Exclusive | Nobel Laureate Slams Climate Change Denial as 'Nonsense,' Calls for Science to Silence Skeptics

Nobel Prize-winning biologist Sir Paul Nurse, a leading authority in genetics and cell biology, discovered a family secret that had been hidden for half a century only in middle age. Growing up in a working-class household without a single book, he now serves as president of Britain's most prestigious academic institution, the Royal Society, standing as one of the finest examples of a poor man's rise to the top. In an interview with The Storm Media, he reflected: "I happened to be in an era when opportunities came faster and better, with good education, increased opportunities, and reduced class consciousness—everything was very favorable for me."

Nurse has devoted his life to understanding "what is life." According to him, "My work helps people understand how their living environment affects human health and development. This is a practical contribution. Understanding 'what is life' has both cultural and practical implications."

Maintaining scientific idealism, Nurse advocates for placing scientific issues at the core of society. When confronted with political leaders like U.S. President Trump denying climate change, Nurse stated firmly: "Scientists must fight back against those who talk nonsense. Currently, this is most evident from the United States. We need to highlight how science completely overturns their nonsense."

The prominent British scientist and Royal Society president visited Taiwan for the first time under the "Taiwan Bridge Program," delivering a lecture titled "What is Life?" at Academia Sinica on February 11. The Taiwan Bridge Program is jointly promoted by Academia Sinica, National Taiwan University, and other research institutions, in collaboration with the International Peace Foundation.

Academia Sinica President James Liao noted that the Royal Society is Britain's highest academic institution, and Nurse's outstanding academic reputation and leadership abilities, along with his capacity to bridge science, policy, and society, have made him the first scholar in history to serve twice as the society's president. Liao expressed hopes for expanded cooperation between Academia Sinica and the Royal Society.

Lee Chih-hao, director of Academia Sinica's Genomics Research Center, explained that Nurse discovered key regulatory mechanisms of the eukaryotic cell cycle, sharing the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Tim Hunt and Leland Hartwell. Nurse's research established the core framework of modern cell biology, providing crucial theoretical foundations for analyzing the molecular mechanisms of cancer tumor formation and anti-cancer treatment strategies.

Now 77, the articulate and charismatic Nurse shared his intellectual journey in an interview with The Storm Media, openly discussing his family secrets, expressing concerns about anti-science trends, and encouraging scientists to speak truthfully.

Born in Wembley, northwest London, Nurse grew up in a working-class family without books. While his siblings left school at 15 without further education, he was the only one to complete university, earn a doctorate, become a leader of a top academic institution, receive a knighthood, win a Nobel Prize, and serve as a university president. He had always wondered why he was different.

After winning the Nobel Prize in 2001, Nurse moved to New York in 2003 to serve as president of Rockefeller University. When he applied for a green card, it was surprisingly rejected. Puzzled—given his knighthood, Nobel Prize, and university presidency—he investigated further. The problem was his birth certificate, which was too brief and lacked his parents' names. When he requested a detailed birth certificate from British authorities, he discovered that his mother was listed as his sister, while the father column showed only a line, indicating "father unknown."

Around age 57, Nurse learned that his mother had given birth out of wedlock, and his grandparents, to protect their daughter, had cleverly arranged to raise Nurse as their son. This family secret, hidden for half a century, came as quite a shock to Nurse. However, by then, his grandparents and mother had all passed away, so no one was hurt, and he had lived happily, receiving full care and support from his grandparents.

As a geneticist, Nurse said: "I was always curious why my siblings (actually uncles and aunts) and my mother all left school at 15 without further education, while I was different, pursuing an academic research career. I wanted to understand my genetic factors, but I never imagined it was actually like this."

Nurse remained curious about his biological father's identity until two years ago, when he finally discovered through DNA identification with help from genealogist and geneticist Turi King that his father was a London bus driver from the working class. He speculates that in 1948, his biological father was serving in the military, stationed in Egypt, and may have briefly returned to the UK on leave, leading to his mother's pregnancy.

After learning about his true parentage, Nurse reflected: "Genetic factors actually didn't have much to do with my career. Looking at it seriously, I was in an era when opportunities came faster and better. In the previous era, because education wasn't good enough, it was more difficult for anyone from the working class to succeed."

The optimistic Nurse added: "I happened to be at the right time, with good education, increased opportunities, and reduced class consciousness—all of this was favorable for me, but my direct relatives before didn't have such good opportunities."

Regarding his grandparents' clever arrangement, Nurse remains grateful: "My grandparents raised me, and they were always very supportive. Although they didn't really know what I was doing, they were very supportive of me."

As a geneticist whose own background was hidden for half a century, why did he initially pursue genetics and cell biology? Nurse explained: "Although I'm a geneticist, I study cell biology. I mainly use genetic methods to study cell biology. I want to understand how life works, particularly the simple question of cell division. I want to know how cells divide from one into two, and the best method is to start with genetics, by identifying the genes involved in the process."

In his youth, Nurse was interested in both humanities and science, but chose biology over physics or chemistry because he believed biology had more problems waiting to be solved. "Physics explores many big problems, while biology has many small problems. I thought solving small problems might be more interesting than solving a small part of big problems," he noted.

Nurse stated: "I decided to develop in the field of biology when I was 18 or 19. I chose smaller problems in biology rather than the big questions in physics about the nature of the universe and matter."

Under Britain's education system, students must achieve basic levels in all subjects to enter university. After finishing secondary school, Nurse couldn't attend university because he failed French. He then worked as a technician in the microbiology laboratory at the local Guinness brewery. It was a wonderful experience. He quickly adapted and conscientiously fulfilled his daily responsibilities. Later, a University of Birmingham professor saw Nurse's resume and invited him to the university. After an interview, he was specially allowed to enroll, opening the door to his beloved field of biological research.

When asked about the most influential person in his life, Nurse said: "During my postdoctoral research period at the University of Edinburgh, my supervisor Murdoch Mitchison gave me great freedom, which was very crucial for my research career. In terms of intelligence, biologist Sydney Brenner was a very smart investigator who won the Nobel Prize in 2002. In terms of reading, the famous biologist Charles Darwin had the greatest influence on me."

Darwin wrote a magnificent sentence in "The Origin of Species": "As this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." Nurse pointed out: "This sentence is so beautiful that it's still inspiring to read now. When Darwin mentioned the law of gravity, he was referring to the great physicist Newton. He believed that biology could have fundamental laws like physics."

Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger published "What Is Life?" in 1944, exploring life from a genetic perspective. Seventy-six years later, Nurse published his first book under the same title, explaining the meaning of life through five concepts.

What exactly is life? Nurse proposes five concepts—cells, genes, life as chemical reactions, life as information systems, and natural selection evolution—outlining the basic principles of how life operates. Cells are the fundamental units of life on Earth, and all life on Earth stems from common ancestors, continuously evolving and adapting to environments through natural selection.

Why is understanding "what is life" so important? Nurse explained: "First, from a cultural perspective, possessing important knowledge is part of civilization. If we don't think about how things work, we're not human. So understanding 'what is life' is our culture and civilization. Second, dealing with problems humans face—diseases, food production, agriculture, protecting ecosystems—all require better understanding of biology. My work helps people understand how their living environment affects human health and development. This is a practical contribution. So understanding 'what is life' has both cultural and practical implications."

Nurse noted: "Earth is the only place in the universe we currently know to have life. All life on Earth depends on each other in different forms. Humans are the only species capable of perceiving and reflecting on the meaning of the interdependence of all living things. Humans have special responsibility for life on Earth. This planet is composed of our relatives—some close, some distant—and we need to care for and understand them."

What is the world's greatest challenge? Nurse stated: "When political leaders no longer value science, even in great countries like the United States, because ideology doesn't conform to political leaders' thinking, they think they can say climate change doesn't exist and we don't need to think about it. This isn't leadership; it's just political deflection. I think this is the biggest political difficulty we face."

Nurse continued: "The world's real greatest challenge is climate change, because it's happening, we're responsible, and we must do something, even if political leaders aren't willing to seriously face this problem." Regarding political leaders like President Trump denying climate change, Nurse stated seriously: "Scientists must fight back against those who talk nonsense. Currently, this is most evident from the United States. We need to highlight how science completely overturns their nonsense."

Nurse maintains scientific idealism, believing science can serve as a force for human liberation and progress. Regarding current anti-science trends in countries like the United States, Nurse stated clearly: "I believe the situation will change because the anti-science path clearly won't succeed. I'm an optimist; I think the pendulum will swing back."

Established in 1660, the Royal Society is the world's oldest academic institution, and Nurse is the first scientist in history to serve twice as its president. What has been his primary task since taking office? Nurse explained: "I want to defend science and place scientific issues at the core of society. Respecting science greatly benefits society. By putting science at the center of government and society, we can produce the best science, have better understanding of the world, and use it to help everyone in the world."

As countries compete to develop AI, Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton has warned that "AI might ultimately take over the entire world, and humans might not know how to control it." On this, Nurse commented: "We must think about this problem and consider how to regulate it. If we think carefully and regulate properly, we should be able to cope. If we let it run wild and eventually lose control, problems will arise. If we leave this issue to commercial operations, which prioritize profit above all else, that won't be the right answer. So we must build a management system."

However, establishing global AI regulation systems faces enormous challenges. Nurse explained: "The AI regulatory system must be globally consistent, which is always very difficult, just like the difficulties faced in global response to climate change."

Taiwan has experienced negative population growth in recent years, with only 107,812 newborns in 2025, marking ten consecutive years of decline. How does he view this negative population growth trend? Nurse responded: "Population decline will be a problem because demographic structure changes—the proportion of working-age population decreases while the elderly population increases. This will increase social pressure because there aren't enough productive workers to maintain the operation of the total population."

Nurse analyzed: "From the perspective of Earth's overall resources and utilization, some people think fewer people on Earth would be better. If we change the balance of demographic structure too quickly, with society rapidly aging, we'll have difficulty coping. For example, advanced countries like Taiwan and South Korea will face real difficulties unless they introduce young immigrants."

How to address negative population growth? Nurse pointed out: "There are only two methods: increase birth rates or introduce young immigrants. For some countries with few new immigrants, like Japan, the problem might be more serious. Additionally, some countries are starting to adopt anti-immigration policies, which might have counterproductive effects."

From a global perspective, Nurse noted: "We must achieve balance—appropriate population distribution and appropriate resource utilization—but this is a complex problem. We can't just say one country comes first; we must solve problems together."

What exactly is "life"? Nurse began pondering the meaning of life at age 12 while sitting in a garden in northwest London, watching a yellow butterfly fly over a fence. Born into an impoverished working-class family, he remained optimistic and enterprising, entering scientific research and achieving many breakthrough accomplishments—not only winning the Nobel Prize but also becoming leader of Britain's highest academic institution. Nurse's story of struggle overturns the tragic fate of small characters in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," providing the best interpretation of life itself.