At this year's Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, past Nobel winners discussed with upcoming chemists how to use chemistry to solve four issues society faces today. These four issues are: alternate fuel sources, science's role in society, finite resources, and the development of medicinal drugs.  For fuel sources, chemists are determining substances that have properties that would allow them to be an alternate fuel source. Since fossil fuels are a finite source, one chemist proposed using hydrogen based fuels as an alternative, but another chemist mentioned the reality if this alternative fuel source is not cheap, it will not be used. All scientists agreed science should have an influence in a nation's government, and it is difficult to receive funding from the corporate and laboring class since results are not immediate. As other resources on Earth are depleting, the laureates also discussed the use of nitrogenous catalysts to replace these resources. Still, a chemist describes how it's difficult how to predict an increase in productivity and how this truly is an area of trial and error. Lastly, chemists discussed the severity of undervaluing the importance of developing antibody resistance. What substances or changes could be made to a person's immune system in order to aid antibodies in the endless war against bacteria. Watch the video and learn more from the article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-63rd-annual-lindau-trailer-chemistry-better-living
      Mainly I chose this article because as many people resort to the phrase "Why should I spend my time studying this?" This article provides a clear reason to study chemistry: with more developments, it will improve the life in which we live in. One of the main things I noticed in this video was as they introduced the individual chemists in the video, I saw not only chemists but other scientists such as physicists and others. This shows how main areas of science interlock and come together in order to solve issues of the common world. With the topic of alternate fuel sources, it was interesting how the chemist chose hydrogen as the base of its fuel due to its properties. Next, the real question would be which and how much of other elements would scientists combine in whole number ratios in order to form a mixture or compound that could solve this crisis that has left many professionals stymied. With the topic of finite resources, I observed the reoccurring theme in chemistry, the process of trial and error. The chemists use the example of using different substances and then say if you see a positive reaction from say barium, you use reason and assess which course of action will continue this trend of a positive reaction, like adding more barium. Also this video stresses the importance of sharing and communication between scientists and their ideas in order to continue to make advancements in the field. This Lindau Nobel Prize Meeting reminded of the way in which NASA works: lock a bunch of geniuses in a room and have them collaborate until they find a solution!