Svedberg, Hume-Rothery Receive Franklin Institute Medals
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Svedberg, Uume-Rothery Receive Franklin Institute Medals A STAFF REPORT A>* INTKRMKMATK type of molecule which may hold the secret of the origin of life was discussed in ι he acceptance address of The Svedberg. who was awarded the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Penn- sylvania in Philadelphia, Oct. 19. It is the giant molecule in solution, from which life probably developed in a primeval sea. according to Dr. Svedberg. At present this type of molecule, con- sisting of large but well defined molec- ular units in solution, is found only in synthesis products in living beings such as egg albumin and hemoglobin. Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for 1926 and until recently professor of physical chemistry at Uppsala Univer- sity. Dr. Svedberg is director of the new Gustaf Werner Institute for Nuclear Chemistry at Uppsala. Sweden. His new duties prevented his coming to the United States to accept the Franklin Medal in person so it was received for him by Ingemar Hâgglof, counselor of the Swedish Embassy in Washington. The medal was presented by Richard T. Nalle, president of the Franklin Insti- tute, at the medal day dinner in the institute's Franklin Hail. The Svedberg W. Hume-Rothery Dr. Svedberg was awarded the Frank- lin Medal, highest honor of the Frank- lin Institute, in recognition of his de- velopment of the ultracentrifuge, of his development of methods of use of the ultracentrifuge in determining molecular weights and the distribution of molecu- lar weights of high molecular weight proteins, and in consideration of his inspiring leadership of others in the field of colloid chemistry. Dr. Svedberg's ad- dress was read by his personal friend, J. Burton Nichols of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. Hume-Rothery In addition to Dr. Svedberg, 12 other scientists were honored at the medal day ceremonies. Among them was William Hume-Rothery, lecturer in metallurgical chemistry at the University of Oxford, England, who was awarded a Francis J. Clamer Medal in recognition of his work in scientifically determining and inter- preting the structure and behavior of metallic equilibrium systems. Dr. Hume-Rothery, a Royal Society Warren Research fellow, was cited as having brought the chemical viewpoint to his metallurgical studies. He is noted for having developed the rule which bears his name relating the ratio of electrons to atoms in many solid solu- tion alloys with the various types of crystal structure which are found in them. Unable to be present to receive the medal, Dr. Hume-Rothery was repre- sented by W. A. MacFarlane, scientific attaché to the British Embassy in Wash- ington. A John Price Wetherill Medal was awarded to Edgar Collins Bain, vice president in charge of research and tech- nology at the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Co. He was honored for his investigations into the structure of metallic alloys and his original work in application of the isothermal method of studying the rates of the transformations in steel, which are responsible for its hardening. Among the 10 other medalists who were honored were John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, Jr., of the Eckert- Mauchly Computer Corp., inventors of the first large-scale electronic digital computing machine, the ENIAC. They received Howard N. Potts medals. The remaining medals were awarded for various mechanical and electrical inven- tions and discoveries. Giant Molecules in Solution THE SVEDBERG, Gustaf Werner Institute for Nuclear Chemistry, Uppsala, Sweden l.\ A primeval sea, life probably origi- nated from further development of giant molecules in solution. How these were formed we do not know; as a pos- sible cause we might assume some chance combination of amino acids. In the solid state, well defined and closed mole- cules are rare, and we are therefore led to believe that such entities as protein molecules were first built up in a solu- tion. At present we find them only as synthesis products in living beings. The viruses occupy an intermediate position between dead and living matter, between protein molecules and bacteria, and they are known to exist in a liquid or semi- solid state. Such giant molecules as we know from the solid, crystalline state and which are incapable of directly going into solution without the action of chemical agents are not so well defined. They mostly represent the repetition of a basic unit in various degrees of polymerization. It was through physicochemical stud-, ies of protein solutions that the exist- ence of well defined giant molecules was found. The colloid character of proteins was recognized at an early date—as a matter of fact, the term "colloid" was coined from observations on a protein, gelatin—but the monodispersity or paucidispersity of these substances could not be proved by means of the methods in use at that time. Convection-free sedimentation in the ultracentrifuge combined with refined diffusion measurements gave the surpris- ing result that most of the proteins in solution and some of those in the con- densed state were built up of well defined molecular units. An enthusiastic team of young research men. rather interna- tional in character, carried out the first observations of this kind in Uppsala (the American Nichols, the Australian Lewis* the Swede Fahraeus. and the Romanian Chirnoaga). We bad happened to hit upon representatives of quite a few different classes of proteins for our first experiments, ranging in molecular weights from about 40.000 (egg al- bumen), about 70,000 (hemoglobin), and about 150,000 (phycocyan) about 300,000 (phycoerythrin), to about . 9,000,000 (hemocyanin). A rapid development followed, especially in America, England, and Sweden, both with regard to experi- mental tools and the investigation of substances. At present sedimentation constants can be measured with an ac- curacy better than V/c. In principal the sedimentation experi- ments are carried out in the following way: A small sample of the solution to be studied is enclosed between quarts windows in a sector-shaped cell, put into a suitable rotor (in Uppsala we used steel), and spun at high speed in low pressure (the Uppsala procedure) or in a vacuum. Observations of the sedi- menting boundary in the solution are carried out by means of refractive index or light absorption measurements. From the data thus obtained the sedimenta- tion constant is computed and, by combi- nation with the diffusion constant, the molecular weight can be found. Among the results on protein mole- cules existing spontaneously in solution, may be mentioned the following: The respiratory proteins are exceedingly well 3180 CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS
Transcript of Svedberg, Hume-Rothery Receive Franklin Institute Medals
Svedberg, Uume-Rothery Receive Franklin Institute Medals
A STAFF REPORT
A>* INTKRMKMATK type of molecule which may hold the secret of the origin of life was discussed in ι he acceptance address of The Svedberg. who was awarded the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Oct. 19. It is the giant molecule in solution, from which life probably developed in a primeval sea. according to Dr. Svedberg. At present this type of molecule, consisting of large but well defined molecular units in solution, is found only in synthesis products in living beings such as egg albumin and hemoglobin.
Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for 1926 and until recently professor of physical chemistry at Uppsala University. Dr. Svedberg is director of the new Gustaf Werner Institute for Nuclear Chemistry at Uppsala. Sweden. His new duties prevented his coming to the United States to accept the Franklin Medal in person so it was received for him by Ingemar Hâgglof, counselor of the Swedish Embassy in Washington. The medal was presented by Richard T. Nalle, president of the Franklin Institute, at the medal day dinner in the institute's Franklin Hail.
The Svedberg W. Hume-Rothery Dr. Svedberg was awarded the Frank
lin Medal, highest honor of the Franklin Institute, in recognition of his development of the ultracentrifuge, of his development of methods of use of the ultracentrifuge in determining molecular weights and the distribution of molecular weights of high molecular weight proteins, and in consideration of his inspiring leadership of others in the field of colloid chemistry. Dr. Svedberg's address was read by his personal friend, J. Burton Nichols of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
Hume-Rothery In addition to Dr. Svedberg, 12 other
scientists were honored at the medal day ceremonies. Among them was William Hume-Rothery, lecturer in metallurgical chemistry at the University of Oxford, England, who was awarded a Francis J.
Clamer Medal in recognition of his work in scientifically determining and interpreting the structure and behavior of metallic equilibrium systems.
Dr. Hume-Rothery, a Royal Society Warren Research fellow, was cited as having brought the chemical viewpoint to his metallurgical studies. He is noted for having developed the rule which bears his name relating the ratio of electrons to atoms in many solid solution alloys with the various types of crystal structure which are found in them.
Unable to be present to receive the
medal, Dr. Hume-Rothery was represented by W. A. MacFarlane, scientific attaché to the British Embassy in Washington.
A John Price Wetherill Medal was awarded to Edgar Collins Bain, vice president in charge of research and technology at the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Co. He was honored for his investigations into the structure of metallic alloys and his original work in application of the isothermal method of studying the rates of the transformations in steel, which are responsible for its hardening.
Among the 10 other medalists who were honored were John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, Jr., of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., inventors of the first large-scale electronic digital computing machine, the ENIAC. They received Howard N. Potts medals. The remaining medals were awarded for various mechanical and electrical inventions and discoveries.
Giant Molecules in Solution T H E SVEDBERG, Gustaf Werner Institute for Nuclear Chemistry,
Uppsala, Sweden l . \ A primeval sea, life probably originated from further development of giant molecules in solution. How these were formed we do not know; as a possible cause we might assume some chance combination of amino acids. In the solid state, well defined and closed molecules are rare, and we are therefore led to believe that such entities as protein molecules were first built up in a solution. At present we find them only as synthesis products in living beings. The viruses occupy an intermediate position between dead and living matter, between protein molecules and bacteria, and they are known to exist in a liquid or semisolid state.
Such giant molecules as we know from the solid, crystalline state and which are incapable of directly going into solution without the action of chemical agents are not so well defined. They mostly represent the repetition of a basic unit in various degrees of polymerization.
It was through physicochemical stud-, ies of protein solutions that the existence of well defined giant molecules was found. The colloid character of proteins was recognized at an early date—as a matter of fact, the term "colloid" was coined from observations on a protein, gelatin—but the monodispersity or paucidispersity of these substances could not be proved by means of the methods in use at that time.
Convection-free sedimentation in the ultracentrifuge combined with refined diffusion measurements gave the surprising result that most of the proteins in solution and some of those in the condensed state were built up of well defined
molecular units. An enthusiastic team of young research men. rather international in character, carried out the first observations of this kind in Uppsala (the American Nichols, the Australian Lewis* the Swede Fahraeus. and the Romanian Chirnoaga). We bad happened to hit upon representatives of quite a few different classes of proteins for our first experiments, ranging in molecular weights from about 40.000 (egg albumen), about 70,000 (hemoglobin), and about 150,000 (phycocyan) about 300,000 (phycoerythrin), to about . 9,000,000 (hemocyanin). A rapid development followed, especially in America, England, and Sweden, both with regard to experimental tools and the investigation of substances. At present sedimentation constants can be measured with an accuracy better than V/c.
In principal the sedimentation experiments are carried out in the following way: A small sample of the solution to be studied is enclosed between quarts windows in a sector-shaped cell, put into a suitable rotor (in Uppsala we used steel), and spun at high speed in low pressure (the Uppsala procedure) or in a vacuum. Observations of the sedi-menting boundary in the solution are carried out by means of refractive index or light absorption measurements. From the data thus obtained the sedimentation constant is computed and, by combination with the diffusion constant, the molecular weight can be found.
Among the results on protein molecules existing spontaneously in solution, may be mentioned the following: The respiratory proteins are exceedingly well
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