Professor Eric Kandel, you made groundbreaking discoveries on how memory works, mainly by investigating sea slugs and mice. And Professor Torsten Wiesel, you revolutionized our understanding of ‘information processing in the visual system’15 by studying cats and monkeys as experimental models.

Dr Tim Hunt, your father, Richard, was a leading medieval scholar.

Human DNA is packed into forty-six chromosomes inside the cells of our body. At each end of the chromosome are the so-called telomeres: if the chromosome is a shoelace, the telomeres would be the protective plastic ends at the end of the shoelace. Cell divisions are essential to life, and they continuously take place in our body. However, the more the cell divides, the more telomeres are shortened, and the more the cell ages. In return, an enzyme called telomerase ‘rebuilds’ the telomeres, thus restoring the protection of the chromosome and delaying cellular senescence. The relationship between telomeres and telomerase is a delicate equilibrium. You won the Nobel Prize in 2009 for the discovery of ‘how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase’.

‘If you could choose an object that has mattered a lot to you, your work or creative process, what would it be?’ Each Nobel Laureate is asked this question, and to bring this object and donate it to the Nobel Museum when coming to Stockholm to receive their Prize.

As a schoolboy in the 1960s, I was obsessed with geopolitical events such as the war in Vietnam and relations with the Soviet Union and China. I was also interested in the culture of the North American Indians. My favourite outdoor activities were wilderness canoeing and cross-country skiing. My friends and I began an underground newspaper that provided much entertainment but brought some disciplinary actions. Unfortunately, my attitude was not focused on traditional academics, and I applied my talents only where I was interested. Following a summer camping trip to Russia and Eastern Europe, I withdrew from high school, as I had sufficient background to attend university, and I never completed some high-school courses, resulting in a D in chemistry. Once in college, I focused on chemistry and did very well.

Professor Brian Schmidt, on the Nobel Prize website, until recently, it was written: ‘Brian P. Schmidt has not submitted an autobiography.’ Therefore, one of the few official biographies available was your Twitter one. Your popular account, @cosmicpinot, says: ‘An overly busy Cosmologist who is Vice-Chancellor of the ANU [Australian National University], Wine maker, Dad & Husband. 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physics.’ We need to know more about you. As contrapasso, let’s start with some questions from a modified version of the Proust Questionnaire.

The first cases of AIDS date back to 1981. Only two years later, together with your mentor Luc Montagnier, you isolated the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causing AIDS. For this achievement, the two of you won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008. Almost thirty-three million people have died from AIDS-related conditions worldwide, and more than seventy-five million people have become infected with HIV.

After completing the steps in Chapter 7, I now have a well-prepared data set of monthly averaged atmospheric CO2. The placeholders have been removed and the gaps have been filled. I can now proceed to answer my original question:

Once you have a preliminary research question, it is time to investigate the existing data that could be used to address the question. To find existing data, start by searching the published peer-reviewed literature. Google Scholar or an open web search will not necessarily limit your search to peer-reviewed publications and can therefore be a waste of time or cause you to rely on inappropriate work, or both. The easiest way to find peer-reviewed science is to use a database at your institutional library that curates peer-reviewed publications. There are many databases that are useful. Web of Science is one of the most general useful databases, but you can also use databases that are more discipline specific like Georef or BioMed. Ask your librarians for advice to ensure that you are accessing the right papers for your purpose.

A good scientific question will motivate a good research project. The process of asking questions and gaining knowledge is iterative. Asking a question directs an action: an investigation into what has been done in this field before and what is already known about this problem. Sometimes the answer to your question can be found in the published scientific literature. If that is the case, you can refine your question. Answering a question generates new knowledge, which in turn generates new questions, and so on. So your questions will become clearer and more useful as you gain information, resources, and experience in your field. Be prepared to review your research questions regularly. They may need to change over time.