GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
tags: The Science of Story Telling, Paul Nurse, genetics, family history, narrative, streaming video
This video is a fascinating look at Paul Nurse's personal history .. Nurse, who is a biochemist, Knight, 2001 Nobel Prize Winner and President of Rockefeller University in NYC, reveals how, after 58 years, he finally learned the truth of his own family history. As a boy, Nurse always felt "a little bit different" from the rest of his family. His parents and siblings all left school at age 15 while he excelled at academics and pursued higher education. In his 30s, Nurse's mother confided in him that both she and Nurse's father were "illegitimate" -- born out of wedlock to unknown fathers. A shocking revelation, but it didn't really explain why he was the oddball in the family. [10:08]
Education
Life Science
Comments
Did you not listen to the last 5 minutes of the video?!? It goes on to explain that his real father is unknown and his real mother is the woman who he thought was his sister. Hence this explains his oddball/academic success.
Posted by: anonymous | June 20, 2009 8:20 PM
anonymous -- of course i listened to the video, but i am not posting spoilers above the jump.
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | June 20, 2009 9:31 PM
Thanks. Must have been a bit of a surprise -- and at the same time made everything fall into place.
Posted by: Peter Lund | June 21, 2009 1:10 AM