(From L to R) Reona Esaki, the 1973 Nobel laureate in physics, Susumu Tonegawa, the 1987 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine, Shigefumi Mori, the 1990 winner of the Fields Medal, Ryoji Noyori, the 2001 Nobel laureate in chemistry, and Makoto Kobayashi, the 2008 Nobel laureate in physics, hold a joint news conference at the University of Tokyo in Tokyo on Nov. 25, 2009. They severely criticized a government body's recent instruction to slash science and technology-related budget allocations. (Kyodo)