Big Think What is life? A Nobel Prize-winning scientist answers | Paul Nurse Full Interview
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Nov 18, 2025 
In this enlightening conversation, Paul Nurse, a British biochemist and Nobel Prize winner, explores the essence of life. He discusses the critical role of cells as the foundation of living organisms and highlights our surprising genetic connections to yeast. Nurse dives into cell division’s significance and the impact of natural selection on evolution. He emphasizes our shared responsibility to care for all living beings, concluding that life is a complex interplay of chemistry and information.
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Yeast Revealed Ancient Human-Parallels
- Nurse chose yeast to study cell division because it’s a simple, manipulable eukaryote ideal for genetic experiments.
- He later showed human genes could substitute for yeast genes, revealing deep conservation over 1.5 billion years.
Mutant Yeast Exposed Cell-Cycle Genes
- Nurse describes isolating genes (CDC) required for the cell cycle by finding yeast mutants that grow but cannot divide.
- This genetic approach exposed molecular controls of cell reproduction central to life.
From Mendel To DNA: Heredity's Story
- Mendel's quantitative crosses hinted at particulate inheritance, later identified as genes.
- Avery and then Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins established DNA as the informational molecule encoding heredity.
