Nobel laureate Turkish scientist Prof. Aziz Sancar came to Turkey for TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aerospace and technology festival. As soon as he comes, Prof. Sancar met the bright minds of the future at TÜBİTAK Science High School in Gebze.
Sancar, the guest of honor of TÜBİTAK, made striking statements on many subjects, from his Nobel prize to his new studies on cancer treatment, to the science and technology stars of the future.
He stated that he did not know who nominated him for Nobel prize and added “Ultimate goal is not the Nobel prize, but books. 100 years later, Turkish youth like you will read my inventions and say, 'A Turk did this'. That was my goal.”
Noting that he has been working on the biological clock and DNA repair enzymes, Sancar said, “How does the biological clock control DNA repair? How can we use it both in cancer prevention and in cancer treatment? We are working on that.”
Upon a question about his source of motivation, Sancar mentioned the words of Mehmet the Conqueror, "Istanbul, either I take you, or you take me.", and said “I am very nationalist. It is a great motivation for me.”
Stating that he consulted his wife, who is an American, about presenting the Nobel prize to Anıtkabir, Sancar said, “It was thanks to Atatürk that a child whose mother and father were illiterate got education in the Savur district of Mardin and received the Nobel Prize.”
TÜBİTAK's Guest of Honor
Coming to Istanbul as TÜBİTAK's guest of honor for TEKNOFEST'21, Prof. Aziz Sancar visited TÜBİTAK Science High School. During the visit, he was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mr. Mehmet Fatih Kacır and TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan Mandal.
Welcomed with Applause
Being welcomed with applause at the Gebze Campus of TÜBİTAK, Sancar toured the classrooms and got information about the curriculum of the school. He gave a conference to students at TÜBİTAK UME and evaluated the contribution of the Turkish world to science from a historical perspective in his presentation.
Central Asia's Golden Age
While comparing the Turkish world with China, which he emphasizes has a similar history in terms of scientific contribution, Sancar referred to the book titled “The Lost Enlightenment: The Golden Age of Central Asia” by S. Frederick Starr from Princeton University. Stating that the Turkish world lived in the age of enlightenment during the Middle Ages in Europe, Sancar said that scientists from the Muslim Turkish world such as Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Al-Biruni, Al-Jazari, Ulugh Beg and Al-Khwarizmi made important contributions to world science. He emphasized that the age of enlightenment experienced in the Turkish world was transferred to the Ottoman Empire with scientists such as Ali Kuşçu.
The Importance of Experimenting
Stating that Turkey is very good at theoretical education, Sancar said, “I had a lot of difficulties while getting my doctorate degree. Because I was not able to make experiments. Turkey educated us very well in theoretical aspect, but we were in lack of experimental experience. Science is done by experiment. We should teach our children to experiment at early ages.”
My Piri Reis Map
Sancar said that they are building a Turkish Cultural Center in the USA and added “There is a bust of Atatürk in one corner of the backyard, and Piri Reis in another corner. The reason why I put Piri Reis there is because he made the world map and I made the DNA repair map. I said ‘This is my Piri Reis map.’”
I Find My Tongue In Two Weeks
Sancar made an English presentation to the students, noting in the beginning of his speech “My presentation is not technical; it could be delivered in Turkish. However, whenever I come to Turkey, I get tongue-tied in Turkish for the first two weeks. After the second week, my tongue gets relaxed. Therefore, if you excuse me, I will deliver my presentation in English.”
“The Nobel Cannot Be Won With Propaganda”
After the presentation, Sancar answered the questions of the students. Upon the question “How did you apply for the Nobel?”, Sancar said: “There is no such thing as applying. You cannot nominate yourself for the Nobel. When the Chairman of the Nobel Chemistry Committee hosted a dinner in our honor, he said to me, 'I can't go to international meetings, everyone is gathering around me and trying to impress me.' The Nobel cannot be won by making your own propaganda. I don't know who nominated me, so far. Ultimate goal is not the Nobel prize, but books. 100 years later, Turkish youth like you will read my inventions and say, 'A Turk did this'. That was my goal. I wasn't thinking of the Nobel.“
Why Did He Work on DNA?
Upon the question “Why did you work on DNA repair?”, Sancar replied: “When the DNA structure was discovered, it was though to be ‘the basic structure of genetics’ and ‘nondeformable’. Afterwards, they revealed that when it is destroyed by x-rays, sun rays, and other chemicals in the environment, it undergoes mutations and becomes cancer. My doctorate advisor discovered for the first time that there is a mechanism that repairs DNA. But he couldn't figure out how this enzyme works. Because in order to figure it out, you need to purify the enzyme. The enzyme was made in very small amounts. I multiplied and purified the enzyme and figured out how the repair takes place. There are other repair mechanisms, I proceeded to them.”
Where Science Leads
“In science, you never know where a test will lead. While I was dealing with these, I also noticed that there is a protein that resembles a DNA repair enzyme in humans, but it does not repair DNA. While researching what it does, I realized that it controls the biological clock. So, I started working on the biological clock and combined the two. How does the biological clock control DNA repair? How can we use it both in cancer prevention and in cancer treatment? We are working on that.”
Did his hard work pay off?
Upon the question “Have you got the reward of your efforts, have you reached your goal?”, Prof. Sancar replied: “We worked day and night for 5 years. We wanted to find out how DNA is repaired in humans. If you are working on an important subject, you should know that there are 5 other people working on that subject. If someone from Japan found this a month before us, our 5 years of hard work would have been wasted. Science is not easy. I was wondering how humans are repaired. Because the proteins in bacteria do not exist in humans. But I knew the repair takes place in humans too, and I wanted to figure it out. We've had countless sleepless nights."
What is His Source of Motivation?
Upon the question “What is required for being the best and achieving?, Sancar said: “Sometimes we are defeated, sometimes we win. There is no such thing as I can achieve everything. Mehmet the Conqueror has a famous saying: ‘Istanbul! Either I take you, or you take me!’ You need to be stubborn and willing and you need to spend all your energy for the goal. This requires sacrifice and may lead to difficulties in family. You may need to work until midnight when your lady waits at home. You need to strike a balance. If you are eager, you say ‘I will manage it” and you do it. In fact, many scientists who did great jobs are not so happy. I don't want to repeat constantly, but I am very nationalist. This is a great motivation for me. No matter how stressed I am, it comforts me.”
Why Biology?
Sancar replied the question “Why biology?” as follows: “While coming here, we were talking with Professor Hasan. I went to medical school and became a doctor. There, I learned that doctors work like technicians. I was working in the health center in Surgücü village of Mardin Savur; there were many cases of tuberculosis. The Ministry of Health was sending kilos of medicine. I wondered. Penicillin is given in case of pneumonia. That's how my life was saved. I got pneumonia from my brother. My brother died. I got pneumonia too, but I was lucky. Penicillin was new to Turkey. They gave me a penicillin injection and I recovered. But penicillin doesn't cure tuberculosis. I asked, I researched, I searched the books, but there was no answer. Neither microbiologists nor doctors knew why. It was unknown not only in Turkey but also in the world. Doctors were applying what was given, they were not making any research or discovery; so, as a curious person, I decided to do a PhD in molecular biology.”
I Will Explain, But Please Do Not Clap
Upon the question “How did you decide to present the Nobel Prize to Anıtkabir?”, Sancar said “I will explain, but please do not clap, okay?” Sancar added: “Interestingly, I got the Nobel, with an excitement and confusion. I told my wife, who is an American. ‘I will put it in Anıtkabir’. She, as an American, said ‘Of course! What else could be more proper?’. Because I had told her about Atatürk. She appreciated Atatürk more than many Turks. I was amazed. She didn’t say ‘No, let us keep it ourselves.’ I got to that point thanks to Atatürk. It was thanks to Atatürk that a child whose mother and father were illiterate got education in the Savur district of Mardin and received the Nobel Prize.”
DNA Error in 5 TL Banknote
A student asked “You said there was an error in the DNA picture on the banknote of 5 Turkish Lira. I searched, but there is no source explaining the error. I wonder what is the error.” and Sancar replied the student, "The helix there turns from left to right, but in the actual DNA, it turns from right to left.”
Kilogram Prototype
After the question and answer session, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan Mandal presented him a kilogram prototype, which was one of the two symbols of the metric system adopted in 1875 and was repealed in 2018, to commemorate the day.
Presentation on Drug and Vaccine Development
After the conference, Sancar visited the "Medical Biotechnology Research Center". TÜBİTAK MAM Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute Director Prof. Şaban Tekin made a presentation to Sancar on the vaccine and drug development studies carried out at the center. Then, they visited Molecular Biology Laboratory, Cell Culture Laboratory and Cell Development Laboratory.
Turkey is ahead
Then, Sancar met with the scientists from “COVID-19 Turkey Platform” at a meeting titled “Co-Develop & Achieve Together”. Speaking at the meeting, Sancar said that he found Turkey ahead of many countries in the field of vaccines. Sancar emphasized that the platform conducts studies also for future pandemics and added “There is a strong infrastructure here in terms of information and initiative.”
Antarctic Souvenir
After the meeting, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır presented Sancar a painting of the 2020 National Antarctic Science Expedition, while TÜBİTAK President Prof. Hasan Mandal presented him a caftan with the Piri Reis map.
Leading Scientists of the Future
TÜBİTAK Science High School was established in the TÜBİTAK Gebze Campus, which includes the leading research centers and institutes of the R&D and technology world with its trained and qualified manpower and advanced laboratories. It is aimed for the high school to raise the leading scientists of the future who think analytically with advanced social and environmental awareness.
The high school, which has an area of approximately 44 thousand square meters, has 24 classrooms equipped with modern technology, a student dormitory with a capacity of 600 students and 10 advanced basic science workshops.
Education at the high school, where 90 students were admitted for this academic year, will last for a total of 5 years including one year of English preparation. In the first semester of the academic year, students are given optional German and Spanish language education. Students will receive a monthly scholarship of 500 TL throughout their education, starting from the preparatory class.
28 Courses
The high school applies a curriculum consisting of 28 different elective courses such as Biotechnology, Materials Science, Data Analysis, Science, Technology and Social Change, Sustainable Food and Water Policies, Innovation-Oriented Project Design, Artificial Intelligence Applications, Human-Machine Interaction and Internet of Things Applications.
Students will be accommodated in the Gebze campus, allowed to use the laboratories of TÜBİTAK, and do internship in the Centers and Institutes. Throughout their careers, students will be offered mentoring support, science talks, club events, sports competitions, technical trips and more.
Who applied?
The school admitted applications from the students who were attending the 8th grade of public, private and imam-hatip secondary schools in 2020-2021 academic year and who were in the top 1 percentile in the 2021 central student selection examination results.
Applications for the Central Aptitude Test to enter TÜBİTAK Science High School were made online over the e-School Management Information System on July 2-4. The aptitute test was held on July 9 in 25 provinces. According to the results of the exam, 90 students, 19 girls and 71 boys, from 37 different cities were admitted in the high school.
Who is Aziz Sancar?
Prof. Aziz Sancar was born in the Savur district of Mardin. He was one of the 8 children of his parents who were illiterate. Thanks to his parents paying particular attention to their children's education, he studied in Mardin until university age. After completing his undergraduate education at Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, he went to the USA for graduate education. He received his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas. He specialized in areas such as DNA repair and the cell cycle. In 2015, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for DNA repair, along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich.
