Nobel Laureate Creates a Social Media Stir Attacking Female Researchers’ Positions in the Sciences

After some poorly-worded opinions of one biochemist this week, the science community is up in arms again discussing the gender inequality present in STEM programs. And after major backlash following the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea, the guest speaker and former Nobel laureate Tim Hunt has resigned from his position at University College London.

Hunt, 72, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2001 for his work on the discovery of major proteins involved in cell division, met great opposition after making some disparaging remarks about fellow researchers of the female gender. And it was just discrimination against women in the sciences, it was the subtext to an even larger debate fueled by gender bias.

"Let me tell you about my trouble with girls" Hunt said at the World Conference of Science Journalists. "Three things happen when they are in the lab: You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry."

Undermining great strides in the sciences towards gender equality, the comments by the former Nobel laureate caused quite a stir on social media and almost instantly began trending on Twitter. In response, fellow researchers at the University College London and other scientists around the world began Tweeting images and posts regarding their work in the lab or in the field prompting the hashtag #distractinglysexy to go viral.

In response to his criticism and public outcry regarding his seemingly sexist comments, Hunt sat down with BBC to clear up the air surrounding last Mondays events. However, the researcher's unapologetic responses prompted even more questions than it did answers.

"I did mean the part about having trouble with girls. I have fallen in love with people in the lab and people in the lab have fallen in love with me, and it's very disruptive to the science because it's terribly important that in a lab, people are on a level playing field" Hunt said, in an interview with BBC. "It's terribly important that you can criticize people's ideas without criticizing them, and if they burst into tears it means that you tend to hold back from getting at the absolute truth."

"Science is about nothing but getting at the truth, and anything that gets in the way of that diminishes, in my experience, the science."

Since the events that took place June 9th, University College London has confirmed that Tim Hunt has resigned from his position as Honorary Professor following the comments he made about female researchers. Though questions still remain as to what the Nobel researcher will do now that he has resigned from academia, the university believes that the resignation from his position was for the best.

"UCL was the first university in England to admit women students on equal terms to men" spokespersons from University College London said in a recent press release. "And the university believes that this outcome is compatible with out commitment to gender equality."