Twins researcher
Professor Dorret Boomsma (born 1957), Professor of Biological Psychology at Amsterdam Vrije Universiteit, will receive the prize for her pioneering work in human behavioural genetics. Her department has built up the Dutch national twins register into one of the largest and most representative twins database in the world. It comprises information on almost 30 thousand identical and non-identical twins. By systematically comparing both types of twins, Professor Boomsma has succeeded in distinguishing the hereditary component in various personality characteristics from environmental factors. She will use part of the prize money to extend the twins register by adding data on other family members.
In the field of cognitive development, Professor Boomsma has discovered that the hereditary component of a child’s IQ rises sharply during its first years at school. This means that the genetic expression of the properties which help determine intelligence takes place at a relatively late stage.
However, some hereditary factors that influence the development of behavioural and emotional problems are expressed very early in life. In three-year-old children, for example, the influence of heredity on such things as anxiety, introversion and over-active behaviour is very great. It is only as the child grows up that the parental environment begins to play a modest role in these problems.
One interesting discovery made by Professor Boomsma is that the genetic influences on variation in the number of cigarettes smoked was just as great as for the variation in cholesterol levels.
Discovery of cause of cancer
Professor Hans Clevers (born 1957), Professor of Clinical Immunology at Utrecht University, has discovered how a number of cancer types develop at molecular level. These include colorectal cancer and malignant melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer.
Professor Clevers discovered that two proteins, b-catenin and TCF, coordinate the development of a wide range of organs during the early development of animals and humans.
Professor Clevers suspected that after birth the combination of the two proteins in the human body might be the cause of colorectal cancer. It did in fact turn out that certain DNA mutations can lead to b-catenin and TCF causing uncontrolled growth in intestinal cells.
These discoveries will help develop drugs to treat cancer.
Molecular architect
Professor Bert Meijer (born 1955), Professor of Organic Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE), is one of the founders of the discipline of macro-organic chemistry, the field that combines the precision of organic chemistry in the synthesis of complex molecules with the functional properties of polymers.
Meijer is a leading scientist in the field of the design, synthesis and characterisation of dendrimers; large spherical molecules that emanate from a central core and have multiple end groups. Besides being responsible for the discovery of the process of large-scale synthesis of a specific dendrimer, his group used dendrimers as nanocontainers for guest molecules: the so-called ‘dendritic box’, leading to drug-delivery.
Another breakthrough is the development of supramolecular polymers, a novel class of polymers that are not made in the traditional way by connecting thousands of monomeric species by covalent bonds, but are formed by the strong but reversible interactions of designed monomeric units based on quadruple hydrogen bonds. These novel materials exhibit unparalleled properties in the processing of polymers.
Finally, the group has contributed to the synthesis and understanding of conjugated molecules of different dimensions: materials for polymeric and molecular electronics.
Expert on the icecaps
Professor Hans Oerlemans (born 1950), Professor of Meteorology at Utrecht University, is an expert on the relationship between the state of the polar icecaps and climate. He has improved our understanding of the world’s present climate but also established new insights into the causes of climate changes during the ice ages and how they affected the level of the sea. He was the first investigator to take account quantitatively of the sagging of the earth’s crust under the enormous weight of an icecap. This allowed him to produce a better description of how the icecaps grew and melted in the past.
Extensive measurements also allowed him to construct a theory of the dynamics of glaciers which is applicable to virtually every glacier in the world. This theory explains why glaciers are retreating as a result of the current minor change in climate.
Professor Oerlemans intends using the prize to carry out detailed measurements of temperature profiles in the ice on Greenland. Previous studies have shown that deep down in the icecap the temperature is lower than theory would suggest. Professor Oerlemans’ hypothesis is that this is a delayed effect of the last ice age. The further measurements which he plans will help discover more about the present state of the icecap, which is an essential component of climate modelling.