Nobel Conference – Gustavus Adolphus College

Since 1965, the Nobel Conference has been bringing leading researchers and thinkers to Gustavus, to explore revolutionary, transformative and pressing scientific issues and the ethical questions that arise alongside them. As the only event in the United States authorized by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden to use this name, it is our privilege to host a space in which we can talk about big scientific questions, and the big ethical issues to which they inevitably give rise.

2025 Topic: Sugar-Bringing Sweetness to Light

Sugar. In the form of glucose, it’s the most important source of energy for the human body…and also a substance that can induce cravings as robust as those for cocaine. In the form of cane, beets, and corn, it’s an important crop and commodity…and was a driving force in European colonization and the Atlantic slave trade. It’s a seemingly-irreplaceable element in celebrations, festivals, and special treats…and a source of “empty calories” in many prepared and processed foods. Sugar in the form of glucose plays a contributing role in adverse health conditions such as diabetes, fatty liver disease, high blood pressure and cancer…and in the form of glycans–complex carbohydrates that cloak the cells of our bodies–it shows promise for playing crucial roles in the treatment of diseases including cancer.