Scottish Nobel chemist predicts Alzheimer's drug in 5 years
He said the rapid pace of development in neurological research gave him confidence that major treatment breakthroughs are close, calling the progress "phenomenal".
READ MORE: Scottish oil and gas firm to shut down with jobs lost and staff 'unpaid since May'
MacMillan, whose father and aunt both suffered from dementia, was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Professor Benjamin List for developing a revolutionary method of constructing molecules.
Their discovery has already contributed to new approaches in treating Alzheimer's, as well as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
He used his share of the prize money to launch The May and Billy MacMillan Foundation, named after his parents, to fund educational opportunities for underprivileged young Scots. Education, he said, was his 'passport to the world".
Born in New Stevenston near Bellshill, MacMillan studied chemistry at the University of Glasgow before moving to the United States for postgraduate research. After academic posts at Harvard and Berkeley, he joined Princeton in 2006.
While he has long praised the scale and ambition of American scientific research, MacMillan expressed concern about recent political pressure on universities.
His Princeton research group, he said, has gone without government funding for seven months for the first time in 25 years. He attributed this to growing hostility towards higher education to the Trump-Vance administration.
He warned that the cuts could reflect a broader attempt to exert political control over academic institutions, describing the trend as 'quite sinister.'
READ MORE: Scottish Government approves one of world's biggest wind farms amid controversy
Despite these challenges, MacMillan said he has no immediate plans to return to Scotland, though he visits regularly to see family and, now, a close friend.
After winning the Nobel, he received an unexpected congratulatory call from Sir Alex Ferguson.
The two Glaswegians have since become friends and plan to attend a Manchester United match together later this year.
MacMillan's achievements have also been honoured in Scotland's National Portrait Gallery, where a new painting by Christabel Blackburn depicts him in his Princeton office.
A lab coat from his former school, Bellshill Academy, hangs in the background – a quiet reminder of how far he has come.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
Jersey fundraiser finishes challenge in memory of her mum
A Jersey fundraiser finished her challenge to run 5k (3.2miles) every day through the month of July in memory of her Daly's mum, Nicola, died from malignant melanoma five years ago, which is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the 27-year-old has raised more than £6,400 for MacMillan Jersey, which supported her mum during her cancer Daly was joined by friends and family throughout her runs and they gathered at the Waterfront Gardens to cheer her on as she finished the challenge. Ms Daly has been sharing her challenge on social media to also make more people aware of the dangers of skin said: "People think it's just skin cancer and you can cut it out and it's gone but that wasn't the case with my mum and it's not the case for a lot of people."Ms Daly added: "The most emotional thing was I just wish she was here," adding: "She would've been there every step of the way and I know she is there but I can't see her or talk to her".It was an emotional finish to the fundraising as Ms Daly shed some tears as she crossed the finish line, and also said: "I've never done anything like this before". Megan Winton was one of the runners who joined Ms Daly on her final run on said it was "for a great cause" and "whatever we could do to help, we jumped up to it"."It was emotional and I'm glad I had my sunglasses as we all got a little bit choked up because it was so beautiful and it's what it's all been about," Ms Winton. Andrew Gardham from MacMillan Jersey liaised with Ms Daly on her fundraising challenge for the cancer said: it was "absolutely fantastic to see Daisy finish off after all of her hard work", and that it was "really important for us to have fundraisers like Daisy".Mr Gardham added: "Not only has Daisy raised fantastic funds but also by sharing her story so bravely, it's been so impactful for other people to be diligent and to be careful in the sun." MacMillan Jersey advises that people stay in shade when the sun is at its strongest, cover up skin when UV rays are high and wear suncream on exposed skin to reduce the risks of getting skin cancer.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Building's hard problem: Can concrete go green?
Concrete is the most produced material on the planet. Used as a building material for centuries, production of its crucial ingredient cement accounts for eight percent of global emissions. Reporter Alasdair Keane visits a Rotterdam-based startup producing an alternative material to make concrete more sustainable. This video is from Tech Now, the BBC's flagship technology programme.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
For Women Scotland to intervene in Sandie Peggie tribunal
Peggie, a nurse, was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023. She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, and cited concerns about 'patient care'. Peggie then lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment; harassment related to a protected belief; indirect discrimination; and victimisation. READ MORE: Firm linked to technology secretary awarded £10.2m in contacts The tribunal has become a flash point for gender-critical campaigners and anti-trans groups, particularly following the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman earlier this year. And now FWS, which took the case regarding the definition of a woman as 'biological sex' to the UK's highest court, have announced they have been granted permission to intervene in the ongoing tribunal. Correspondence with the tribunal services was posted by the group on their website, and confirmed there had been no objections to their intervention. It reads: 'Your email and letter of 25th and 28th of July 2025 were considered by the Tribunal, and the parties were offered an opportunity to comment. 'The claimant has no objection to your application under rule 36, and the respondents did not on the understanding that the intervention was purely to be in that written form.' It added that FWS was given permission to intervene via a written letter. 'The Tribunal is not in a position to comment on the matters you raise until all submissions have been made by the parties, with those in written form and laterally orally on 1 and 2 September.' FWS also published their submission where they raised 'concerns' about three exchanges that had taken place during the tribunal so far. The first where Jane Russell KC, for NHS Fife, said that the Supreme Court judgment is an 'abstract case regarding representation on public boards in Scotland does not concern toilets etc'. Another where the KC said Dr Upton 'is not a man, she is a transwoman', and added that she did not agree with the summary of FWS, and the third which was in a similar vein. READ MORE: Scottish politicians unfollow Unionist group after 'bomb Holyrood' Twitter/X post In response, FWS wrote that the first exchange was 'not factually correct'. They added: 'In the second and third exchanges, Ms Cunningham was factually correct in her statement that Dr Upton is a man under the Equality Act in accordance with the For Women Scotland ruling by the Supreme Court. 'This should not be a point in dispute by the court, nor regarded as contentious or a hypothesis to be tested.' We previously told how Peggie allegedly told colleagues that she 'wanted to post bacon through the letterbox of a mosque'.
