCs on the ozone budget. Thanks to the restrictions that came into effect in the 1990s, the concentrations of some CFCs in the atmosphere have already reached their maximum value; for others this point will be reached in the near future. Nevertheless, large ozone losses are expected in the Antarctic spring until the middle of the 21st century.

Cause and result can be geographically widely separated. This fact is corroborated by the finding that the annually recurring ozone hole over Antarctica, which has been steadily increasing in size since 1985, is predominantly due to anthropogenic emissions from the Northern Hemisphere. How the realization dawned that it is primarily the chlorine atoms released by photochemical reactions of CFCs in the upper stratosphere that destroy the ozone shield is described by M. J. Molina in his Nobel Lecture.

The ozone hole, a nuclear winter, and the greenhouse effect are some of the themes that concerned Paul Crutzen in his work, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995. Here he reports on his path to his path to his results and his plans for the future.

How is the hormone-activated synthesis of the second messenger cyclic AMP regulated? Or, in more general terms, how does the interaction of an extracellular agonist with a receptor lead to intracellular enzyme activity when receptor and enzyme are not distinct macromolecules? The mediators are membrane-bound, guanine nucleotide binding regulatory proteins (G proteins). When the receptor is activated, G proteins dissociate into their subunits. These in turn activate or inhibit enzymes such as adenylate cyclases, which catalyze the synthesis of cyclic AMP. In these signal transmission processes G proteins act as molecular switches and amplifiers.

From the Organic Chemistry Institute of the Technical University of Budapest via the laboratories of the Dow Chemical Company (in Canada and the USA) and the Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio), the path of George A. Olah finally led to the University of California in Los Angeles. At all research stations he pursued his major interest in carbocations, whose existence was still questioned by many at the beginning of his career. Olah gave the cations of carbon longer life to allow their observation in superacidic medium, and made the distinction between carbenium and carbonium ions. The reminiscences on an exciting bit of chemical history and a glimpse into his actual research make Olah's Nobel Lecture a must for every chemist.