Nobel laureate Mello stresses importance of embracing challenges without fear of failure

Sungkyunkwan University’s Biomedical Institute for Convergence hosted a special seminar featuring Craig C. Mello, a 2006 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, on Sept. 10. In his lecture, titled “RNAi: A Molecular Spark in an Information Inferno,” Mello recounted the discovery of RNA interference and how basic research evolved into therapies that can save patients’ lives. Addressing students and young researchers in particular, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of embracing challenges without fear of failure. A university official quoted Mello as saying, “Great discoveries do not come from finding predetermined answers, but from a process of constantly asking questions and going through countless failures.” Professor Mello is a world-renowned scientist who discovered RNA interference (RNAi), a “gene-silencing” mechanism that can switch off the activity of specific genes inside cells. Genes serve as blueprints for our bodies, and his discovery that specific genetic instructions could be selective