Instituto Universitario CINQUIMA

"It’s hard to develop new things if you do not understand how the world works. And that’s really the goal of basic science; that’s its intrinsic value. I would argue that every modern medical advancement is directly tied to advances in basic science." Paul Modrich explains that history has shown us knowledge is power – and knowledge comes from basic research. Scientists, now more than ever, are having to fight for funding because it requires long-term investment without immediate commercial return. In 1989, through studies of bacterial viruses, Modrich showed how methyl groups attached to the DNA molecule act as signals for repairing incorrect replications of DNA. These discoveries have increased our understanding of how the living cell works, the causes of cancer and about ageing processes. Modrich shares the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Tomas Lindahl and Aziz Sancar for mechanistic studies of DNA repair.