The Funny Story of an Unpredictable Molecular Biologist

Abstract

I was quite uncertain in accepting to give my personal contribution to a book focused on “Life in Science”. In fact, now that I am retired due to age limit in an Italian public university, it was like reconsidering all my life in that perspective. However, when I thought about that, I decided that my Life in Science was, after all, very happy and, I have to admit, also quite successful. Of course, as in all “Lives”, I had to face good and bad times, but I cannot imagine for myself any different life outside a biological laboratory. Although I had several different interests in life (like having a wife, two children, playing tennis or travelling around the world, preferentially in underdeveloped countries) I spent about 10 h/day in the laboratory (except when I was engaged in doing the activities I just listed above !!). Moreover, some of the best friends I had and I still have, have been my scientific colleagues or students. For these reasons I thought that the best way to give my contribution on the topic of “Life in Science” was not to take it too seriously and to describe some facts and stories that may highlight how success in science is unpredictable and it is strongly dependent on the people each of us had the chance to meet during our scientific career.