DOCSLIB.ORG

Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Title Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5vc6r2q0 Author Calvin, Melvin Publication Date 1953-03-10 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UCRL-2 124 Unclas sifi ed Health and Biolopy UNIVERSITY QF C ALIFCEhrIk, Radiation Laboratory Contract No. W-7405-eng-s CHEEICAL EVOLUTION AND THE BIGIN OF LIFE Melvin Calvin March 10, 1953 Berkeley, California CXIEMICAL ZVOLUTION AND THE ORIGIN OF LIFE Melvin Calvin Radiation Laboratory an? Department of Chemistry University of California Berkeley, California" -ABSTRACT The fomation of more complex carbon compounds from simple ones through the action of radiation is used in an interpretation of the original formation of such compounds on earth, The relation of plants and animals and evolution of photosynthesis is ?iscussed in the light of the prtici- ption of sulfur compounds in the metabolism of both group, ('1 The work described in this pipr was sponsorer? by the U. S. At-c Energy 2.dssfon, CHENIGAL EVOLUTION AND THE ORIGIN OF HFE* Y~lvinCalvin Radiation Laboratory and Department of Chemistry UAxiversity of Ca Ef ornia Berkeley, California** As living beings? as well as scientists, we are all interested in our ultimate origin, both from the point of view of philosophic an+ scientific duriosfty and for the possible clues such ideas might wovide as to our un- certain future. So I thought it would be worthwhile to have a look at what we might know as scientists, as well as =en, about the origin of life. A definition of the term mlffdis no easy one to write, and, moreover, it is doubtful whether such a fiefinition is necessary for the present discussion. Wmtever it may be, I think we all have a fairly clear conception of it and ordinarily have little Aifficulty disthguiskfng the animate from the inani- mate. It might be interesting to see if we can, on a scientific level, ex- amine its origins fn a more detailed fashion and arrive at same rational picture of what went on* Since none of us were there, we are pretty free to Piseuss it at liberty without fear of contragiction! It is extremely difficult to create a new idea in this area in which men have been thinking for so long, in spite of the great strides which have been macfe in the more readily accessible physical sciences, Only a month (*) DelivereB at meeting of Rochester Section American Chemical Society, Novenbar 22, 1952% as aftep-dinner bblr following the Harrison Hawe betme. ("*I The work describer7 in this wpm was sponsored by the U, So Atomic Ehergy Cdssion, or two ago, a rather lang article on it appare? as timely news in a popular weew news magazine. Most ~f what was sai3 in this article has been said be- foree It was sai3 as early as 1928 by the well-known British biologist, JB,S. KaMane; it was sairt again in 1936 by the not so well-hewn Russian biologist, A, I, Oprfn; it was sai8 agzfn in 1752 by the very weU-known American chemist? Harold Urey; an8 it will, be saf? again here by way of fntrofiuction to our own small contsibution, In essence? this continudly reiterate? suggestion is that chemical molecules of a high degree of complexity were created as a result of the inci- 8ence uwn the surface of the earth, prior to the existence of any living thfig, of high energy rafiiation, These might be cosrriic rays from outer spice or ultm- violet rays from our own sun, The essential requirement is that they contain relatively large amounts of energy in extremely concentrated pelsages, such that if we were to sttsin them by ,heating, the temperature would have to be at least 50,000 fiegees [for ultraviolet] and deep into the millions for the higher energies, These concentrate8 mckages of energy, which, for present purposes, can be visualize8 as very high-spe? prticles (photons, electrons, ete,) wodrl dismember many molecules in the course of their absorpbion on the earth88 surface, Some of these reactive ikagmnts, dmii'lg the settling back pocek, woul? combine in new ways, which woul8 constitute larger molecules retaining in themselves some small part of the energy of the original ray which pssed through, These new an8 larger molecules were concentrate3 g~a?u- ally by the evaporation ~f tidal pools, or sanething of that kii-16, until eventually rather large aggregates of complex molecules, even to the sinple proteins or nuclefc aci6s, .might have come into bekig. Mm the evidence for this, ~~tfl.a year or so agos was purely. specula- tive. It seemed to us, in Berkeley, that it wodd be worth.rhile to 60 an experi- ment or two which wotiid give us some idea as to whether this coulQ take place or not -- whether this eonstsuction of complex molecules from simple ones coulc3 have taken place at all in a world, or in a planet upon which no life existed . This was not difficult to 30 -- in Berkeley, at least, We made solutions of carbon ilid3e9 ammonia an8 various other simple molecules which are suppose3 to have been the primordial molecLLes on the planet and israPiatet? them wfth the cyelotrsn an8 then had a look to see what ha? become of them, Sure enough, they were built into larger molecules, The carbon Aioxiae was re?ucecs' in such solutions by irracs'iation with high energy radiations, to formaldehyde and fosmic acid, Formalclehyde, upm irrairiation in such a manner, produce3 mole- cules containing mom than one carbon atam (the first two molecules menti one8 eontaineP only one carbon atom each], an8 we were thus able to make two- carbon atom containing molecules, From the two-carbon atom containing mole- cules, we mAe four-carbon atom molecules and the research is far from over, In the last report that a6 have seen, the cyclotron workers had isolated six- and eight-carbo~atom contsbining molecules from such SrraQiations an? I feel sure that if they wish they can make more complex ones, So9 the experi- mental evidence for the possibility of the creation of larger molecules fro= smaller ones by hig~energy aaAiation is, I think, well establishecl, The effiofaney wfth which the energy is wed an3 store3 in chemical substances by such a process is, however, vexy minutee 1% woul2 require many millenia as well as a peat variety of changes in the surface condi- tfons of the earth in order to accumulate an8 concentrate very much compkx organic material in this way, even in the absence of any indepndent px- cess for its 3ecomposi_tion, It fsq of course) pssib1e to dghe the appearance in such a milieu of moleedes which'might act as sensitizers (much as in moc9ern photof;saphic emulsion) to increase considerabb* the effi- ciency of capture and conversion of ultraviolet Ught prticularly, They might also increase somewhat the specificity of the conversion, ice,, to be a bit selective of the typ of molecules into which the energy is con- verte3. Such a process might be said to constitute a very primitive form of ghotosynthesis, but it is 8ifficult even to imagine this kin? of purely chemical evolution proceeding very far on the road to the highly efficient and extremely specific process which we know as photosynthesis today, It seems highly likely that an organizer! self-reproducing mutatable structure must have arf sen first. bn a,ny case, we will not pursue this line of develop- ment any further here, The next step is the creation of a unit which could aggregate upon itself, from a homogeneous rnibfeu, constituent molecules an8 thus build them up to reproduce itself like the f omtion of a twinned crystal (from a con- centmted solution of its components) f ollowed by its splitting, Thus, two identical units woulll w-st where only one existed before. Witn this no- tion cif self-reprdu~tion~we have what some pople have elected to call a living organism, These livfng organism [these self-re producf ng units ) would have all sorts of molecules to draw upon, The season for that is that there were no Evfng things to rksLsoy them -- there were no bacteria9 no organisms of any Bindo So what was created by radiation, remained and accu- mikite?, Gradually, these self-reproducing units began to use up the frag- ments from which they repoducec? %hemslves. Ekentually there earn a time when some one essential unit was missing in the mixture in which they a- fstsd, an8 %he structure brkich cod? n~%repoduce without unit die6 away, but those which at first by pure accident happaned to fom that unit from still simpler ones continued to exist, This cycle of exhaustion of the more complex molecules followed by success in their formation from the still plentiful simpler ones could be repeated over and over, Thus were create? the biosynthetic sequences which we are graAualQv an8 laboriously mapping in the organisms of today, It is interesting to observe that such a back- ward mechanism as this can evolve piths of developnent, each turn and twist of which seems to be directed toward a desire? or preconceive3 end, One of the important aspcts of this problem concerns the transition from a situation in which all the chemical raw materials are available ready made for the use of the self-reproducing unit into one in which no organized raw materials are available except carbon didde, air and water, This transi- tion must have taken place because the latter is what we have today, The only raw materials which are freely available are carbon dioxide, water and the sun" energy,, The green plant can convert these into all variety of re- duced c$mpounds which the animals then eat an3 convert further, But in the beginning, that was not the situation, So there must have been some transi- tion mse between the condition in which the original things (the original self-reproducing units) ha8 all the require8 raw materials an8 the condition which we have togay in which they have not, and in which all life is ulti- mately Ilepnilent upn the ability of green plants to utilize the visible light from the sun to produce the organized chemical raw materials necessary for life, This last process is the one we call photosynthesis.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Issue
    Cell Circuitry || Science Teaches English || The Chicken Genome Is Hot || Magnets in Medicine SEPTEMBER 2002 www.hhmi.org/bulletin Leading Doublea Life It’s a stretch, but doctors who work bench to bedside say they wouldn’t do it any other way. FEATURES 14 On Human Terms 24 The Evolutionary War A small—some say too small—group of Efforts to undermine evolution education have physician-scientists believes the best science evolved into a 21st-century marketing cam- requires patient contact. paign that relies on legal acumen, manipulation By Marlene Cimons of scientific literature and grassroots tactics. 20 Engineering the Cell By Trisha Gura Adam Arkin sees the cell as a mechanical system. He hopes to transform molecular 28 Call of the Wild biology into a kind of cellular engineering Could quirky, new animal models help scien- and in the process, learn how to move cells tists learn how to regenerate human limbs or from sickness to health. avert the debilitating effects of a stroke? By M. Mitchell Waldrop By Kathryn Brown 24 In front of a crowd of 1,500, Ohio’s Board of Education heard testimony on whether students should learn about intelligent design in science class. DEPARTMENTS 2 NOTA BENE 33 PERSPECTIVE ulletin Intelligent Design Is a Cop-Out 4 LETTERS September 2002 || Volume 15 Number 3 NEWS AND NOTES HHMI TRUSTEES PRESIDENT’S LETTER 5 JAMES A. BAKER, III, ESQ. 34 Senior Partner, Baker & Botts A Creative Influence In from the Fields ALEXANDER G. BEARN, M.D. Executive Officer, American Philosophical Society 35 Lost on the Tip of the Tongue Adjunct Professor, The Rockefeller University UP FRONT Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Cornell University Medical College 36 Biology by Numbers FRANK WILLIAM GAY 6 Follow the Songbird Former President and Chief Executive Officer, SUMMA Corporation JAMES H.
    [Show full text]
  • Date: To: September 22, 1 997 Mr Ian Johnston©
    22-SEP-1997 16:36 NOBELSTIFTELSEN 4& 8 6603847 SID 01 NOBELSTIFTELSEN The Nobel Foundation TELEFAX Date: September 22, 1 997 To: Mr Ian Johnston© Company: Executive Office of the Secretary-General Fax no: 0091-2129633511 From: The Nobel Foundation Total number of pages: olO MESSAGE DearMrJohnstone, With reference to your fax and to our telephone conversation, I am enclosing the address list of all Nobel Prize laureates. Yours sincerely, Ingr BergstrSm Mailing address: Bos StU S-102 45 Stockholm. Sweden Strat itddrtSMi Suircfatan 14 Teleptelrtts: (-MB S) 663 » 20 Fsuc (*-«>!) «W Jg 47 22-SEP-1997 16:36 NOBELSTIFTELSEN 46 B S603847 SID 02 22-SEP-1997 16:35 NOBELSTIFTELSEN 46 8 6603847 SID 03 Professor Willis E, Lamb Jr Prof. Aleksandre M. Prokhorov Dr. Leo EsaJki 848 North Norris Avenue Russian Academy of Sciences University of Tsukuba TUCSON, AZ 857 19 Leninskii Prospect 14 Tsukuba USA MSOCOWV71 Ibaraki Ru s s I a 305 Japan 59* c>io Dr. Tsung Dao Lee Professor Hans A. Bethe Professor Antony Hewlsh Department of Physics Cornell University Cavendish Laboratory Columbia University ITHACA, NY 14853 University of Cambridge 538 West I20th Street USA CAMBRIDGE CB3 OHE NEW YORK, NY 10027 England USA S96 014 S ' Dr. Chen Ning Yang Professor Murray Gell-Mann ^ Professor Aage Bohr The Institute for Department of Physics Niels Bohr Institutet Theoretical Physics California Institute of Technology Blegdamsvej 17 State University of New York PASADENA, CA91125 DK-2100 KOPENHAMN 0 STONY BROOK, NY 11794 USA D anni ark USA 595 600 613 Professor Owen Chamberlain Professor Louis Neel ' Professor Ben Mottelson 6068 Margarldo Drive Membre de rinstitute Nordita OAKLAND, CA 946 IS 15 Rue Marcel-Allegot Blegdamsvej 17 USA F-92190 MEUDON-BELLEVUE DK-2100 KOPENHAMN 0 Frankrike D an m ar k 599 615 Professor Donald A.
    [Show full text]
  • Melvin Calvin
    M ELVIN C A L V I N The path of carbon in photosynthesis Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1961 Introduction It is almost sixty years since Emil Fischer was describing on a platform such as this one, some of the work which led to the basic knowledge of the struc- ture of glucose and its relatives 1 . Today we will be concerned with a de- scription of the experiments which have led to a knowledge of the principal reactions by which those carbohydrate structures are created by photo- synthetic organisms from carbon dioxide and water, using the energy of light. The speculations on the way in which carbohydrate was built from carbon dioxide began not long after the recognition of the basic reaction and were carried forward first by Justus von Liebig and then by Adolf von Baeyer and, finally, by Richard Willstätter and Arthur Stall into this century. Actually, the route by which animal organisms performed the reverse reaction, that is, the combustion of carbohydrate to carbon dioxide and water with the utili- zation of the energy resulting from this combination, turned out to be the first one to be successfully mapped, primarily by Otto Meyerhof 2 and Hans Krebs 3. Our own interest in the basic process of solar energy conversion by green plants, which is represented by the overall reaction began some time in the years between 1935 and 1937, during my post- doctoral studies with Professor Michael Polanyi at Manchester. It was there I first became conscious of the remarkable properties of coordinated metal compounds, particularly metalloporphyrins as represented by heme and chlorophyll.
    [Show full text]
  • Documenting the Biotechnology Industry in the San Francisco Bay Area
    Documenting the Biotechnology Industry In the San Francisco Bay Area Robin L. Chandler Head, Archives and Special Collections UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management 1997 1 Table of Contents Project Goals……………………………………………………………………….p. 3 Participants Interviewed………………………………………………………….p. 4 I. Documenting Biotechnology in the San Francisco Bay Area……………..p. 5 The Emergence of An Industry Developments at the University of California since the mid-1970s Developments in Biotech Companies since mid-1970s Collaborations between Universities and Biotech Companies University Training Programs Preparing Students for Careers in the Biotechnology Industry II. Appraisal Guidelines for Records Generated by Scientists in the University and the Biotechnology Industry………………………. p. 33 Why Preserve the Records of Biotechnology? Research Records to Preserve Records Management at the University of California Records Keeping at Biotech Companies III. Collecting and Preserving Records in Biotechnology…………………….p. 48 Potential Users of Biotechnology Archives Approaches to Documenting the Field of Biotechnology Project Recommendations 2 Project Goals The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Library & Center for Knowledge Management and the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) are collaborating in a year-long project beginning in December 1996 to document the impact of biotechnology in the Bay Area. The collaborative effort is focused upon the development of an archival collecting model for the field of biotechnology to acquire original papers, manuscripts and records from selected individuals, organizations and corporations as well as coordinating with the effort to capture oral history interviews with many biotechnology pioneers. This project combines the strengths of the existing UCSF Biotechnology Archives and the UCB Program in the History of the Biological Sciences and Biotechnology and will contribute to an overall picture of the growth and impact of biotechnology in the Bay Area.
    [Show full text]
  • Profiles, Pathways and Dreams: from Naïveté to the Hist Award
    Bull. Hist. Chem., VOLUME 43, Number 2 (2018) 45 PROFILES, PATHWAYS AND DREAMS: FROM NAÏVETÉ TO THE HIST AWARD Jeffrey I. Seeman, Department of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, USA, 23173, [email protected] Editor’s Note the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry publishes that presentation. Seeman, a strong supporter of the Bulletin, Jeffrey I. Seeman of the University of Richmond preferred to be in the audience rather than lecture at the is the 2017 recipient of the HIST Award for Outstand- symposium. Nonetheless, he happily provided an award ing Lifetime Achievement in the History of Chemistry, manuscript for the Bulletin. He consulted several col- awarded annually by the American Chemical Society leagues on an appropriate topic for his award paper, and (ACS) Division of the History of Chemistry (HIST). This the following article is the result. In what follows, readers international award has been granted since 1956 under will get to know several of the 20th century’s prominent sequential sponsorships by the Dexter Chemical Com- organic chemists as well as Seeman. pany, the Sidney M. Edelstein Family and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and HIST. Among the highlights —Carmen Giunta, Editor of Seeman’s work in history of chemistry are numerous articles on the history of 20th-century organic chemistry, Introduction service on the executive committee of HIST including a term as chair, founding and administering HIST’s Cita- Work like you don’t need the money. Love like tion for Chemical Breakthrough Award program, the pro- you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching.
    [Show full text]
  • In This Issue to Launch Celebration of 20Th Anniversary of IACS
    Vol. 15 No. 1 • February 2016 Promoting Cardiovascular Education, Research and Prevention CV Network THE OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF CARDIOVASCULAR SCIENCES PUBLISHED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DAVID N DREMAN FOUNDATION, MYLES ROBINSON MEMORIAL HEART TRUST & ST. BONIFACE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION In this issue To launch celebration of 20th Anniversary of IACS 02 Special Recognition for Ivan Berkowitz MBA 02 A Message from the President 03 Medal of Merit Recipients 21 Other IACS Awards Winners 23 2016 IACS Awards and Acknowledgements 24 IACS Fellows 26 IACS Officers and Executive Council Members 27 IACS Fellows Emeritus 27 Editorial Board 28 20 years of IACS meetings held around the world 31 Official Journals of IACS 32 Winnipeg Caribbean Community Launches CVD Program 33 CTAEGYPT 2016 – Cairo, Egypt – April 28-30, 2016 34 Peru/Brazil Postdoctoral Joint Meeting – Lima, Peru – May 20-21, 2016 35 Argentina/Brazil Postdoctoral Joint Meeting – Buenos Aires, Argentina July 21, 2016 36 4th Cardiovascular Forum for Promoting Centres of Excellence and Young Investigators – Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada – September 22-24, 2016 37 European Section Cruise – October 1-4, 2016 38 26th Scientific Forum – Belo Horizonte, Brazil – October 20-22, 2016 39 8th International Conference on Translation Research in Cardiovascular Science – Gujarat, India 42 XXV Scientific Forum – International Congress of Cardiovascular Sciences in Brazil 43 Officers of Different Sections of the Academy 44 Remembering Someone Special 44 Honorary Life Presidency 45 Retire? Not a chance – it’s time for a major new focus! 48 Bill Clinton – Decide to live a healthier life www.heartacademy.org CV Network – Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Nobel Prize Laureates
    Jewish Nobel Prize Laureates In December 1902, the first Nobel Prize was awarded in Stockholm to Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of X-rays. Alfred Nobel (1833-96), a Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite, had bequeathed a $9 million endowment to fund significant cash prizes ($40,000 in 1901, about $1 million today) to those individuals who had made the most important contributions in five domains (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace); the sixth, in "Economic Sciences," was added in 1969. Nobel could hardly have imagined the almost mythic status that would accrue to the laureates. From the start "The Prize" became one of the most sought-after awards in the world, and eventually the yardstick against which other prizes and recognition were to be measured. Certainly the roster of Nobel laureates includes many of the most famous names of the 20th century: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill, Albert Camus, Boris Pasternak, Albert Schweitzer, the Dalai Lama and many others. Nobel Prizes have been awarded to approximately 850 laureates of whom at least 177 of them are/were Jewish although Jews comprise less than 0.2% of the world's population. In the 20th century, Jews, more than any other minority, ethnic or cultural, have been recipients of the Nobel Prize. How to account for Jewish proficiency at winning Nobel’s? It's certainly not because Jews do the judging. All but one of the Nobel’s are awarded by Swedish institutions (the Peace Prize by Norway). The standard answer is that the premium placed on study and scholarship in Jewish culture inclines Jews toward more education, which in turn makes a higher proportion of them "Nobel-eligible" than in the larger population.
    [Show full text]
  • Remembering Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), a Highly Versatile Scientist of the 20Th Century
    Remembering Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), a highly versatile scientist of the 20th century Govindjee Govindjee, Arthur Nonomura & Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler Photosynthesis Research Official Journal of the International Society of Photosynthesis Research ISSN 0166-8595 Photosynth Res DOI 10.1007/s11120-019-00693-y 1 23 Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Nature B.V.. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com”. 1 23 Author's personal copy Photosynthesis Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-019-00693-y HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY Remembering Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), a highly versatile scientist of the 20th century Govindjee Govindjee1 · Arthur Nonomura2 · Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler3 Received: 7 October 2019 / Accepted: 17 November 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract Melvin Calvin (1911–1997) was the recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of the canonical pho- tosynthetic carbon reduction cycle. We present here a very brief glimpse of this extraordinary American scientist, who in his time was a preeminent force in physical and organic chemistry.
    [Show full text]
  • Signature Redacted
    MELVIN CALVIN: NOBEL-WINNING CHEMIST AND SETI SCIENTIST WANNABE By Maria C. Temming B.A. Physics and English Elon University, 2016 SUBMITTED TO THE PROGRAM IN COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES/WRITING IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SCIENCE WRITING AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 2017 @ 2017 Maria C. Temming. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: Signature redacted Program in Comparative Meq' dies/ Writing X May 22, 2017 redacted__ Certified ________:Signature_ _ _ _ _ ___ by:__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Marcia Bartusiak Prokssor of the Practi , Graduate Program in Science Writing Thesis Advisor Accepted by: Signature redacted Seth Mnookin Director, Graduate Program in Science Writing MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES ARCHIVES 2 MELVIN CALVIN: NOBEL-WINNING CHEMIST AND SETI SCIENTIST WANNABE By Maria C. Temming Submitted to the Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing on May 22, 2017 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Science Writing ABSTRACT Melvin Calvin spent more than a decade answering one longstanding question in biochemistry: how did plants use carbon dioxide to manufacture carbohydrates in photosynthesis? This research earned Calvin a Nobel Prize-an honor that catapulted him to international fame, secured him spots on presidential advisory committees, and got him plenty of textbook mentions. But even though Calvin's claim to fame was his work on photosynthesis, his longest- running passion project was investigating the origins of life in the universe.
    [Show full text]
  • Federation Member Society Nobel Laureates
    FEDERATION MEMBER SOCIETY NOBEL LAUREATES For achievements in Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, and PHysics. Award Winners announced annually in October. Awards presented on December 10th, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. (-H represents Honorary member, -R represents Retired member) # YEAR AWARD NAME AND SOCIETY DOB DECEASED 1 1904 PM Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (APS-H) 09/14/1849 02/27/1936 for work on the physiology of digestion, through which knowledge on vital aspects of the subject has been transformed and enlarged. 2 1912 PM Alexis Carrel (APS/ASIP) 06/28/1873 01/05/1944 for work on vascular suture and the transplantation of blood vessels and organs 3 1919 PM Jules Bordet (AAI-H) 06/13/1870 04/06/1961 for discoveries relating to immunity 4 1920 PM August Krogh (APS-H) 11/15/1874 09/13/1949 (Schack August Steenberger Krogh) for discovery of the capillary motor regulating mechanism 5 1922 PM A. V. Hill (APS-H) 09/26/1886 06/03/1977 Sir Archibald Vivial Hill for discovery relating to the production of heat in the muscle 6 1922 PM Otto Meyerhof (ASBMB) 04/12/1884 10/07/1951 (Otto Fritz Meyerhof) for discovery of the fixed relationship between the consumption of oxygen and the metabolism of lactic acid in the muscle 7 1923 PM Frederick Grant Banting (ASPET) 11/14/1891 02/21/1941 for the discovery of insulin 8 1923 PM John J.R. Macleod (APS) 09/08/1876 03/16/1935 (John James Richard Macleod) for the discovery of insulin 9 1926 C Theodor Svedberg (ASBMB-H) 08/30/1884 02/26/1971 for work on disperse systems 10 1930 PM Karl Landsteiner (ASIP/AAI) 06/14/1868 06/26/1943 for discovery of human blood groups 11 1931 PM Otto Heinrich Warburg (ASBMB-H) 10/08/1883 08/03/1970 for discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme 12 1932 PM Lord Edgar D.
    [Show full text]
  • Remembering Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), a Highly Versatile Scientist of the 20Th Century
    Author's personal copy Photosynthesis Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-019-00693-y HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY Remembering Melvin Calvin (1911–1997), a highly versatile scientist of the 20th century Govindjee Govindjee1 · Arthur Nonomura2 · Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler3 Received: 7 October 2019 / Accepted: 17 November 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract Melvin Calvin (1911–1997) was the recipient of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of the canonical pho- tosynthetic carbon reduction cycle. We present here a very brief glimpse of this extraordinary American scientist, who in his time was a preeminent force in physical and organic chemistry. Besides natural photosynthesis, Calvin’s prolifc career included artifcial photosynthesis, colors of organic substances, the origin of life, cancer, moon rocks, molecular basis of learning, and plant lipids & algal hydrocarbons as potential renewable sources of transport fuels. Keywords American ingenuity · Andrew A. Benson · James A. Bassham · Carbon reduction cycle · Calvin Lab · Mr. Photosynthesis To this goal of understanding, all men—scientists and laymen alike— Melvin Calvin: his life and work bring the humilities, which accompany recognition of beautiful and complex events. Each brings also the gift of his own experiences, which alone will allow insight into a profound phenomenon. Melvin Ellis Calvin was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, —Melvin Calvin (1969) on April 8, 1911. His father (Elias Calvin) was from Kalva- ria, Lithuania, and his mother [Rose (neé Hervitz) Calvin] was from Georgia, Russia. Elias worked as a cigar maker and later as an automotive mechanic and Rose was a homemaker. In 1942, Melvin Calvin married Genevieve Jemtegaard, who passed away in 1987.
    [Show full text]
  • Fong Discovered the Calvin Cycle: Molecular Model of Photosynthesis
    Fong Discovered the Calvin Cycle: Molecular Model of Photosynthesis This post records the author Francis K. Fong's finding of the Calvin cycle, or dark reactions in photosynthesis, as a federal tax conspiracy. It is the subject of an investigation reported on NSFfunding.com's Website enabled by the corroboration of Steve C. Beering, former Purdue president and former chairman of the National Science Board. Fig.A. Beering [pictured, center] corroborated [right] that the Calvin cycle is a financially motivated fraud, enabled by Purdue's news release published in Chem. & Eng. News 33, 2809 (July 4, 1955) [left] On May 15, 1995, Beering wrote, Fig.A: "In 1951. Purdue Trustees through Roger Branigin acquired the Lawler tract with federal reimbursement funds paid to Purdue Research Foundation, ("PRF") and improved it with additional federal funding obtained upon Purdue's news release of July 1959 (sic 1955), contrary to fact, that the federally funded Lawrence Radiation Laboratory had demonstrated, in vitro, the dark photosynthetic cycle. [See, Fig.A left] Meanwhile, the Trustees built Purdue's Calumet Extension Center on Woodmar Realty land purchased in bankruptcy proceedings presided over by 7th Circuit Judge Swygert, and incorporated Purdue-Calumet Development Foundation ("PCDF")." Fig.B. Comparision in support of Beering's corroboration that the news story, left, for establishing the dark cycle, reaction (D), left, is contrary to Calvin's original papers on the Berkeley group's experimental proof of reaction (L), right. For a detailed report on Beering's corroboration of the financial impetus for establishing the Calvin cycle, see, the December 13, 2011 post on the origins of the Calvin cycle.
    [Show full text]