Previous winners
2010 winners
The winners were announced by Dr Andreas Mershin, director of the Molecular Frontiers Inquiry Prize
SUBMIT a question for the 2012 Prize! |
Girls Justina Saladyte,17, Lithuania: Boys Armin Mohammadi, 15, Canada:“Does a cell control its atoms or is it the interaction of the atoms that control the cell?” Iraklis Gkritsis, 16, Greece: “Why do living organisms get old?” Jan Pulmann, 16, Slovakia: “How do we represent numbers in our mind and how do we count with them?” George Utsin, 12, Canada: “Why is it that when you pour sugar onto strawberries, they release their juice?” Edward Godfrey, 16, United Kingdom: “How does the brain know which neurotransmitters map to which sensations, if it has never seen that sensation before?” |
Winners: 2009 Molecular Frontiers Inquiry Prize winner Felicia Ullstad, 17, receives the medal from Nobel Prize winner and Molecular Frontiers member Roderick MacKinnon
2009 winners
The winners were announced by Vladimir Leopards, winner of last year's Molecular Frontiers Inquiry Prize, who was invited to participate in the Molecular Frontiers Symposium this year.
SUBMIT a question for the 2012 Prize! | Girls Chloe Lim, 15, Singapore:“Where does conscience come from?" Felicia Ullstad, 17, Sweden: “What is the origin of chemical chirality?” Katerina Donta, 16, Greece: "Some animals can reproduce an amputated part of their body, why can’t we?” Rei-En Tang, 15, Singapore: “How does our imagination work?” Tove Lagström, 17,Sweden: “What are the properties of water that make it the keystone of life?” Boys Alec Wilkens, 16, USA:“How are memories stored?” Daniel Tong, 15, Brazil: “What are the molecular differences between living and non-living things?” Fabian Fernandez-Han, 11, USA: “Why does listening to cats purr make you feel calm and relaxed??” Homan Mohammadi,17, Canada: “What makes a cell alive if it is simply a collection of inanimate atoms?” Max Wallack, 13, USA: “Why does water expand when it freezes?” |
2008 winners
See what scientists have found out about the winning questions since 2008 in Questions followup
SUBMIT a question for the 2012 Prize! | Girls
Brittany Wakefield, 15, USA: “How are shells made?" Ang Qi Yan, 16, Singapore: “What is between protons and neutrons in the nucleus?” Kelsey Kecherson, 15, USA: "How do we do things?” Ava Violich, 11, USA: “When did molecules come into being?” Katie Osborn, 14, USA: “What are emotions?” Boys Oliver Gocher, 12, UK: “If elephants have huge brains, why are they not the most intelligent?” Vladimir Leopards, 15, USA: “Why aren’t plants black?” Adam Patrick, 13, UK: “Why do tea leaves gather in the center when a cup of tea is stirred?” Adeeb Nazeerudin, 17, Switzerland: “What is the origin of our thinking – if the brain controls nearly all of our body, what makes the brain control itself?” Jacob Bildfell, 15, Canada: “What is the nature of all matter?” |