In what is believed to be a historical first, someone named Dr. Rongxiang Xu has filed a lawsuit against the Nobel Assembly, citing libel and unfair competition.

Xu is apparently the founder of "human body regenerative restoration science" and, since I don't want to get sued over something silly (though, anti-science crackpots, you are welcome to sue over the defamation you receive in Science Left Behind which, by the way, is a terrific stocking stuffer for the scientifically literate in your life), I should note that his bio refers to him as "a renowned life scientist and medical scientist".

What seems to have really upset him is not that they have never given him a Nobel prize for his claims to be a pioneer in the field of regenerative medicine or his in situ regeneration research, but rather that they have never even heard his name.   Their statement on the matter reads:

"The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has been informed by an American news agency that a lawsuit has been filed against us by a person in Los Angeles. We have not yet received any such lawsuit and have not, therefore, been able to assess it in detail. The name of the plaintiff has never been put forward to us previously."

Yikes, even a lawsuit won't make them bother to learn his name. 

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year was awarded to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent" and that is what seems to have Xu in a rage.  He thinks he deserved it. Or that they don't know what it is.

Hey, maybe they were just busy and forgot to Google him. Stuff happens.  A clueless New York journalist once wrote an article about 'pioneers' of Science 2.0 and never even Googled 'Science 2.0', she instead wrote about people in science media whose corporate offices were a cab ride away.   

Xu said in his statement, "I am not interested in who is awarded the Nobel Prize and I do not devalue the award."

Errr, you kinda are interested if you are saying it is libel and unfair competition not to get the award.

And then...

"I am concerned about the statements made by the Nobel Assembly. I seek clarification regarding the issue of 'pluripotency by reprogramming' as it has been incorrectly stated and this can impact the safety of human life. I hope the Nobel Assembly can clarify what its 'pluripotency' means, is it completely conforming with the nature of human life? Or, is it the pluripotency of human cancer cells." 

Oh, okay. In my day we just sent emails and argued at the bar over things like that, we didn't file lawsuits.  Can you file a lawsuit just because a committee is clueless?  If so, California should sue the Nobel people because the European Union got a Peace Prize for...well, no one knows...and California could have easily gotten it if those are all of the qualifications needed.

Xu is represented by the Ardent Law Group in California and the case number is 30-2012-00615804. We shall all be watching. Because this is the kind of thing that makes California famous - and makes sane people in California want to move to Texas.