This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
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As a boy, George P. Smith was fascinated by reptiles. In this interview with Scientific American, Smith talks about how his scientific interest changed from reptiles to molecular biology—and led to his Nobel Prize-winning work using evolutionary principles to develop systems that make it possible to create entirely new kinds of pharmaceuticals. He spoke prior to a Kavli Foundation event at the National Academy of Sciences in April.