Not believing in the status quo can direct one to a Nobel prize

GEN noted of one of 2015's Chemistry Nobel laureates:


Thomas Lindahl, Ph.D., emeritus scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, was recognized for his discoveries in base excision repair—the pathway that constitutes the bulk of DNA restoration during the cell cycle from alkylation, methylation, and oxidative stress. In the early 1970s, many scientists believed that DNA was an extremely stable molecule, but Dr. Lindahl demonstrated that DNA decays at a rate that ought to have made the development of life on Earth impossible. This insight led him to discover the base excision repair mechanisms.



link: http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/nobel-prize-in-chemistry-awarded-to-dna-repair-researchers/81251830/


Some of Lindahl's work is cited in patent application: PCT/GB1995/000064. ANNUAL REVIEWS OF BIOCHEMISTRY, vol.57, 1988, PALO ALTO, CA, US pages 133 - 157 THOMAS LINDAHL ET AL. 'Regulation and Expression of the Adaptive Response to Alkylating Agents'


Note also: Lindahl and R.D. Wood. Quality control by DNA repair. Science 286, 1897-1905 (1999)