Nobels bring tears of joy to Li

Tycoon Li Ka-shing shed tears of joy at the news scientists funded by him had won the Nobel Prize in chemistry and in physiology or medicine.

US scientists Jennifer Doudna - one of the two awardees in chemistry - is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. Michael Houghton, one of the three prizewinners in physiology or medicine, is the director of the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute at the University of Alberta.

The Li Ka Shing Foundation posted on its Facebook page yesterday that Li was delighted and cried after learning about their efforts being recognized by the award, adding that Li had supported their research in 2010 and 2011.

Doudna was recognized for her development of Crispr-Cas9, a fast and cheap way to alter the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with high precision.

Houghton won his award for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.