The Nobel Prizes for 2013 are to be announced in October, and if you are hoping to be part of the festivities this year — or in the future — Bitesize Bio notes that recent prizes have been weighted toward innovations, not discoveries.
Diana Gitig writes that in the past, prizes have been awarded for discoveries like uncovering the structure and function of the ribosome or isolating nerve growth factors. But these days, she says, the prizes are being handed out to more technology-oriented researchers, such as Kary Mullis and Roger Tsien. Advances like PCR or GFP, she notes, could help fuel even more discoveries.
"So if a Nobel [P]rize is your goal, aim for innovation rather than discovery," Gitig says. "Oh, and use as many three-letter acronyms as you can."