Nobel Prize

1835 The Swede Jöns Jacob Berzelius describes a catalyst as a substance which can breathe life into slumbering chemical reactions. 1868 Friedrich Miescher, Switzerland isolates nucleic acids from white blood cells obtained from discarded bandages. 1877 Wilhelm Kuhne, Germany introduces the term “enzyme” and distinguishes between enzymes and bacteria. 1893 Wilhelm Ostwald, Latvia classifies enzymes…

Sidney Altman and Thomas Cech have independently studied how the genetic code is transferred from DNA to RNA. They knew, however, that part of the genetic information is not required and must be removed from RNA before the RNA molecule can be utilized by the cell. While searching for the catalysts of RNA maturation, Altman…

The genetic information flows from the DNA in our genetic material via RNA to proteins, which in turn construct cells with different functions. This principle is called the central dogma of the chemistry of life. It was previously believed that the nucleic acids DNA and RNA serve solely as carriers of the genetic information, whereas…

Normally chemical reactions do not proceed spontaneously, but require the help of a catalyst.     A catalyst accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being changed. For example, the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen to produce water requires the addition of the metal platinum. These days we encounter the concept of a catalyst most often in connection…

Scientific American (1986) Vol 255, 76-84. Trends in Biochemical Sciences (1989) Vol 11, 515-518. Journal of the American Medical Association (1988) Vol 260, 3030-3034. Advances in Enzymology (1989) Vol 62, 1-36. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, (press release).  

Contents: Based on materials from the 1989 Nobel Poster for Chemistry.

The discovery of catalytic RNA, also called ribozyme, has been of great importance to both research and industry.     An important catalyst: In addition to cutting and rejoining RNA, catalytic RNA probably plays a major role in many biological processes. Life processes often require intimate cooperation between proteins and RNA. In the future researchers will probably…

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I was born in Montreal in 1939, the second son of poor immigrants. My mother worked in a textile mill and my father in a grocery store before they met and married. It was from them that I learned that hard work in stable surroundings could yield rewards, even if only in infinitesimally small increments.…

Grandfather Josef, a shoemaker, immigrated to the U.S. from Bohemia in 1913. My other grandparents, also of Czech origin, were first-generation Americans. My father was and is a physician, my mother the homemaker. I was born in Chicago on December 8, 1947. The safe streets and good schools of Iowa City, Iowa provided the backdrop…