Outlook in 2012

Roy Glauber shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2005. He was cited for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence, which explains why many experiments, using lasers for example, can only be understood if light is explicitly considered to be granular (composed of individual photons). His work laid the foundations of a field now known as quantum optics.

Five laureates from the 2012 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting give us their thoughts on everything from the Higgs boson to climate change.

The first Mexican-born scientist to become a Nobel laureate in chemistry, Mario Molina shared the 1995 prize for his role in discovering the threat posed by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to Earth's ozone layer. An optimist who passionately pursued science from a young age, Molina now focuses on finding practical solutions to environmental challenges.

This year's Lindau meeting coincided with the biggest particle-physics discovery in a generation. Theoretical particle physicist Martinus Veltman, emeritus professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the 'standard model' of particle physics — the theory that predicted the Higgs boson. Yet he has spent the past 30 years doubting whether the Higgs exists.

In the spirit of the Lindau Meeting, we present a dialogue between a Nobel laureate and a young researcher. This interchange started online, where it continues to unfold. Here is a digest of this conversation, which has developed across time and space.

William Phillips is a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He was joint winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded for the development of laser cooling and trapping methods, and is still beguiled by the lure of the unknown.

The 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting opened with a talk by Brian Schmidt, who shared the 2011 physics prize for the shocking revelation that the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Fifteen years after Schmidt's initial discovery, the 'dark energy' invoked to explain this cosmic acceleration is still a mystery.

Smoking and COPD have one of the strongest relationships in clinical epidemiology. But don't forget the genetics, says Edwin K. Silverman

The first symptoms of COPD can be subtle, so the disease often goes undiagnosed. Researchers are searching for ways to detect the disease and to identify those most at risk.

COPD is one of the world's biggest killers, but awareness is low, diagnosis is often missed, and in many countries the extent of the problem is not even well-documented.

Scientists have some way to go before they can prove that COPD should be treated as an autoimmune disease, says Steven R. Duncan.

Several new drugs for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are about to hit the market, with more in the pipeline.

Many COPD patients are deficient in vitamin D, a condition that can lead to bone problems as well as difficulty breathing. Can dietary supplements be of help?

Air pollution and smoking have made COPD a major problem in China, now compounded by outdated diagnostics and treatments — and experts say it's bound to get worse.

The donor lungs of the future — built from collagen or silicone rubber or engineered from donor organs stripped of their original cells — might give a new lease of life to COPD patients.

Researchers are counting on drugs that activate a master switch for antioxidant genes to protect lung tissue of COPD patients from an onslaught of free radicals.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has become synonymous with cervical cancer, but its actual footprint is much bigger, by James Mitchell Crow.

Pap tests have been a mainstay of cervical cancer screening, but new tests, vaccines and knowledge might be changing that, including when and how frequently to test.