Nobel Prize

The achievements by Deisenhofer, Huber and Michel that were recognized with the 1988 Nobel Prize in chemistry signify breakthroughs in several fields of research: Photosynthesis: The knowledge about the location of the photochemically active groups in the reaction center has resulted in a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the primary reaction in photosynthetic organisms.…

An important step in biochemical research was taken in 1980 when Hartmut Michel managed to crystallize a membrane protein (bacteriorhodopsin) after having solubilized the lipid bilayer of the membrane with a detergent. Detergents, which are structurally similar to membrane lipids, form micelles in water. They bind to membrane proteins with their fatty, hydrophobic tails creating…

Scientific American, (1987) Vol 256:6, 42-48. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, (1987) 12, 321-326. Nature (1985) 318, 618-624. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, (press release).  

1771 Joseph Priestley, England, discovers that plants can “purify” air that has been “burned out” by a candle. 1779 Jan Ingenhousz, The Netherlands, demonstrates that the plant in Priestley’s experiment is dependent on light and its green parts. 1782-1804 Several researchers show that carbon dioxide and water are stored as organic matter by plants. 1845…

Contents: Based on materials from the 1988 Nobel Poster for Chemistry.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to       Dr Johann Deisenhofer University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA Professor Robert Huber Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried, FRG Dr Hartmut Michel Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik, Frankfurt/Main, FRG     for the determination of the three-dimensional structure of…

In 1984, after having analyzed the X-ray diffraction pattern from the reaction center crystals, Johann Deisenhofer, Robert Huber and Hartmut Michel could present the 3-dimensional structure of the reaction center, the first high-resolution structure of a membrane protein and also the most complex molecular structure which had been solved.     The reaction center is composed of…

Swedish Presentationstal av Professor Håkan Wennerström, ledamot av , ledamot av Nobelkommittén för kemi, 10 December 2007. Professor Håkan Wennerström presenterar Nobelpriset i kemi 2007 i Stockholms Konserthus. Eders Majestäter, Eders Kungliga Högheter, mina damer och herrar. Det centrala temat i kemin är den kemiska reaktionen. Det handlar om hur molekyler bildas, omformas…

The Nobel Laureate , Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Animation , Fritz-Haber-Institut, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft Scientific review articles Imbihl, R., Ertl, G. Oscillatory Kinetics in Heterogeneous Catalysis. Chemical Review 1995(95) 697–733 Ertl, G. Primary Steps in Catalytic Synthesis of Ammonia. Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A 1(2) 1247–1253 (1983) Ertl G. Elementary Processes at Gas/Metal Interfaces. Angewandte Chemie…

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007   In the catalysts of cars poisonous carbon monoxide reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide before the exhaust is emitted. This reaction takes place on a surface of platinum, for instance. Ertl has shown that the reaction is considerably more complicated than could be expected and in this…