In 2001, Tim Hunt (now Sir Tim Hunt) won the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology along with Paul Nurse (now Sir Paul Nurse) and Leland Hartwell for the discovery of how certain proteins (kinases) regulate cell division. But, like James D. Watson, Hunt has now come into disrepute by making statements that demean minorities: in Watson’s case it was blacks; in Hunt’s it was women scientists.

As The New York Times reports, Hunt’s comments, uttered at the World Conference of Science Journalism in Seoul, involved denigrating women’s supposed overemotionality, and the effects they have on making men (including Hunt) fall in love with them, which, says Hunt, causes big problems in the lab. He called, in fact, for “sex-segregated labs” to prevent this problem, as if labs were some kind of Catholic school.

Hunt’s remarks first received public attention via the following tw**t by Connie St. Louis, head of the science journalism program at City University London:

Of course the expected tsunami of criticism ensued, for these remarks are unconscionable, and were instantly added to Hunt’s biography on Wikipedia, where they’ll remain forever. Hunt subsequently issued a clarification, but didn’t really apologize for what he said; he simply explained his statement and said he was sorry if he had caused any offense. That, of course, shows no contrition at all for denigrating women scientists. But he also resigned his position at University College London (Hunt is 72).

The issues remain: women are perceived as “Eves” in the lab, who distract men from doing science (Hunt’s desired segregation would of course prevent both sexes from benefitting from each others’ ideas and work); that there can be real problems of harassment of women and an imbalance in the power structure of science (more rarely, that can obtain for men in labs headed by women, and, at any rate, universities have rules outlining what constitutes harassment); and that women can be seen as “weaker” creatures whose sentiments must be coddled. Each of these just adds another drop in the heavy bucket on the heads of women scientists, making them think, “Seriously? Do we still have to put up with this crap?”

Some writers have called for Hunt’s FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society) membership to be revoked (the Royal Society has distanced itself from Hunt’s remarks), and even for his knighthood to be nullified. I don’t agree, for there are all kinds of jerks who are “Sirs” and FRSs, and ultimately it’s scientific accomplishment, not impeccable character, that brings these honors.

Still,  I’m very proud of the way women scientists have acted to mock and dispel these notions. First there is this tw**t from Kate Devlin, researcher at Goldsmith’s University London:

And from Sophie Scott, a professor of neuroscience at University College London:

A lot of comments, some by men, are collected at #distractinglysexy on Twi**er, and they’re hilarious. Here are a few of my favorites:

This also dispels the Hitchensian myth that women aren’t funny.