Science is a messy game, with difficult career paths, less-than-munificent pay packets and long hard toils that often end with unpromising results. To flourish in these trying conditions, all scientists need role models, inspiration and good mentors. Mentoring is one of the central themes of the annual Lindau Noble Laureate Meetings, which brings together young researchers and Nobel prizewinners. The factors that motivate and inspire scientists have also been the source of much discussion on Nature Network.

Richard Grant sets the scene nicely:

Much of science comes out of what has gone before; incremental steps, small improvements or tweaks, logical progressions. But what about those truly inspired leaps of imagination? The things that can get you out of an experimental rut, or win a Nobel prize? Did the idea to write the code that resulted in finding [a] run of binding motifs this morning come from inspiration, or sheer cold, Vulcan logic?

The ensuing comments thread captures the ways various scientists find inspiration in the lab, from reading blogs, talking to as many people as possible…and dozing.

On a long, uneventful journey across Australia, Eva Amsen reflected on all the ingredients and circumstances that go into making a successful scientist: does the lab have money, how well do you get on with colleagues, do you go to many conferences and are they the right ones, etc. etc.

Change enough of these variables, and it might make the difference between dropping out of grad school or getting a Nobel Prize. Change just one, and it could be the difference between publishing before the competition and not publishing at all.

Sometimes, a scientific career can be too tough. Corie Lok highlighted a case in point in her blog post about Douglas Prasher. Prasher was the first to clone the gene for green fluorescent protein from the jellyfish. However, he was unable to secure further funding and passed the DNA onto other researchers. Those scientists later went on to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Prasher was not included, and now drives a courtesy vehicle for an Alabama car dealership. The tale was also picked up by Eva Amsen in a well-argued post about failure and the pressure to publish only positive date. Charles Darwin also had words to say on the matter.

Inspiration is perhaps most needed at the earliest stages of a scientific career. Stephen Curry has recently taken it upon his own shoulders to try and enthuse young students with an interest in research by taking part in the I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here! initiative. For two weeks, Stephen and other scientists will be bombarded with questions about their work from school children. Researchers will be whittled down by votes from their junior interrogators, until a winner emerges.

Finally, this post would not be complete without pointing readers towards the blog of Eric-Wubbo Lameijer. In the Science Talent Project Eric-Wubbo looks at the reasons that certain scientists succeed, how to motivate researchers, the origins of excellence and the role played by mentors. It would be difficult to pull out one post in particular – all are worth a read – but this piece serves as a handy guide to his writing so far.

This post represents a small selection of content on Nature Network about inspiration and motivation. Please feel free to highlight your own favourites in the comments.

Part of a series to coincide with the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting 2010, celebrating the values of the Nobel Prize, as covered on Nature Network.