Elhuyar.- Where was he born? and your memories of youth.

Luis Federico Leloir.- I was born in Paris, but I came to Argentina at the age of two. My parents were Argentine. My father, Federico, was a lawyer but did not work on that; he was in the agrarian administration. My mother, Hortensia Agirre, was a Donamaria documentary. My father had nine children: four in the first marriage and five in the second. I am the youngest.

When I was in school I already had a scientific vocation. The themes of memory, that is, history, geography and literature, were difficult. Reasoned, what was logically understood was more content. So I studied medicine. He could also study Physics or Chemistry.

While studying medicine, studying anatomy made me suffer a lot, because I could not memorize the names and structures of the muscles and bones.

Elhuyar.- You have studied medicine. However, he works in biochemistry and has received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. How is this understood?

L.F. Leloir.- My vocation was born little by little. When I started going to the Institute of Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine. Its director was Bernardo Houssay, a well-known physiologist in the world. In 1947 he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine with Carl and Gerty Cori.

Then, when I got the medical degree, in the morning I went to the hospital and in the afternoons to the laboratory. However, I started spending more and more hours in the laboratory and in the end I was totally in the laboratory.

Elhuyar.- What is your main interest in research?

L.F. Leloir.- The main interest is to know new discoveries, even if they are small, which generates a lot of satisfaction. It is like a real prize for research.

Everyone, like the conquerors of antiquity, always wants to explore new things. Instead of going up the boat, we go to the laboratory and there we expand the knowledge through reagents and tools; our horizon is very wide.

The important thing is to think about solving a problem all day long. However, new ideas are very rare.

Elhuyar.- In your life you have had many awards and mentions. What is the most appreciated for you? Perhaps the Nobel Prize?

L.F. Leloir.- I don't think I had much satisfaction with the awards. The most important thing I received, the Nobel Prize, caused me nervousness. My life changed. My intention was to lead a quiet life (with time to read, think and experience). The Nobel Prize has gradually moved me away from this plan. The fact of having to live the adventures of this award made me nervous: ceremony, interviews, visits of journalists, television appearances, adequate response to all questions, etc. But my trip to Sweden was very nice and I was never nervous. I felt what I felt when I received other prizes, but on another level.

Elhuyar.- Nobel laureates and prestigious world scientific awards are awarded to researchers working in scientifically advanced countries like the USA. What does it mean to receive the Nobel Prize for a scientifically secondary local scientist? What influence can it have in Argentina?

L.F. Leloir.- The awarding of the Nobel Prize to a people like Argentina can be a milestone for young people. This award has shown that through work and will, despite the lack of means, interesting results and successes can be obtained.

I think the fact that Argentina has received two Nobel prizes in science has driven scientific activity. However, it has not reached the level required by modern people.

Elhuyar.- You have worked in countries like Britain and the United States, among others. Are there really differences between Argentina and these two peoples? Is it less than it seems? Does the difference increase or decrease?

L.F. Leloir.- There are Argentine groups and people who have stood out for their individual efforts at the international level. Lack of teamwork and especially follow-up. The gap with leading research countries in North America and Europe is very large and in recent years has intensified. I believe that the future, at least to a large extent, lies in the economic situation of the people. I always remember what Houssay said at the People's Institute for the "La Prensa" conference: "Ladies and gentlemen, we must trust the future of our country in the short or long term. If we base ourselves on this model, with hard work well directed we can live up to the advanced peoples in two or three decades. The whole of society, because of this situation, is in good condition. With the work of your thinkers and sages, our nation will reach a high level. Our men will be useful to the honored son and humanity. 1.

Elhuyar.- "What future can a young Argentine researcher have? What advice would you give him?

L.F. Leloir.- Argentina could be between advanced and prosperous countries. We have lost many years, but we can still reach a good level. For this we need to better train our young people, work more science and develop technology better.

We have to excite young people continuously; at home with books and magazines, at school with practical demonstrations and at university with good teaching. It is also important to keep curiosity throughout life.

The advice I can give to young people can be considered obsolete, but I would give them the same thing as when I was young: to learn, to be disciplined, to be respected and not to tell lies. There are young people who are very different. Some should also be recommended not to die.

Elhuyar.- In recent years the university has been massified much, at least in the Basque Country and in the Spanish State. It has become a centre for issuing degrees and has forgotten its true teaching and research role. What requirements should the University have? Are teaching and research complementary to each other?

L.F. Leloir.- In Argentina there is also massification at the University. They ask that young people have the opportunity to access higher education with all reason. Unfortunately the universities are not so prepared to teach so many students and therefore the teaching is bad, the premises are scarce, there are not enough teachers and these have no possibility to investigate, not even to self-form.

The problem is on the way to reaching a dramatic level. It seems necessary to seek another solution for young people who want to move forward. A provisional solution is to create short careers of useful work. It is necessary to give opportunities to young people and also inform them of all the job opportunities that society offers. On the other hand, wider use of computers and television can facilitate teaching tasks.

Elhuyar.- For almost 80 years of your life, society has undergone drastic changes: after two world wars, it has known an unprecedented technological development in history. What future will we have?

L.F. Leloir.- My personal research in biochemistry has been a fascinating experience. I had the opportunity to work at a time when this scientific specialty had a spectacular development. Gradually we discovered the chemical composition of living beings. Then we saw how the chemicals that form in the cells are transformed. The chemical reaction pathway for the formation of proteins, fats, carbohydrates was known. The work of our laboratory helped to know the reaction path of the biosynthesis of oleons and polysaccharides. This is due to the discovery of nucleotide sugars that act as donors to monosaccharide units.

The current advances have overcome what we expect in the most optimistic moments. It will continue to investigate to solve some of the great problems that humanity has, regardless of whether its name is biochemistry, bioengineering or others.

Scientific/technical progress seems to have only one direction. It does not seem possible to go back to times when our ancestors lived a few thousand years ago. Humanity will continue in its spirit of progress until some catastrophe destroys the world... and perhaps then it will continue in another world...