science · 10 April 1999 · 25 years ago
death
Died 10 Apr 1999 at age 88 (born 29 Jul 1910).
German-American biochemist who was the first to establish that reproduction of a virus is controlled by genetic information within its ribonucleic acid (RNA) core. His pioneering work was with the tobacco mosaic virus (1955), which he first disassembled into its hollow protein shell and the ribonucleic acid inside. Having taken care than neither portion was seriously damaged, he was then able to reassemble them as a live virus. He found that the protein was inert, but proved conclusively that the RNA genetic material was the infectious agent. He was the first scientist to show that virus molecules, still retaining viral life, could be thus reconstituted from its separated protein and RNA.
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