captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. >> ...genomics will revolutionize cancer therapy. >> pelley: five years ago, duke university announced it had found the holy grail of cancer research. the discovery was published in the most prestigious medical journals, but, as you'll see tonight, that discovery may be among the biggest medical research frauds ever. when you look at the data, when you analyze it, is it a close call or is it abundantly clear that the data were fabricated?

>> abundantly clear. >> pitts: no country in the world owns more gold than india: bars, coins, and a lot of jewelry. india's love for gold is as ancient as its culture. with its growing prosperity, the one event that drives most of that demand is an indian wedding. at this wedding, the bride and groom's families spent more than $200,000 just on gold. >> ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes, it hurts instead ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead >> cooper: whether she wins the six grammys she's up for tonight or none at all, the last year in music will be remembered as the year of adele. the 23-year-old british pop star has sold close to 18 million albums with no studio gimmicks, just an amazingly powerful

voice. ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead ♪ >> kroft: i'm steve kroft. >> stahl: i'm lesley stahl. >> safer: i'm morley safer. >> pitts: i'm byron pitts. >> cooper: i'm anderson cooper. >> pelley: i'm scott pelley. those stories tonight on "60 minutes." this is my aha moment. and many people wish for retirement, and when they retire, they sit down. i retired on friday. i was in school on monday. i am now a massage therapist, and i'm exploring the possibility of voiceovers. retirement is a chance to recycle yourself. mutual of omaha. insure your possibilities. insurance. retirement. banking.investments. ♪ the snow is snowin'

♪ the wind is blowin' ♪ but i can weather the storm ♪ what do i care how much it may storm? ♪ ♪ ♪ i've got my love to keep me warm ♪ isn't some optional pursuit. a privilege for the ultra-wealthy. it's a necessity.

i find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists. quickly. easily. i use pre-defined screeners and insightful trading ideas to dig deeper. work smarter. not harder. i depend on myself the one person i do trust to take charge of my financial future. [ bell dinging ] >> pelley: five years ago, duke university announced it had found the holy grail of cancer research. they'd discovered how to match a patient's tumor to the best chemotherapy drug.

it was a breakthrough because every person's d.n.a. is unique, so every tumor is different. a drug that kills a tumor in one person, for example, might not work in another. the research was published in the most prestigious medical journals. and more than 100 desperately ill people invested their last hopes in duke's innovation. in 2010, we learned that the new method was a failure. but what isn't widely known, until tonight, is that the discovery wasn't just a failure; it may end up being one of the biggest medical research frauds ever, one that deceived dying patients, the best medical journals, and a great university. >> duke has made a commitment to fight this war against cancer at a much higher level. >> pelley: dr. anil potti, featured in this commercial for duke university, had made a discovery that promised to change the face of medicine. >> genomics will revolutionize cancer therapy.

it actually identifies a fingerprint that's unique to every individual patient. >> dr. rob califf: this is sort of like the holy grail of cancer. >> pelley: dr. rob califf is duke's vice chancellor of clinical research. was the idea here that this would change the way we thought about treating cancer? >> califf: well, you've never seen such excitement at an institution, and it's understandable. >> pelley: it wasn't just duke that was excited. 112 patients signed up for the revolutionary therapy. hope was fading for juliet jacobs when she learned about it. she had stage four lung cancer, and this would be her last chance. >> juliet jacobs: she was my best friend, but that's kind of cliché. she's... she's somebody who, after 49 1/2 years, i was still madly in love with. >> pelley: she and her husband walter were looking into experimental treatments. they had to choose carefully because there was only time for one. when you met dr. potti, what did you think? >> jacobs: we felt that he was going to give us a chance. he was... he was very

encouraging. >> pelley: for a patient with no time, dr. potti's research promised the right drug right now. fair to say potti was a rising star at duke? >> califf: potti was one of our most important rising stars. >> pelley: a lot of people were pleased that it was dr. potti who made the discovery of a lifetime. born in india, he was known as an earnest, modest, hardworking rhodes scholar, who did research at the university of north dakota before reaching duke in 2003. he was a young man with a big idea, which he explained in an interview for duke. >> dr. anil potti: and that's the goal, is to... is to be able to tell a patient with cancer that i'm not just a cancer doctor, i'm here to treat your particular cancer. >> pelley: dr. potti made the breakthrough in the renowned lab of dr. joseph nevins. the nevins lab had built a reputation for important work. dr. nevins saw something in dr. potti, and he chose the young researcher to mentor and support.

>> dr. joseph nevins: very bright, very smart individual, very capable. he was a very close colleague to many, many people. >> pelley: and to you. >> nevins: and to me. >> pelley: when dr. potti decoded the genetic makeup of hundreds of tumors, the research created huge computer files of data. that data was the underlying proof in research papers under the names of potti and nevins that were a sensation in the top medical journals. >> kevin coombes: it was going to change medicine. it was going to change how we treat patients. >> pelley: doctors everywhere were eager to save lives with the new discovery. at m.d. anderson cancer center in houston, kevin coombes and keith baggerly began analyzing dr. potti's data to verify his results. and as you dug into the data, what did you find? >> keith baggerly: we started some basic processing, and we noticed some things that were really odd that we just couldn't explain. >> pelley: coombes and baggerly

are experts in the kind of data created in dr. potti's research. they emailed their questions to duke, and dr. potti admitted a few clerical errors, but he said that new work confirmed his results. duke moved ahead. drs. nevins and potti applied for patents and started a company to market the process. they and duke stood to make a fortune. patients enrolled in the clinical trial so that their tumors could be surgically biopsied to be matched with the best drug. but at m.d. anderson, during months of analysis, baggerly and coombes kept finding errors that they thought were alarming. >> baggerly: one of the things that was especially disturbing was that these types of errors happened again and again and again. that was far beyond anything that we'd seen. >> pelley: they suspected dr. potti had somehow reversed some of the data, and that some of the patients could be getting not the best drug for their tumor, but the worst.

>> coombes: then, you would be giving patients drugs that would definitely not benefit them. so there's clear potential for harm there. >> pelley: exactly the opposite of what this was supposed to be. >> baggerly: so... yes. so we wrote them and we said, "this... this is a big problem." >> pelley: baggerly and coombes eventually concluded that duke's holy grail was worthless. but drs. nevins and potti disagreed. i wonder why, at that point, you didn't say, as... as the director of the lab, "look, stop. too many questions. we have to get to the bottom of this and put a team together to figure that out." >> nevins: i didn't feel it ever got to that point. i felt that we had addressed the issues that had been raised. >> pelley: but that changed when researchers here at the national cancer institute said they too were having trouble with the data. duke suspended the enrollment of patients, and asked an outside review committee to analyze dr. potti's discovery. after three months, the review

committee concluded that dr. potti was right. >> baggerly: my immediate reaction was an expletive, which i will not repeat here. >> coombes: we'd gone through the usual channels. we'd written letters to journals. we'd written the article. we'd succeeded in getting the trial suspended, and somebody investigated it. we'd done everything we could. >> pelley: duke restarted the clinical trials. and that's when juliet and walter jacobs sat down for their first meeting with dr. potti. i'm recording this with your permission. >> potti: absolutely. that's a good thing, because you're going to miss a lot. >> pelley: the jacobs' were told, based on the research, that the chances of finding the right drug were approximately 80%. walter jacobs says no one mentioned that the clinical trial had been suspended because of so many questions. >> potti: i will help you. trust me. >> pelley: many trusted because dr. potti's work had been vindicated. but there was just one more

thing, discovered not by a scientist, but by paul goldberg, the editor of a small independent newsletter called "the cancer letter." goldberg got a tip from a confidential source-- "check dr. potti's rhodes scholarship." it was right there on his applications for federal grants. trouble was, it wasn't true. you asked him about it? >> nevins: certainly, i asked him about it. >> pelley: what did he say? >> nevins: he said that, while it wasn't the rhodes scholar as we know the rhodes scholar, it was a fellowship from australia from a group of rhodes scholars in australia. so, a stretch of the truth. >> pelley: was that the moment when you realized? >> nevins: amazingly, i was still hanging on to the notion of "there must be a... a good explanation here." this was... >> pelley: why were you deluding yourself at that point in time? what is it that you want to believe?

>> nevins: i want to believe that somebody that i had trusted, that was a colleague for the last four, five years, someone that i viewed as a... a friend was who i thought they were. and then, you're faced with the reality of you've been deceived. >> pelley: fearing that reality, joseph nevins, whose own reputation was at stake, reviewed the original data which had justified the clinical trials for 112 patients. dr. nevins discovered that when the underlying data disproved dr. potti's theory, the data were changed. >> nevins: it became clear that there was no explanation other than there was a manipulation-- a manipulation of the data, a manipulation of somebody's credentials, and a manipulation of a lot of people's trust. >> pelley: manipulated data? these were not errors? >> nevins: that's correct, it

simply couldn't be random. it simply couldn't be inadvertent. it had to have been based on a desire to make something work. >> pelley: is it a close call, or is it abundantly clear that the data were fabricated? >> nevins: abundantly clear. >> pelley: when you switch the data, the theory is proved. if you put the data back the way it's supposed to be, the theory fails. >> califf: the theory's a dud, if you put the data back to where... the way it was supposed to be. >> pelley: how could that switch happen? >> califf: if it happened by chance, it would be roughly equivalent to an asteroid hitting the earth. >> pelley: duke university agreed to tell us this story as a cautionary tale for other institutions. vice chancellor rob califf is implementing new procedures for duke, and also overseeing the retraction of dr. potti's papers from the medical journals, one of the most significant

retractions in medical history. he's examining how both a prestigious university and outside investigators missed all the warning signs. how could they have found nothing wrong, nothing suspicious about the work at that point? >> califf: they were analyzing a data set that had been prepared by dr. potti. so, the data set they got was one that produced the same results that had been seen in our analyses. >> pelley: you know there are people watching this interview who are thinking to themselves, "look, they stood to be wealthy. the university stood to make a lot of money. no one wanted to believe that this research was corrupt. to what extent was that the reason that the warning signs were overlooked? >> califf: in my view, it was not the money that was the primary driver; it was this great opportunity to help people that was driving people to say, you know, "we've got to make this work because it looks so good." >> pelley: the patients were

told that there was an 80% chance that precisely the right drug for their tumor would be found. that wasn't true. do you bear any responsibility for that? >> nevins: i regret that some of the issues that were raised along the way i didn't recognize earlier, and that this could have been brought to a halt at an earlier time. >> pelley: juliet jacobs died three months after she entered the clinical trial. walter jacobs and eight others have filed suit. in his answer to the jacobs lawsuit, dr. potti says he was "not aware that false or improper information had been included in the research." duke has apologized for the trials. and even though the patients hoped that they were getting an innovation that could save their lives, duke says no one was really harmed because all of them received the standard of care in chemotherapy. >> walter jacobs: they did not

advertise this as a standard of care program. they advertised this as an advanced clinical trial with great results. for what happened to my wife, i have to blame otti and anyone else associated with him who knowingly promoted a false, counterfeit clinical trial exploiting human beings. >> pelley: dr. potti resigned from duke. he faces an investigation into research misconduct. he told us, in an email, that it would be inappropriate for him to comment. he wrote, "my primary concern at all times is and will be the care of patients and seeking new ways to treat cancer." these days, he's working as a cancer doctor in south carolina. and if you look online, you will see that he is celebrated for "his significant contribution to the arena of lung cancer research."

the web sites were created with the help of an online reputation consultant, perhaps to put the best face on the available data. >> cbs money watch update sponsored by: >> good evening, violence flared again in greece as parliament considers another "you can quot. congress aims to cut $the-4-trillion in spending over next 20 years, and americans are going to shull out $125 each for [ male announcer ] at northern trust, we understand

that if you pick three people, odds are they'll approach everything in their own unique way -- including investing. so we help clients identify and prioritize their life goals. taking that input and directly matching assets and risk preferences against them. the result? a fully customized plan.

we call it goals driven investing. you have unique goals. how about a portfolio specifically designed to achieve them? ♪ expertise matters. find it at northern trust. ♪ a refrigerator has never been hacked. an online virus has never attacked a corkboard. ♪ give your customers the added feeling of security a printed statement or receipt provides... ...with mail. it's good for your business. ♪ and even better for your customers. ♪ for safe and secure ways to stay connected, visit usps.com/mail

>> pitts: in the past 20 years, india has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies on earth. today, as a result, india is now the world's largest consumer of gold. why gold? because, in india, there is no possession more valuable. just as part of the american dream is to own a home, the dream n india is to own gold. for indians, gold jewelry is wearable wealth, financial security that's also a fashion statement. india's love for gold is as ancient as its culture. and with its growing prosperity, the one event that drives most of that demand is an indian wedding. there may be no wedding like an

indian wedding. the events can last for days, with music and dancing, and traditions that go back centuries. everywhere you look, there's a collection of colors, flowers and food. and then there's the gold-- breathtaking. here, it's a symbol of purity that also shows off the couple's wealth and well being. i've heard several times since i've been here, "no gold, no wedding." >> divya chauhan: yes, absolutely. >> vithika agarwal: it's very true. >> chauhan: the bride is ready, the groom is ready, the venue is set, the food is set, but if you don't have gold, there's no wedding. ( laughs ) >> pitts: divya chauhan and vithika agarwal are former beauty queens. today, they're business partners as wedding planners. in november, in the small southern city of tumkur, they pulled together the wedding event of the season. >> chauhan: she's very late. could you ask them to come quickly? >> pitts: two of the town's elite families joined through the marriage of nivedita keshavmurthy and akshay bavikatte, both doctors. >> agarwal: unlike western

cultures, where it's about the bride and the groom, here, it's about anything but the bride and the groom. >> chauhan: yeah. >> agarwal: it's about two families coming together. >> chauhan: together. >> pitts: half of the gold that indians buy each year is jewelry bought for a wedding. and this was one of the estimated ten million weddings that take place in india each year. but few rise to the level of this lavish affair, stretched over five days. the tent was custom-built for the ceremonies. water piped in for fountains, and musicians flown in from mumbai, the entertainment capital of india; the lighting, audio and video orchestrated like a bollywood movie set. the families spent over $200,000 just on gold. hidden in the corner, behind a curtain, was the other india-- a full kitchen that could have been from another age with a staff who earned about $2 a day. they prepared enough food to feed the more than 7,000 people

invited to the reception. guests came to wish the couple well, not to mention it gave everyone a chance to break out their finest gold jewelry. >> chauhan: the gold will show off the prosperity and the stand of the family in the society. >> pitts: is that vanity? what is that? >> chauhan: it's not vanity. it's just something so culturally ingrained in us that you can't have reasoning around it. >> pitts: an indian bride is usually given jewelry by her parents, gold they started buying when she was born. it's her financial security after she joins her husband's family, gold she'll control throughout the marriage. with three-fourths of indian marriages arranged, the bride's gold can also carry a message. >> chauhan: when the bride comes into the groom's family, and she displays the gold that she has received from her family, it's like setting a subtle economic status within the family itself. so there's a slight power game happening there. >> pitts: "i am new to the house, but i'm going to be taken seriously."

>> chauhan: yes. >> pitts: the tradition that a bride's parents will give her gold is a financial burden to some families. there was a time in india when dowries were demanded if a woman hoped to find a husband. though dowries were banned in 1961, there is still an expectation that a bride, her family should bring something. >> yes. >> pitts: and that something is gold. >> yes. >> pitts: so, do the men in the family sit down and pass pieces of paper and say, "we expect this," and they kind of write another number down? >> chauhan: no, no. you know, in the... >> agarwal: no, no, that would be... >> chauhan: ...in the past few, that would be the... >> agarwal: ...that would be selling... >> chauhan: that would be selling, yeah. >> agarwal: ...your daughter, right? >> chauhan: but... >> agarwal: and, unfortunately, yes, it did happen, and we can't deny that it still happens. but earlier it was out in the open. now, it's shameful for you to do that. >> pitts: there are 1.2 billion people in india. it's the world's second most populous nation, with the sixth largest economy and growing. and it's also a country rich in cultural diversity.

about how many languages are spoken in india? >> ajay mitra: there are 21 official languages and 600 dialects. >> pitts: and gold translates in all those places? >> mitra: there are 21 ways of speaking "gold." >> pitts: ajay mitra is the world gold council's managing director for india and the middle east. he understands india's obsession with gold both economically and emotionally. for most americans, gold is nice, but it isn't a necessity for most americans. but for people here, gold is a necessity. >> mitra: gold is a part of life. you can't not have a family which doesn't own gold. it is an incomplete family. in india, gold is considered honorable. and the more you possess, the higher you are up on the social ladder. >> pitts: reverence for gold touches everyone, from the very old to the very young; from the high-end stores in major cities to the gold-plated jewelry shops in the poorest villages. gold's value comes from its rarity, and it's the most malleable metal on earth, making

it ideal for jewelry and coins. everywhere we went, people told us indians love buying gold and hate selling it. wedding planners divya chauhan and vithika agarwal say it's especially true for a bride and her jewelry. >> chauhan: they would never touch gold, because that's like... it's go... i mean, it's... >> agarwal: it... it's giving a piece of you away. >> chauhan: ...piece of you, yeah. >> agarwal: how do you give away something...? >> chauhan: give up something... >> agarwal: ...or sell something that was passed on by your grandmother? >> chauhan: and family to you? >> agarwal: for example, what i'm wearing was something my parents took me to the store when i was 15 and said, "okay, buy something you like." and i'm, like, "for what?" because at 15, i'm not interested in gold. i'm like, "give me the money, i'll go do something else." >> chauhan: so. yeah. >> agarwal: but they're like, "no, for your wedding." i'm, like, "i'm only 15. don't talk to me about wedding." but they said, "you have to get married one day. so, i mean, it's impossible for me to imagine that, one day, i might have to sell it. but at the same time, i know it's there in case i need it. >> pitts: what is this area? >> gargi shah: this is zaveri bazaar.

it's one of the oldest gold markets in india. >> pitts: zaveri bazaar, in mumbai, has been the hub of india's gold trade for the past 150 years. we walked through it with gargi shah, a precious metals analyst with gfms. it's the london-based publisher of the "annual gold survey," considered the industry's bible on bullion. where does india rank in the world stage, as it relates to gold? >> shah: today is... india's position is at number one, both in consumption of jewelry, as well as physical bars and coins. >> pitts: in recent years, india's demand for gold accounted for 32% of the world's gold market. that's four times the demand in all of north america. almost all of india's gold is imported. indian mines produce less than 1% of the world's supply. the rising price of gold over the past decade sent indians rushing to buy more before prices went even higher. most indians believe that the value of gold will keep increasing.

>> shah: indeed, and that has... >> pitts: but the reality is, it can't, right? at some point, it will slow down, it will stop, it will, god forbid, lose some value, yes? >> shah: try explaining that to an indian. ( laughter ) it's impossible to tell an indian consumer that the gold prices will fall tomorrow, because there is such a strong belief, and this belief has been backed by its own performance. >> chauhan: you're dealing with tradition. you're dealing with culture. you're dealing with history. >> chauhan: and you have to also understand that, unlike diamonds and platinum, which are much more expensive than gold, gold is considered sacred here. >> pitts: the bavikatte wedding was a hindu ceremony, the religion for 80% of indians. the bride and groom had gold on them and all around them, a powerful symbol of purity and eternity that hindus elevate to the status of a goddess. they call her lakshmi. every fall, there's a religious holiday, one day when hindus worship lakshmi by shopping for

gold. >> chauhan: that day, if you buy gold, it's considered to bring you prosperity, good luck, health, wealth, everything. if you buy gold a day before, you get nothing. you buy gold a day after, you get nothing. ( laughter ) >> pitts: so you don't just buy it, you buy it on a particular... >> chauhan: day. >> pitts: and that's the way it is. >> chauhan: yes. >> pitts: don't question that. >> chauhan: we have never questioned it. we just know, if you buy gold today, it'll bring you prosperity. goddess lakshmi will... will visit your house. so, hey, let's do it. who doesn't want to be prosperous? >> pitts: india's love affair with gold started in ancient ports like vizhinjam. for centuries, traders from the empires of europe, asia and the middle east landed here, looking for spices and silk. they had little to offer in exchange, so the indians took their gold. gold is so important to the lives of indians, the poor can now get financing for it. beela babu and 13 other women run a small business. every week, they collect part of their hard-earned money-- about $5 apiece-- in a pilot program that lets them buy gold, one

gram at a time. how many of these do you have so far? >> beela babu ( translated ): one. >> pitts: it's so small, it comes in credit card sized packaging. at $60 a gram, it takes months to earn one. talking about gold makes you smile. you were so serious inside. but you talk about gold, you smile. >> babu ( translated ): i earn this gold through my own hard work. that makes me happy. >> mitra: india has close to 400 million population that is classified as the poorest of the poor. >> pitts: ajay mitra's employer, the world gold council, is funded by a group of mining companies to promote the sale of gold. he created the program to help india's poor, not to mention the gold industry. how would you characterize the role that india plays in the price of gold? >> mitra: the demand for gold out of india is fundamental for the health of the industry. if india sneezes, the gold industry will catch cold. >> pitts: people in the west can think what they want, the folks in london can set prices as much

as they want. what happens in india is what determines what happens with gold. >> mitra: right. >> pitts: for now, much of india's demand for gold can be found in high-end stores like anmol, owned by ishu datwani. >> ishu datwani: this is the lower end of the spectrum. this starts... >> pitts: lower end? >> datwani: ...at about $500. this is a chain from italy. yes. >> pitts: you wouldn't wear that to a wedding. >> datwani: you wouldn't wear that to a wedding, no. you wouldn't. you wouldn't be caught dead with it in a wedding. this is about $30,000. >> pitts: $30,000? >> datwani: $30,000, yes. >> pitts: and people are coming in and buying that? >> datwani: yes. >> pitts: with india a rising economic powerhouse, the number of rich and middle class families now outnumber the poor. indian households save an estimated 30% of their income, compared to about 5% for american households. that combination of rising incomes and savings prowess will enable indians to buy more gold. how can you be both frugal and

conservative, but yet be willing to spend thousands of dollars on gold? >> datwani: because, in your mind, that is a saving. that is going toward your saving account. you're not... you know, a lot of people, when they come and buy gold, they don't think they're spending money. it's not an expense, it's an investment. >> pitts: that sounds like a jeweler's dream to have customers think they're not spending money. >> datwani: they do, they do. i'm not... those are not my words. >> agarwal: in india, it's the jewelry that needs to do the talking. you know? >> chauhan: nothing else matters. >> agarwal: because if you're not all decked up in your jewelry, you're just not sending the right message to the world. >> pitts: yeah, because all... >> chauhan: it has to be loud and clear. >> pitts: loud and clear. ( laughter ) >> chauhan: yes. "there's gold on me." that's about it. it has... it can't be understated. you have gold, flaunt it, show it. >> agarwal: wear it. >> chauhan: wear it. ( laughs ) >> and now a cbs sports update. here in the final round of the

at&t pebble beach national pro-am, phil mickelson shot a final round 64 to win the tournament for fourth time. tiger woods stumbled with a 75 and finished 15th. in top 25 basketball action, georgetown over st. john's, michigan stayed unbeaten at home. for more sports news and information go, to cbssports.com. this is jim nantz reporting from pebble beach, california. follow the wings. hey, aren't you supposed to be following that fidelity green line? well, yeah, but it keeps leading me back to my old office. i think it might be broken. or maybe it's trying to tell you something. yeah, but what could it be try-- oh, i left my 401(k) at my old job. and i left a jacket on the back of my door. but i think the line's talking about my 401(k). leave a 401(k) behind? roll it over with a company that's helping

more people reach retirement than anyone else. call or come in for a free portfolio review today. try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first...it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you? aw! camera shy.

snapshot from progressive. plug into the savings you deserve with snapshot from progressive. and these come together, one thing you can depend on is that these will come together. delicious and wholesome. some combinations were just meant to be. tomato soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

tomato soup from campbell's. >> cooper: whitney houston died yesterday in los angeles as the stars of the music world were

descending on that city for tonight's grammy awards. the cause of houston's death has not been revealed, though her life, as one of her generation's best singers, was plagued by drug abuse. whitney houston was 48 years old and tonight's grammys will be an occasion to mourn her loss. it will also be a night to celebrate the past year in music, and, in many ways, 2011 will be remembered as the year of adele. the 23-year-old british singer has been nominated for six grammys. her sophomore album has sold almost 18 million copies. it spent more weeks at number one than any album since whitney houston's soundtrack for the movie "the bodyguard" nearly 20 years ago. what makes adele's success so extraordinary is that she's unlike most other contemporary female pop singers. she doesn't have runway model looks, doesn't dress provocatively, and has no gimmicks added to her music. few people have heard adele's voice, however, for the past four months. vocal cord problems forced her

to cancel dozens of concerts and threatened to end her young career. tonight, adele breaks her silence for the first time, revealing how her voice is doing now, and how she is handling her sudden and very unconventional rise to fame. >> adele: ( singing "rolling in the deep" ) >> cooper: adele's music is intensely personal. she sings almost exclusively about love and the men whose love she's lost. she wrote this song, "rolling in the deep," heartbroken and angry the day after breaking up with her boyfriend. the song became the top-selling single of 2011 and catapulted her to global stardom. >> adele: the kind of level of

fame that i'm dealing with now, it's obviously gotten bigger over the year, but it was overnight. literally, on a flight to new york. i landed, and i seemed to be the most talked about artist in the world that day. >> cooper: what's that moment like? >> adele: i thought it was hilarious. ( laughs ) >> cooper: hilarious? >> adele: i thought it was funny. i wanted to be a singer forever. but it's not really my cup of tea, having the whole world know who you are. >> cooper: it's not your cup of tea? >> adele: no. i find it quite difficult to think that there's, you know, about 20 million people listening to my album that i wrote very selfishly to get over a breakup. i didn't write it being that it's going to be a hit. >> cooper: you really wrote it to... to help you get over something? >> adele: yeah. so the fact that so many people are interested in that, and want to cry to it or want to feel strong to it or whatever, i find really... it's just little old me. >> cooper: there's nothing little about adele's voice or the emotion her songs convey. last september, standing almost motionless center stage, she had london's royal albert hall, mesmerized. >> adele: ♪ set fire to the rain...

♪ >> cooper: this performance, which she considers one of the best of her career, was also one of her last. when did you first start to notice a problem in your voice? >> adele: a year ago, my voice went live on air, a radio show in paris, and... >> cooper: when you say it "went," what do you mean? >> adele: it was literally like someone switched... like a click off in my throat. and it just turned off, like someone pulled a curtain over my throat. but i sounded... i'm not a soprano singer, but say if someone's singing soprano. and then listen to a baritone singer. it sounded like that. my voice went... it was so much deeper. it was... >> cooper: and... and did you know something was happening? i mean, you must have known. >> adele: yeah, yeah. and i could feel it. it felt like something popped in my throat. >> cooper: it turned out she had a polyp in her vocal cords that had also hemorrhaged. >> adele: really, i should... i should've stopped singing for six months, really, and properly

rested my voice. but it's kind of impossible to do when you're in the eye of the storm. >> cooper: so you had to have surgery? >> adele: yeah. i had laser surgery, yeah. >> cooper: and what do they actually do? >> adele: put a laser down your throat, cut off the polyp, and kind of laser your hemorrhage back together and fix it. >> cooper: to help her heal, she was also ordered not to speak a word for much of november and december. that's got to be hard. >> adele: yeah. it was really hard. >> cooper: i sense you like to talk. >> adele: yeah, i love talking. ( laughter ) >> cooper: so how'd you communicate for five weeks? >> adele: by pad. i had a notepad. and i also had an application on my phone, and that you type the words into it and then it speaks it. but the great thing is i love to swear. most of them, you can't swear on, but i found this one app where you can swear. so i'm still really getting my point across. the guy that this next song's about, not enough time has gone by since he was a ( bleep ) ( bleep ) to me. ( laughter ) >> cooper: the swearing is back; so, too, the thick cockney accent. and her confidence in her singing voice has never been higher. >> adele: i can't remember a time where it felt so smooth to sing and not be paranoid on stage, you know. >> cooper: what do you mean?

>> adele: i used to always wonder, "will i hit that note?" even when i wasn't ill. it's basically a clean slate in my throat. and it's just clear. doesn't mean it would never happen again. if i decide to go on a 200-date world tour, it would happen again. >> cooper: really? >> adele: yeah, it will. you know, just the exhaustion. >> cooper: hardly anyone has heard adele sing since the surgery, so sitting with her in a small london recording studio a few weeks ago, we just couldn't resist. can you sing a little someone like you, or...? >> adele: i can do it a cappella. >> cooper: yeah? sure. >> adele: i'm fine doing that, yeah. ♪ never mind, i'll find someone like you ♪ i wish nothin' but the best for you, too ♪ "don't forget me," i beg "i'll remember," you said ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes, it hurts instead ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead

>> cooper: "someone like you" has become another adele anthem, written about that same boyfriend who broke her heart. ♪ ♪ ♪ "don't forget me," i beg "i'll remember," you said ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes, it hurts instead ♪ sometimes, it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead the song is incredibly sad, and her fans cry right along to it, so much so it became a running gag on "saturday night live." >> ♪ and... play...

♪ ( laughter ) >> adele: that's what i was doing when i was writing it. >> cooper: she can laugh about it now. she says she no longer feels the same way about the song, or the guy she once did. >> adele: "someone like you" was about him getting engaged really quickly after we broke up. and... and i wrote that to feel better about myself, really, and it was about trying to convince myself that, oh, we will meet someone else and i will be happy. >> cooper: and you have met someone else? >> adele: yeah. who is much better than him. ( laughter ) in fact, next time i sing "someone like you," i'm going to be like, "never mind, i found someone like you. please forget me." >> cooper: her new boyfriend is a 36-year-old british entrepreneur who also runs a charitable foundation. so you're in love now? >> adele: yeah. love it. it's great. >> cooper: your face lights up when you talk about it. >> adele: yeah. ( laughter ) >> cooper: do you think you

could write without having your heart broken? >> adele: well, i hope so, because i'm madly in love and i don't want to... i don't want to be like, "babe, i'm sorry, we've got to break up. i've got a new album to deliver." ( laughs ) he'd ( bleep ) hate that. also, i can't write another breakup record. that would be a real cliché. ( laughter ) it would really be... it would be just like a boring, running theme. i think people would be like, "no, that's enough now. cheer up." ( laughter ) you know what i mean? i'm not worried about it. if it gets... if it gets... start to be, like, five, ten years down the line, i... i will. i'll break up with him. ( singing "hometown glory" ) >> cooper: she was born adele adkins in a working class section of north london. an only child raised by a single mom, she attended a high school for the performing arts and, just three days after graduating, was offered a recording contract. she was 18 years old. >> ( singing "chasing pavements" ) >> cooper: her debut album came out in 2008, and earned her two

grammys, including best new artist. >> ( singing "chasing pavements" ) >> cooper: despite her success, she was concerned about losing touch with new music, so she did something unusual for a grammy winning artist. she got a part-time job sorting and labeling cds in the back of a record store. you started working here after your first album? >> adele: yeah, after the grammys. >> cooper: ( laughs ) after you'd done the grammys? >> adele: yeah, yeah, i came and worked here for a little while. no one knows i did it here, no one knows. i just did it for myself. >> cooper: did they think it was odd that you... >> adele: yeah. >> cooper: ...came here to volunteer to work? >> adele: yeah, absolutely. very much so. they were baffled by it. >> cooper: the other baffling thing about adele is that, despite being known for the power of her live concerts, in front of audiences, she experiences near crippling stage fright. so, how does it manifest itself? >> adele: it starts from the minute i wake up. if i know i've got a show, it

starts... i mean, i just try and putter around and keep myself busy and stuff like that. and then i got to go down and sit in the chair for a couple hours, have my hair and makeup done. but it has gotten worse as i'm becoming more successful, my nerves, just because there's a bit more pressure and people are expecting a lot more from me. >> cooper: so what's that fear? >> adele: that i'm not going to deliver. i'm not going to deliver. that i'm not going to... people aren't going to enjoy it. they're... they're going to... that i'll ruin their love for my songs by doing them live. i feel sick. i get a bit panicky. >> cooper: have you ever thrown up? >> adele: yeah. oh, yeah. yeah. a few times. >> cooper: really? >> adele: yeah. projectile. yeah. because it just comes... it just comes out. it does. >> cooper: that kind of candid talk is typical adele. she is naturally generous with the details of her life. but her success is changing that. fed up with paparazzi staking out her home in london, she's just rented this very large but

very private home in the english countryside >> adele: this here, this is just safety, this house. come on, louie. >> cooper: that's why you're out here? just because... for privacy? >> adele: yeah. >> cooper: she's learned about fame the hard way. in the past, too many personal details of her life ended up in the tabloid press. so she set traps to catch the sources. >> adele: i plant stories and see who leaks them, and then i get rid of them, yeah >> cooper: really? so you would... you would tell them something that... >> adele: i'd tell, like, a group of people who i was suspicious of... ( laughs ) i'd tell them all a different story with different details in it, but all roughly the same story, so i could keep my eye on it. and then, when i knew it would come out, yeah, i knew who it was. >> cooper: that's kind of depressing. >> adele: yeah, it was still... it's quite fun, as well. not firing people that you love, but yeah, it's necessary. >> cooper: inside the rented mansion, there are ten bedrooms- - nine more than she needs-- and almost no furniture. >> adele: this is... this house is a bit of a cliché, really. this bit's all quite scary, really. it was a convent for a little while. >> cooper: ever seen "the shining"? >> adele: "all work and no play." and then this is the pool.

>> cooper: wow. >> adele: do you have a pool? >> cooper: uh... no. >> adele: so these wings... ( laughs ) these wings that way and that way is empty, really. there a couple of spare bedrooms around there, and this is my suite. >> cooper: i love what you've done with the place. >> adele: i've been busy. >> cooper: she's about to get a lot busier. now that her voice has healed, demand for her to tour has never been higher. did you ever feel pressure to, "well, i got to look a certain way, i have to... >> adele: no, never. i've never seen magazine covers and seen music videos and been, like, "i need to look like that if i want to be a success." never. i don't want to be some skinny mini with my ( bleep ) out. i really don't want to do it. ( laughs ) and i don't want people confusing what it is that i'm about. ( singing "rumor has it" ) ♪ i'm not shocking. i just stand there and sing. and i don't do stunts or anything.

>> cooper: but i think that's one of the... the things that is so remarkable about your success, and is that you're kind of the anti-pop star. i mean, you're not... >> adele: no, i am. >> cooper: you know what i mean. i mean, there... there aren't any gimmicks. it's basically the power of... of your voice and... and what you're singing. >> adele: if i wanted to do all that, i don't think i'd get away with it. i... i just... i don't think people would believe me. >> cooper: but in your songs, i think people believe that you have experienced what you're singing about. i think that comes through. >> adele: i'm just writing love songs. i'm not trying to be pop. i'm not trying to be jazz. i'm not trying to be anything. i'm just writing love songs. and everyone loves a love song. ( singing "rolling in the deep" ) ♪ ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you've learned a thing or two. this is the age of knowing what needs to be done. so, why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? isn't it time you talked to your doctor about viagra? 20 million men already have. with every age comes responsibility. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects may include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away

if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. see if america's most prescribed ed treatment is right for you. we're often so busy dealing with what's in front of us that we see if america's most prescribed ed treatment lose sight of e big picture. that's why it's good, every now and then, to pause, take a new look at your financial plan and make sure you're headed in the right direction. for more than 140 years, pacific life has been offering integrated solutions that help to create a secure financial future. ask a financial professional about pacific life - the power to help you succeed.

>> it's not often that one of our stories results in congressional action to remedy situation, but it happened this past week. following our story last november about insider trading by members of congress, both the house and the senate in a rare display of bipartisanship overwhelmingly passed the stock act, which prohibits its members

from trading on non-public information gathered during the course of their duties. i'm steve kroft. we'll be back next week with another edition of "60 minutes." captioning funded by cbs, and ford-- built for the road ahead. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org alone. i was taking ant most of the time i could pull myself together and face the day. but other days, i still struggled with my depression. i was coping, but sometimes it really weighed me down. i'd been feeling stuck for a long time. i just couldn't shake my depression. so i talked to my doctor, and he added abilify to my antidepressant. he said it could help with my depression, and that some people had symptom improvement as early as 1 to 2 weeks. i'm glad i talked to him. i wish i'd done it sooner. now i feel more in control of my depression. [ male announcer ] abilify is not for everyone. call your doctor if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients taking abilify

have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor if you have high fever, stiff muscles, and confusion to address a possible life-threatening condition. or if you have uncontrollable muscle movements, as these could become permanent. high blood sugar has been reported with abilify and medicines like it. in some cases, extreme high blood sugar can lead to coma or death. other risks include decreases in white blood cells, which can be serious, dizziness upon standing, seizures, trouble swallowing, and impaired judgment or motor skills. my depression used to be more of a burden. then my doctor added abilify to my antidepressant. now i feel better. [ male announcer ] if you're still struggling with depression, talk to your doctor to see if the option of adding abilify is right for you. and be sure to ask about the free trial offer. we were just driving along, comin' back from the lake, and all of a sudden, ka-plam. it blindsided us. what is it? our college savings account. how do you think it happened? not sure. i think something we bought a while ago turned out to be something else, annnnnd, i remember a lot of other stuff in there had the word "aggressive" in it.

is everyone okay? well, now, yeah. who knows later. ♪ so i get claritin clear for strong, non-drowsy relief of all my allergies like dust mold pets and pollen. looks good. thanks. i live claritin clear.

[ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories,

america's beverage companies are delivering.