A Nobel Prize-winning scientist says his Scottish upbringing has been a major factor in his success, as it allowed him to convey ideas quickly.
Prof David MacMillan and German scientist Prof Benjamin List were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry earlier this week.
Speaking after the event, Prof MacMillan, who teaches at Princeton University in the US, said his success felt “brilliant, just really fantastic".
They were honoured after developing a new way of building molecules, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which organises the awards.
Prof MacMillan said the concept had been used to make medicines faster and had helped with the development of drugs for Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease.
Asked to explain his discovery in layman's terms, he told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: “If you look around yourself right now … everything is all made by chemical reactions.
“How those chemical reactions work is based on this thing called catalysis, and we invented these new types of catalysis that allowed you to do things you couldn't do before, to make new materials, new stuff around you.
“But probably the most important thing immediately is how to make medicines even faster, so that's been a great thing, how quickly you can now utilise that concept to actually do completely new ways of making medicines.”
Prof MacMillan grew up in North Lanarkshire and gained his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Glasgow before moving to the US for postgraduate studies.
Growing up in Scotland, you learn how to talk and you learn how to tell a joke and you can get to a punchline
Nobel prize-winner Prof David MacMillan
The scientist said his Scottish upbringing helped him learn how to tell a story and explain concepts quickly.
He said: “Growing up in Scotland, you learn how to talk and you learn how to tell a joke and you can get to a punchline, and one of the things about being over here, or anywhere, you can convey ideas quickly, from growing up in Scotland you're good at it.
“So we were able to convey to people that this was actually a pretty interesting and valuable concept that people could use in science and it certainly helped my career and certainly helped the science move forward, but it wouldn't have happened if I was not Scottish.”
Prof MacMillan attended New Stevenston Primary School and Bellshill Academy, and he praised the “brilliant” education he received.
He said: “I am one of those people who's incredibly lucky to have come through that system.”
He gained his undergraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1991 before continuing his studies and career in the US.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted her congratulations, saying: “Many congratulations to David on his Nobel Prize. An extraordinary achievement.”
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which organises the Nobel Prize awards, said on Wednesday: “Building molecules is a difficult art. Benjamin List and David MacMillan are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis.
“This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener.”
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
