Ch. 5. Polio and Nobel prizes. Polio epidemics in the 20th century. Initial attempts to produce a vaccine. Early deliberations by the Nobel committee. Enders, viruses and cultured cells. Sven Gard and his role. Nomination of Enders in 1952. Nominations of Enders and collaborators in 1953 and 1954. The decision. Polio research and vaccine production. Why not wait for the first vaccine trials? Coda - A unique contact -- ch. 6. Unusual Nobel prizes in physiology or medicine. The first Nobel prize in physiology or medicine. The enigma of Alexis Carrel. The importance of friendship across the Kattegat. The attraction of contraction. Insulin, its remarkable discovery and a much debated Nobel prize. A Nobel prize awarded in the midst of World War II. A candidate who almost did not make it. DDT, a uniquely effective insecticide which fell into disrepute. Corticosteroids, another medical wonder drug. Joshua Lederberg, a rapidly recognized scientist. The formative years in the work of the committee. Coda - Sometimes it takes time -- ch. 7. Nobel prizes and nucleic acids : A drama in five acts. The chemistry of the nucleus. Enter Albrecht Kossel. The eclipse of nucleic acids. The milestone discovery by Avery. The growing insight of the Committee for Chemistry. Slow appreciation by the Committee for Physiology or Medicine. The temperature of engagement increases. From the structure of viruses to the central dogma. Organic crystals unraveled and the code of life deciphered. Reading the books of life. Writing the books of life. The two final acts in the drama of the role of nucleic acids. Coda - There is still more to molecular genetics -- ch. 8. Nobel prizes, prions and personalities. The encyclopedic eternal traveler. Milestones in the early studies of atypical infectious agents. A unique Nobel lecture and a remarkable extended family. A San Francisco neurologist challenged by a case of CJD. The unconventional virus is not a virus after all. An alarming epidemic of CJD in younger patients. "Neo-cannibalism" in cattle and a new form of CJD in humans. Neo-cannibalism in humans?. The mechanisms of prion diseases have a wider application. The archetype of the successful scientist