Research funding and citations in papers of Nobel Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine, 2019-2020

Purpose:The goal of this study is a comparative analysis of the relation between funding(a main driver for scientific research)and citations in papers of Nobel Laureates in physics,chemistry and medicine over 2019-2020 and the same relation in these research fields as a whole.Design/methodology/approach:This study utilizes a power law model to explore the relationship between research funding and citations of related papers.The study here analyzes 3,539 recorded documents by Nobel Laureates in physics,chemistry and medicine and a broader dataset of 183,016 documents related to the fields of physics,medicine,and chemistry recorded in the Web of Science database.Findings:Results reveal that in chemistry and medicine,funded researches published in papers of Nobel Laureates have higher citations than unfunded studies published in articles;vice versa high citations of Nobel Laureates in physics are for unfunded studies published in papers.Instead,when overall data of publications and citations in physics,chemistry and medicine are analyzed,all papers based on funded researches show higher citations than unfunded ones.Originality/value:Results clarify the driving role of research funding for science diffusion that are systematized in general properties:a)articles concerning funded researches receive more citations than(un)funded studies published in papers of physics,chemistry and medicine sciences,generating a high Matthew effect(a higher growth of citations with the increase in the number of papers);b)research funding increases the citations of articles in fields oriented to applied research(e.g.,chemistry and medicine)more than fields oriented towards basic research(e.g.,physics).Practical implications:The results here explain some characteristics of scientific development and diffusion,highlighting the critical role of research funding in fostering citations and the expansion of scientific knowledge.This finding can support decision-making of policymakers and R&D managers to improve the effectiveness in allocating financial resources in science policies to generate a higher positive scientific and societal impact.

This year's Nobel Prize to gastroenterology:Robin Warren and Barry Marshall awarded for their discovery of Helicobacter pylori as pathogen in the gastrointestinal tract

TO THE EDITORPeptic ulcer disease is a major health care concern in the society today, in view of personal suffering as well as economical health care costs.

Practical operation and theoretical basis of difference-in-difference regression in science of science:The comparative trial on the scientific performance of Nobel laureates versus their coauthors

Purpose:In recent decades,with the availability of large-scale scientific corpus datasets,difference-in-difference(DID)is increasingly used in the science of science and bibliometrics studies.DID method outputs the unbiased estimation on condition that several hypotheses hold,especially the common trend assumption.In this paper,we gave a systematic demonstration of DID in the science of science,and the potential ways to improve the accuracy of DID method.Design/methodology/approach:At first,we reviewed the statistical assumptions,the model specification,and the application procedures of DID method.Second,to improve the necessary assumptions before conducting DID regression and the accuracy of estimation,we introduced some matching techniques serving as the pre-selecting step for DID design by matching control individuals who are equivalent to those treated ones on observational variables before the intervention.Lastly,we performed a case study to estimate the effects of prizewinning on the scientific performance of Nobel laureates,by comparing the yearly citation impact after the prizewinning year between Nobel laureates and their prizewinning-work coauthors.Findings:We introduced the procedures to conduct a DID estimation and demonstrated the effectiveness to use matching method to improve the results.As a case study,we found that there are no significant increases in citations for Nobel laureates compared to their prizewinning coauthors.Research limitations:This study ignored the rigorous mathematical deduction parts of DID,while focused on the practical parts.Practical implications:This work gives experimental practice and potential guidelines to use DID method in science of science and bibliometrics studies.Originality/value:This study gains insights into the usage of econometric tools in science of science.

“Sparking”and“Igniting”Key Publications of 2020 Nobel Prize Laureates

Purpose:This article aims to determine the percentage of"Sparking"articles among the work of this year’s Nobel Prize winners in medicine,physics,and chemistry.Design/methodology/approach:We focus on under-cited influential research among the key publications as mentioned by the Nobel Prize Committee for the 2020 Noble Prize laureates.Specifically,we extracted data from the Web of Science,and calculated the Sparking Indices using the formulas as proposed by Hu and Rousseau in 2016 and 2017.In addition,we identified another type of igniting articles based on the notion in 2017.Findings:In the fields of medicine and physics,the proportions of articles with sparking characteristics share 78.571%and 68.75%respectively,yet,in chemistry 90%articles characterized by"igniting".Moreover,the two types of articles share more than 93%in the work of the Nobel Prize included in this study.Research limitations:Our research did not cover the impact of topic,socio-political,and author’s reputation on the Sparking Indices.Practical implications:Our study shows that the Sparking Indices truly reflect influence of the best research work,so it can be used to detect under-cited influential articles,as well as identifying fundamental work.Originality/value:Our findings suggest that the Sparking Indices have good applicability for research evaluation.

An inspiration to the studies on mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion action derived from 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The editorial board of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine recently convened an academic seminar with a focus on studies regarding the mechanisms mediating acupuncture efficacy and moxibustion action inspired by the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Specifically,Professor Bailong Xiao introduced the Nobel Prize for research on the mechanically activated Piezo ion channel,evaluating the structure of the Piezo channel and its physiological and pathological functions,and proposed a possible role for the Piezo channel in acupuncture mechanical stimulation.Professor Michael Xi Zhu introduced the discovery of the transient receptor potential(TRP)family,reporting that the therapeutic effects of Chinese medicine and acupuncture may be achieved via the TRP family,and that information regarding associations between the meridian and lymphatic systems may have important research and medical value.In addition,Professor Tianle Xu reviewed the history of ion channel research,particularly the physiological and pharmacological effects of non-classical ion channels(eg,the acid sensing ion channel family)and pointed out that the characterization and neural circuits of acupuncture deqi manipulation are important for elucidating the mechanisms of acupuncture actions.Professor Yongming Li similarly proposed that the 2021 Nobel Prize may open the door to disclosing the histological basis of acupuncture and moxibustion and analyzing the main scientific concerns regarding the clinical translation of acupuncture and moxibustion from basic to translational research.Finally,Professor Yi Guo summarized the study progress of the acupoint microenvironment induced by acupuncture over the course of nearly 30 years and put forward the hypothesis that acupuncture may initiate the physical-chemical coupling network by activating ion channel receptors in acupoints via physical and mechanical stimulation.Therefore,we conclude that a primary achievement of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is in helping interpret how acupuncture and moxibustion adjust homeostasis(ie,by activating mechanical and thermal sensation),which is conducive to validating and promoting the clinical efficacy of acupuncture modalities.

The Nobel Literature Prize Sparks a Mo Yan Craze

正At 19 o'clock, October 11th, Beijing time, the Swedish Academy awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature to the Chinese writer Mo Yan. Within several hours, Mo Yan's works were struck by the "Nobel effect", sales shooting up in both bookstores and online marts. Some websites also jumped on the bandwagon and put up a reservation service for the new editions.

Address upon Receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature STOCKHOLM,DECEMBER 10,1950

I feel that this award was not made to me as a man,but to mywork—a life s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit,not for glory and least of all for profit,but to create out of thematerials of the human spirit something which did not exist before,sothis award is only mine in trust.It will not be difficult to fred a dedi-cation for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose andsignificance of its origin.But I would like to do the same with the ac-claim too,by using this moment as a ...

Tracking direct and indirect impact on technology and policy of transformative research via ego citation network

Purpose:The disseminating of academic knowledge to nonacademic audiences partly relies on the transition of subsequent citing papers.This study aims to investigate direct and indirect impact on technology and policy originating from transformative research based on ego citation network.Design/methodology/approach:Key Nobel Prize-winning publications(NPs)in fields of gene engineering and astrophysics are regarded as a proxy for transformative research.In this contribution,we introduce a network-structural indicator of citing patents to measure technological impact of a target article and use policy citations as a preliminary tool for policy impact.Findings:The results show that the impact on technology and policy of NPs are higher than that of their subsequent citation generations in gene engineering but not in astrophysics.Research limitations:The selection of Nobel Prizes is not balanced and the database used in this study,Dimensions,suffers from incompleteness and inaccuracy of citation links.Practical implications:Our findings provide useful clues to better understand the characteristics of transformative research in technological and policy impact.Originality/value:This study proposes a new framework to explore the direct and indirect impact on technology and policy originating from transformative research.

A Bibliometric Framework for Identifying"Princes"Who Wake up the"Sleeping Beauty"in Challenge-type Scientific Discoveries

Purpose： This paper develops and validates a bibliometric framework for identifying the ＂princes＂ （PR） who wake up the ＂sleeping beauty＂ （SB） in challenge-type scientific discoveries, so as to figure out the awakening mechanisms, and promote potentially valuable but not readily accepted innovative research. （A PR is a research study.） Design/methodology/approach： We propose that PR candidates must meet the following four criteria： （1） be published near the time when the SB began to attract a lot of citations; （2） be highly cited papers themselves; （3） receive a substantial number of co-citations with the SB; and （4） within the challenge-type discoveries which contradict established theories, the ＂pulling effect＂ of the PR on the SB must be strong. We test the usefulness of the bibliometric framework through a case study of a key publication by the 2014 chemistry Nobel laureate Stefan W. Hell, who negated Ernst Abbe＇s diffraction limit theory, one of the most prominent paradigms in the natural sciences. Findings： The first-ranked candidate PR article identified by the bibliometric framework is in line with historical facts. An SB may need one or more PRs and even ＂retinues＂ to be ＂awakened.＂ Documents with potential awakening functionality tend to be published in prestigious multidisciplinary journals with higher impact and wider scope than the journals publishing SBs. Research limitations： The above framework is only applicable to transformative innovations, and the conclusions are drawn from the analysis of one typical SB and her awakening process. Therefore the generality of our work might be limited. Practical implications： Publications belonging to so-called transformative research, even when less frequently cited, should be given special attention as early as possible, because they may suddenly attract many citations after a period of sleep, as reflected in our case study.Originality/value： The definition of PR（s） as the first paper（s） that cited the SB article （self- citing excluded） has its limitations. Instead, the SB-PR co-citations should be given priority in current environment of scholarly communication. Since the ＂premature＂ or＂transformative＂ breakthroughs in the challenge-type SB documents are either beyond the current knowledge domain, or violate established paradigms, people＇s psychological distance from the SB is larger than that from the PR, which explains why the annual citations of the PR are usually higher than those of the SB, especially prior to or during the SB＇s citation boom period.

Milestones in the discovery of hepatitis C

The discovery of hepatitis C has been a landmark in public health as it brought the opportunity to save millions of lives through the diagnosis,prevention and cure of the disease.The combined work of three researchers,Alter H,Houghton M and Rice C,which set the basis for the diagnosis,treatment and prevention of hepatitis C apart from laying the ground work for a new approach to study infections in general and developing new antiviral agents.This is a story of a transfusion-associated infection.A series of clinical studies demonstrated the existence of an infectious agent associated with hepatitis.That was followed by the identification of what was later known to be the hepatitis C virus(HCV)and the development of diagnostic tests.It all preceded the full molecular identification and demonstration of a causal effect.Finally it ended up with the development and discovery of a new class of therapeutic drugs,the direct acting antivirals,which are now used not only to cure the disease but most probably,to eliminate the problem.This work started with Dr Alter H who demonstrated that a new virus was responsible for the majority of post-transfusion hepatitis followed by Houghton M who cloned the virus and developed the blood test to identify those cases that carried the virus.Finally,the work of Rice C demonstrated that a cloned HCV produced after applying molecular biology techniques could cause long-standing infection and cause the same disease as the one observed in humans.

Hepatitis C: Milestones from discovery to clinical cure

On October 5th, 2020, Drs. Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice were rewarded with Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "the discovery of hepatitis C virus(HCV)". During the past 50 years, remarkable achievements have been made in treatment of HCV infection: it has changed from being a life-threatening chronic disease to being curable. In this commentary, we briefly summarized the milestone events in the "scientific journey" from the first report of non-A, non-B hepatitis and discovery of the pathogen(HCV) to final identification of efficacious direct-acting antivirals. Further, we address the challenges and unmet issues in this field.

CRISPR/Cas9 from bench to bedside:What clinicians need to know before application?

In October 2020,Dr.Emmanuelle Charpentier and Dr.Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their pioneering work in precise genome editing using the CRISPR technology.Although CRISPR technology has developed rapidly in the last decade,there are still many uncertainties before eventual use in clinical settings.In this mini review,we summarize the current efforts in addressing the limitations of CRISPR technology and future directions.

Lone Geniuses or One among Many?An Explorative Study of Contemporary Highly Cited Researchers

Purpose:The ranking lists of highly cited researchers receive much public attention.In common interpretations,highly cited researchers are perceived to have made extraordinary contributions to science.Thus,the metrics of highly cited researchers are often linked to notions of breakthroughs,scientific excellence,and lone geniuses.Design/methodology/approach:In this study,we analyze a sample of individuals who appear on Clarivate Analytics’Highly Cited Researchers list.The main purpose is to juxtapose the characteristics of their research performance against the claim that the list captures a small fraction of the researcher population that contributes disproportionately to extending the frontier and gaining—on behalf of society—knowledge and innovations that make the world healthier,richer,sustainable,and more secure.Findings:The study reveals that the highly cited articles of the selected individuals generally have a very large number of authors.Thus,these papers seldom represent individual contributions but rather are the result of large collective research efforts conducted in research consortia.This challenges the common perception of highly cited researchers as individual geniuses who can be singled out for their extraordinary contributions.Moreover,the study indicates that a few of the individuals have not even contributed to highly cited original research but rather to reviews or clinical guidelines.Finally,the large number of authors of the papers implies that the ranking list is very sensitive to the specific method used for allocating papers and citations to individuals.In the"whole count"methodology applied by Clarivate Analytics,each author gets full credit of the papers regardless of the number of additional co-authors.The study shows that the ranking list would look very different using an alternative fractionalised methodology.Research limitations:The study is based on a limited part of the total population of highly cited researchers.Practical implications:It is concluded that"excellence"understood as highly cited encompasses very different types of research and researchers of which many do not fit with dominant preconceptions.Originality/value:The study develops further knowledge on highly cited researchers,addressing questions such as who becomes highly cited and the type of research that benefits by defining excellence in terms of citation scores and specific counting methods.

Cell transplantation therapy using pluripotent stem cells

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Sir John B Gurdon and Shinya Ya-manaka “for the discovery that mature cells can be re-programmed to become pluripotent”. Professor John B Gordon who pioneered the feld of somatic cell nuclear transfer was the frst to show that a nucleus of a ma-ture cell can be transplanted into an enucleated egg and give rise to a living organism. His pioneering “clon-ing” technique paved the way for genome reprogram-ming and has led to subsequent cloning of differentani-mal species. Professor Shinya Yamanaka revolutionized the fled of stem cell production by showing that the introduction of four selected genes into cells transform them into induced pluripotent stem cells that resemble embryonic stem cells and serve as promising cells for future regenerative medicine.

Literature Review on An Artist of the Floating World

As a world-famous Japanese-born British novelist and also the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize,Kazuo Ishiguro has attracted great attention with his 8 excellent works.This paper,a research review on his second novel An Artist of the Floating World from both abroad and at home,aims to offer a systematic classification of relevant studies by means of literature collection and detailed reading.As a result,existing journal articles and dissertations are put into different categories with distinct focuses,thereby facilitating future studies.

Nobel prize for the artemisinin and ivermectin discoveries: a great boost towards elimination of the global infectious diseases of poverty

The Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)made a marked transformation for neglected and vulnerable communities in the developing countries from the start,but infectious diseases of poverty(IDoPs)continue to inflict a disproportionate global public health burden with associated consequences,thereby contributing to the vicious cycle of poverty and inequity.However,the effectiveness and large-scale coverage of artemisinin combination therapy(ACT)have revolutionized malaria treatment just as the control of lymphatic filariasis(LF)and onchocerciasis have benefitted from harnessing the broad-spectrum effect of avermectin-based derivatives.The paradigm shift in therapeutic approach,effected by these two drugs and their impact on community-based interventions of parasitic diseases plaguing the endemic low-and middle-income countries(LIMCs),led to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015.However,the story would not be complete without mentioning praziquantel.The huge contribution of this drug in modernizing the control of schistosomiasis and also some intestinal helminth infections had already shifted the focus from control to potential elimination of this disease.Together,these new drugs have provided humankind with powerful new tools for the alleviation of infectious diseases that humans have lived with since time immemorial.These drugs all have broad-spectrum effects,yet they are very safe and can even be packaged together in various combinations.The strong effect on so many of the great infectious scourges in the developing countries has not only had a remarkable influence on many endemic diseases,but also contributed to improving the cost structure of healthcare.Significant benefits include improved quality of preventive and curative medicine,promotion of community-based interventions,universal health coverage and the fostering of global partnerships.The laudable progress and benefits achieved are indispensable in championing,strengthening and moving forward elimination of the IDoPs.However,there is an urgent need for further innovative,contextual and integrated approaches along with the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),replacing the MDGs in ensuring global health security,well-being and economic prosperity for all.

The Nobel Prize: an appetizer before the feast

Autophagy,which means‘‘self-eating’’,is a process in which a portion of the cytosol is enclosed in a double-membrane autophagosome and delivered to the hydrolytic vacuole/lysosome for recycling(Fig.1).Bulk degradation by autophagy provides energy and materials for cell survival under various stress conditions such as starvation and energy deprivation.Autophagy also has a scavenging function

Nobel Prize for Artemisinin Inspires Modern TCM Research

Half of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Chinese scientist Youyou Tu in recognition of her pioneering work on the antimalarial artemisinin,extracted from Artemisia annua,a traditional Chinese herbal remedy used to treat fever.This is clearly a great encouragement for scientists who engage traditional medicine research.As Youyou Tu stated in her Nobel Prize awarding lecture,artemisinin is a gift from traditional Chinese

Nobel Prize Winner Craig Mello Delivers Speech at Tsinghua University

Dr. Craig Mello, the Nobel Prize Winner of 2006 in Physiology or Medicine, delivered a speech entitled Return to The RNA World： Rethinking Gene Expression, Evolution, and Medicine at Tsinghua on March 26, 2007.

A Reflection on the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Chinese Medicine

Research on the molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythm in Western medicine is comparable to the study of a day-night rhythm in Chinese medicine(CM),as also focus on the same life phenomenon.By comparing the two,this paper elaborates on the differences between them in their respective issues of consciousness,ways of thinking,research methods and research results.Relatively speaking,Nobel Prize research has a stronger sense of the problems and concerns about the essence of“what”,while CM focuses on“how a thing functions”.The former mainly adopts experimental and mathematical methods,while the latter primarily depends on observation and understanding.The natural philosophy and natural science eventually lead to the results and the inevitable,quantitative and qualitative differences.Research on the life rhythm in CM should be proposed,scientific problems should be fully grasped,and research should be carried out with the aid of multidisciplinary new knowledge and new achievements through cross-disciplinary studies.On the basis of clinical epidemiological research and experimental research,a systematic review should be made of the human physiology of CM and the pathological rhythm model to explore the regulatory mechanism of time rhythm and create a new theory of time medicine.