Michael Rossmann
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Carl-Ivar Brändén 1934–2004
OBITUARY Carl-Ivar Brändén 1934–2004 Shuguang Zhang, Alexander Rich, Joel L Sussman & Alan R Fersht Carl-Ivar Brändén of the Karolinska Institute died on April 28, 2004, higher language so the whole program was written in machine code. two weeks short of his 70th birthday. Carl (“Calle” to his friends and It took six months for Brändén to write a detailed flow chart, four family) was born in a tiny village in Lappland in the far north of months for Åsbrink to write the machine code and one year for them Sweden. His father was the local schoolteacher and Carl spent his first to debug the program. Over the next ten years this program was used six years at school under his own father’s supervision. There were only by the entire Scandinavian crystallographic community and was top- 15 children in the school, all in the same classroom, so when one age rated in the use of computer time for both BESK and its much group was in session, the other pupils were studying on their own. He improved successor FACIT. learned at an early age to concentrate on his work and ignore the noise In order to graduate, Carl had to take another course. His choice was around him. The village was poor and scholarly pursuit was unheard biochemistry. This decision completely changed his plans for the of. The climate consisted of nine months of winter and three months future, because he realized that he could apply his knowledge of crys- of cold wind; but nature was wonderful with beautiful lakes filled with tallography to scientifically important and intellectually stimulating lots of fish and deep forests full of berries and mushrooms and trees to problems in biology. -
Michael G. Rossmann (1930-2019) | Biofisica #15, Sep–Dec 2019
http://biofisica.info/ Michael G. Rossmann (1930-2019) | Biofisica #15, Sep–Dec 2019 Biofísica M a g a z i n e IN MEMORIAM Michael G. Rossmann (1930-2019) A towering figure of molecular biophysics Celerino Abad-Zapatero, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL (USA) . ICHAEL G. ROSSMANN, a towering figure in structure biology, was scheduled to give a plenary lecture at the 69th Annual Meeting of the American M Crystallographic Association – ACA in Covington, Kentucky on July 20th. His unexpected passing (May 14th, 2019 in West Lafayette, IN, USA) changed the lecture into a celebration of his scientific legacy with contributions from former students, postdocs, colleagues and the macromolecular crystallography community at large [1]. For students, postdocs and even younger practitioners of macromolecular crystallography, the name of MICHAEL ROSSMANN may bring associations with obscure Michael G. Rossmann references in technical journals of crystallography, or more recently, reference to X-ray (1930-2019). structures of large biological assemblies (i.e. viruses) and spectacular cryo-EM image reconstructions, without truly appreciating the monumental contributions that this premier figure of the field has made since the very early days of protein crystallography. MICHAEL, and physicists such as JOHN D. BERNAL, FRANCIS H. CRICK and others, established the methods and the physico-chemical basis for the interpretation of biological phenomena in terms of the atomic structures of the constituent macromolecules: they provided the framework for molecular biophysics. Fortunately, a selection of MICHAEL’s papers with some biographical notes and commentaries was published a few years ago [2], where the younger ‘apprentices’ of the field can appreciate his monumental contributions. -
Ian Rae: “Two Croatian Chemists Who Were Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry”
Croatian Studies Review 13 (2017) Ian Rae: “Two Croatian Chemists who were Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry” Ian Rae School of Chemistry University of Melbourne [email protected] Abstract Two organic chemists of Croatian origin, Leopold Ružička and Vladimir Prelog, made significant contributions to natural product chemistry during the twentieth century. They received their university education and research training in Germany and Czechoslovakia, respectively. Both made their careers in Zürich, Switzerland, and both shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in 1939 and 1975, respectively. In this article, I have set the details of their lives and achievements against the education and research climates in Europe and other regions, especially as they apply to the field of chemistry. Key words: Croatia, organic, chemistry, Nobel, Ružička, Prelog 31 Croatian Studies Review 13 (2017) Introduction1 In the twentieth century two organic chemists of Croatian origin were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They were Lavoslav (Leopold) Ružička (1887-1976) and Vladimir Prelog (1906-1998), whose awards came in 1939 and 1975, respectively. Both were living and working in Switzerland at the time of the awards and it was in that country – specifically in the city of Zürich – that they performed the research that made them Nobel Laureates. To understand the careers of Ružička and Prelog, and of many other twentieth century organic chemists, we need to look back to the nineteenth century when German chemists were the leaders in this field of science. Two developments characterise this German hegemony: the introduction of the research degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and the close collaboration between organic chemists in industry and university. -
Microbiology Immunology Cent
years This booklet was created by Ashley T. Haase, MD, Regents Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, with invaluable input from current and former faculty, students, and staff. Acknowledgements to Colleen O’Neill, Department Administrator, for editorial and research assistance; the ASM Center for the History of Microbiology and Erik Moore, University Archivist, for historical documents and photos; and Ryan Kueser and the Medical School Office of Communications & Marketing, for design and production assistance. UMN Microbiology & Immunology 2019 Centennial Introduction CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF MICROBIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY This brief history captures the last half century from the last history and features foundational ideas and individuals who played prominent roles through their scientific contributions and leadership in microbiology and immunology at the University of Minnesota since the founding of the University in 1851. 1. UMN Microbiology & Immunology 2019 Centennial Microbiology at Minnesota MICROBIOLOGY AT MINNESOTA Microbiology at Minnesota has been From the beginning, faculty have studied distinguished from the beginning by the bacteria, viruses, and fungi relevant to breadth of the microorganisms studied important infectious diseases, from and by the disciplines and sub-disciplines early studies of diphtheria and rabies, represented in the research and teaching of through poliomyelitis, streptococcal and the faculty. The Microbiology Department staphylococcal infection to the present itself, as an integral part of the Medical day, HIV/AIDS and co-morbidities, TB and School since the department’s inception cryptococcal infections, and influenza. in 1918-1919, has been distinguished Beyond medical microbiology, veterinary too by its breadth, serving historically microbiology, microbial physiology, as the organizational center for all industrial microbiology, environmental microbiological teaching and research microbiology and ecology, microbial for the whole University. -
Los Premios Nobel De Química
Los premios Nobel de Química MATERIAL RECOPILADO POR: DULCE MARÍA DE ANDRÉS CABRERIZO Los premios Nobel de Química El campo de la Química que más premios ha recibido es el de la Quí- mica Orgánica. Frederick Sanger es el único laurea- do que ganó el premio en dos oca- siones, en 1958 y 1980. Otros dos también ganaron premios Nobel en otros campos: Marie Curie (física en El Premio Nobel de Química es entregado anual- 1903, química en 1911) y Linus Carl mente por la Academia Sueca a científicos que so- bresalen por sus contribuciones en el campo de la Pauling (química en 1954, paz en Física. 1962). Seis mujeres han ganado el Es uno de los cinco premios Nobel establecidos en premio: Marie Curie, Irène Joliot- el testamento de Alfred Nobel, en 1895, y que son dados a todos aquellos individuos que realizan Curie (1935), Dorothy Crowfoot Ho- contribuciones notables en la Química, la Física, la dgkin (1964), Ada Yonath (2009) y Literatura, la Paz y la Fisiología o Medicina. Emmanuelle Charpentier y Jennifer Según el testamento de Nobel, este reconocimien- to es administrado directamente por la Fundación Doudna (2020) Nobel y concedido por un comité conformado por Ha habido ocho años en los que no cinco miembros que son elegidos por la Real Aca- demia Sueca de las Ciencias. se entregó el premio Nobel de Quí- El primer Premio Nobel de Química fue otorgado mica, en algunas ocasiones por de- en 1901 al holandés Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff. clararse desierto y en otras por la Cada destinatario recibe una medalla, un diploma y situación de guerra mundial y el exi- un premio económico que ha variado a lo largo de los años. -
Michael G. Rossmann (1930–2019
obituary Michael G. Rossmann (1930–2019), pioneer in macromolecular and virus crystallography: scientist, mentor and friend ISSN 2059-7983 Eddy Arnold,a* Hao Wub,c and John E. Johnsond aCenter for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA, bDepartment of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA, cProgram in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA, and dDepartment of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. *Correspondence e-mail: [email protected] Keywords: obituaries; Michael Rossmann. Michael George Rossmann, who made monumental contributions to science, passed away peacefully in West Lafayette, Indiana on 14 May 2019 at the age of 88, following a courageous five-year battle with cancer. Michael was born in Frankfurt, Germany on 30 July 1930. As a young boy, he emigrated to England with his mother just as World War II ignited. Michael was a highly innovative and energetic person, well known for his intensity, persistence and focus in pursuing his research goals. Michael was a towering figure in crystallography as a highly distinguished faculty member at Purdue University for 55 years. Michael made many seminal contributions to crystallography in a career that spanned the entirety of structural biology, beginning in the 1950s at Cambridge where the first protein structures were determined in the laboratories of Max Perutz (hemoglobin, 1960) and John Kendrew (myoglobin, 1958). Michael’s work was central in establishing and defining the field of structural biology, which amazingly has described the structures of a vast array of complex biological molecules and assemblies in atomic detail. -
A Nobel Synthesis
MILESTONES IN CHEMISTRY Ian Grayson A nobel synthesis IAN GRAYSON Evonik Degussa GmbH, Rodenbacher Chaussee 4, Hanau-Wolfgang, 63457, Germany he first Nobel Prize for chemistry was because it is a scientific challenge, as he awarded in 1901 (to Jacobus van’t Hoff). described in his Nobel lecture: “The synthesis T Up to 2010, the chemistry prize has been of brazilin would have no industrial value; awarded 102 times, to 160 laureates, of whom its biological importance is problematical, only four have been women (1). The most but it is worth while to attempt it for the prominent area for awarding the Nobel Prize sufficient reason that we have no idea how for chemistry has been in organic chemistry, in to accomplish the task” (4). which the Nobel committee includes natural Continuing the list of Nobel Laureates in products, synthesis, catalysis, and polymers. organic synthesis we arrive next at R. B. This amounts to 24 of the prizes. Reading the Woodward. Considered by many the greatest achievements of the earlier organic chemists organic chemist of the 20th century, he who were recipients of the prize, we see that devised syntheses of numerous natural they were drawn to synthesis by the structural Alfred Nobel, 1833-1896 products, including lysergic acid, quinine, analysis and characterisation of natural cortisone and strychnine (Figure 1). 6 compounds. In order to prove the structure conclusively, some In collaboration with Albert Eschenmoser, he achieved the synthesis, even if only a partial synthesis, had to be attempted. It is synthesis of vitamin B12, a mammoth task involving nearly 100 impressive to read of some of the structures which were deduced students and post-docs over many years. -
In Memory of Michael G. Rossmann: a Wise Man with a Forever Young Heart
viruses Obituary In Memory of Michael G. Rossmann: A Wise Man with a Forever Young Heart Chuan (River) Xiao Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; [email protected] Whenever I think about Michael’s passing, a sad feeling still strikes me. Two months before his eighty-ninth birthday, Michael left us and his beloved scientific research. His legendary achievements have been reviewed in several memorial articles [1–3]. Thus, I will not repeat here what has already been well written. Instead, I want to remember Michael as a great human being, whose impact touched many. Before I met Michael, I read his seminal publication on the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) structure. I used that structure as a template to model Rice GAPDH, which I manually sequenced in China. Therefore, I felt so lucky when I joined Michael’s group in 1998. I still remember the very first thing Michael taught me: “do not call me Professor Rossmann; call me Michael.” He described the historical association with the title “Professor” in the UK, stating that he would rather earn respect from his knowledge not his title. In the introductory lecture to my large undergraduate biochemistry classes, I always relay this story and tell my students that they can call me by my first name, River. This is just one example of how Michael influenced the culture at Purdue, where it is common for students to address professors by their first names, which is not the normal practice at many other places. -
In Defense of the Use of the French Language in Scientific
Bull. Hist. Chem., VOLUME 39, Number 1 (2014) 73 IN DEFENSE OF THE USE OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE IN SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION, 1965-1985: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DELIBERATIONS AND AN INGENIOUSLY CLEVER TAKEOFF ON THE THEME BY R. B. WOODWARD Joseph Gal, Departments of Medicine and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, [email protected] and Jeffrey I. Seeman, Department of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, jseeman@ richmond.edu Supplemental Material Abstract Introduction For many decades, French scientists, the French The international nature of chemistry—indeed, of Académie des Sciences, and the government of France science—is a truism. Operationally, however, the practice have been concerned about the declining use of French of doing and communicating chemistry is not equally within the scientific milieu and the trend toward English and symmetrically shared throughout the world. That is as the universally-accepted language to communicate also a truism. The evidence that English has become the science. This trend is discussed with a focus on the issues unofficial language throughout the world in chemistry most vigorously debated in the time period 1965-1985, is multifold. For example, English is the only accepted including the reduced use of French in international sci- language of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the official entific communication resulting from the dominance of journal of the International Union of Pure and Applied English. A summary of the merging of national-chemical- Chemistry (IUPAC). Indeed, there has been a gradual society journals into international journals is also present- disappearance of non-English chemistry journals over ed. -
Etter Early Career Award in Covington, KY Bruker AXS Inside Front Cover (4 Color) ACA - Structure Matters
American Crystallographic Association Structure Matters Number 2 Summer 2019 Etter Early Career Award in Covington, KY Bruker AXS Inside Front Cover (4 Color) ACA - Structure Matters www.AmerCrystalAssn.org What's on the Cover? The image at right is from Efrain Rodriguez, the 2019 Etter Early Career Award Winner. See page 6 for details. Table of Contents Joseph Ferrara Summer 2019 2019 ACA President 2019 ACA Award Winners 2 President’s Column to Be Honored in Covington, KY 3-5 Spring 2019 ACA Council Meeting Highlights 5 Contributors to this Issue 5 ACA Balance Sheet 6 What's on the Cover 8 ACA History Project News 9-13 News & Awards 9 One Million Structures 10 Thanks to ACA Community Efrain Rodriguez 11 Flippen-Anderson Poster Prize Etter Award 12-15 Michael Rossmann (1930-2019) Bryan Chakoumakos Eaton Lattman 16-17 James C. Phillips (1952-2019) Bau Award Frankuchen Award 17 Index of Advertisers 18-31 Candidates for ACA Offices in 2020 32 2019 Pan-African Crystallography Conference 33-34 US Crystal Growling Competition 36-38 Book Reviews 39 Puzzle Corner 40 Future Meetings 41 Corporate Members Brian Toby Robert Von Dreele Trueblood Award Trueblood Award Contributions to ACA RefleXions may be sent to either Editor: Please address matters pertaining to advertisements, Edwin D. Stevens .................................... [email protected] membership inquiries, or use of the ACA mailing list to: Paul Swepston..........................................paulswepston@me.com Kristin Stevens, Director of Administrative Services American Crystallographic Association Cover: Connie Rajnak Book Reviews: Joseph Ferrara P.O. Box 96, Ellicott Station Historian: Virginia Pett News & Awards Kay Onan Buffalo, NY 14205 Photographer: Richard Bromund Puzzle Corner: Frank Fronczek tel: 716-898-8627; fax: 716-898-8695 Copy Editing: Sue Byram Spotlight on Stamps: Daniel Rabinovich [email protected] Deadlines for contributions to ACA RefleXions are: February 1 (Spring), May 1 (Summer), August 1 (Fall), and November 1 (Winter) ACA RefleXions (ISSN 1058-9945) Number 4, 2018. -
50 Years of Protein Structure Analysis
doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2009.05.024 J. Mol. Biol. (2009) 392,2–32 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com 50 Years of Protein Structure Analysis Bror Strandberg1, Richard E. Dickerson2⁎ and Michael G. Rossmann3 1Department of Cell and Fifty years ago, Max Perutz and John Kendrew at Cambridge University Molecular Biology, achieved something that many people at the time considered impossible: Uppsala University, Box 596, they were the first to use x-ray crystallography to decipher the molecular SE-751 24 Uppsala, Sweden structures of proteins: haemoglobin and myoglobin. They found that both E-mail address: molecules were built from Linus Pauling's alpha helices, but folded and [email protected] packed together in a complicated manner that never could have been deciphered by any other technique. With structure information in hand they 2Molecular Biology Institute, could then explain how haemoglobin in the bloodstream binds and releases Boyer Hall, University of oxygen on cue, how it passes its cargo on to the related storage protein California at Los Angeles, myoglobin, and how a single amino acid mutation can produce the cata- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1570, strophe known as sickle-cell anemia. Perutz and Kendrew also observed USA that the folding of helices was identical in myoglobin and the two chains of E-mail address: haemoglobin, and this along with the simultaneously evolving new tech- [email protected] nique of amino acid sequence analysis established for the first time the concept of molecular evolution. 3Hockmeyer Hall of Structural The crystallographic puzzle was qcrackedq by Perutz when he demon- Biology, Purdue University, strated that the binding of only two heavy metal atoms to horse 249 South Martin Jischke Drive, haemoglobin changed the x-ray pattern enough to allow him to solve the West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, qphase problemq and circumvent the main obstacle to protein crystal USA structure analysis. -
List of Nobel Laureates 1
List of Nobel laureates 1 List of Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes (Swedish: Nobelpriset, Norwegian: Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institute, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in the fields of chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine.[1] They were established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel, which dictates that the awards should be administered by the Nobel Foundation. Another prize, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, was established in 1968 by the Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, for contributors to the field of economics.[2] Each prize is awarded by a separate committee; the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and Economics, the Karolinska Institute awards the Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Prize in Peace.[3] Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary award that has varied throughout the years.[2] In 1901, the recipients of the first Nobel Prizes were given 150,782 SEK, which is equal to 7,731,004 SEK in December 2007. In 2008, the winners were awarded a prize amount of 10,000,000 SEK.[4] The awards are presented in Stockholm in an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.[5] As of 2011, 826 individuals and 20 organizations have been awarded a Nobel Prize, including 69 winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.[6] Four Nobel laureates were not permitted by their governments to accept the Nobel Prize.