SINGAPORE - "When will YOU win a Nobel Prize?" Scientists receive regular reminders of how important this prize is in their relatives' (and the public's) mind. For many, the Nobel Prize is their idea of science. Indeed these are the most famous awards in medicine, chemistry and physics. Scientists also pay attention to the Nobel Prizes because we love science. It is only natural to chat and debate about the most significant recent discovery in our field. This requires broad perspective and context. With only one prize each year, how can a breakthrough in cancer therapy be compared with or ranked against a fundamental discovery about infections? This must be particularly stressful for the group that meets regularly in Sweden to decide who is to win the most coveted prize in science. Last week, the 2020 Nobel Prizes were announced for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus (physiology or medicine), advancing our understanding of black holes (physics), and a technology for editing genomes (chemistry). As a scientist studying the genomes or genetic make-up of bacteria, I want to provide a broader perspective on the latter to give some insight into where we might fruitfully invest in mo...