Albrecht Kossel
Encyclopedia
Ludwig Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel (16 September 1853 – 5 July 1927) was a German biochemist
and pioneer in the study of genetics
. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
in 1910 for his work in determining the chemical composition of nucleic acids, the genetic substance of biological cells
.
Kossel isolated and described the five organic compounds that are present in nucleic acid
: adenine
, cytosine
, guanine
, thymine
, and uracil
. These compounds were later shown to be nucleobases, and are key in the formation of DNA
and RNA
, the genetic material found in all living cells.
Kossel was an important influence on and collaborator with other important researchers in biochemistry, including Henry Drysdale Dakin
, Friedrich Miescher
, Edwin B. Hart
, and his professor and mentor, Felix Hoppe-Seyler. Kossel was editor of the Zeitschrift für Physiologische Chemie
(Journal of Physiological Chemistry) from 1895 until his death.
Kossel also conducted important research into the composition of protein
, and his research predicted the discovery of the polypeptide nature of the protein molecule.
The Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration
at the University of Rostock
is named in his honor.
, Germany as the son of the merchant
and Prussia
n consul Albrecht Karl Ludwig Enoch Kossel and his wife Clara Jeppe Kossel. As a youth, Kossel attended the Gymnasium at Rostock, where he evidenced substantial interest in chemistry and botany.
In 1872, Kossel attended the University of Strasbourg
to study medicine. He studied under Felix Hoppe-Seyler, who was head of the department of biochemistry, the only such institution in Germany at the time. He attended lectures by Anton de Bary
, Waldeyer
, August Kundt
, and Baeyer. He completed his studies at University of Rostock
, and passed his German medical license exam in 1877.
, in 1869. Like protein, the substance contained considerable amounts of phosphorus, but with its high acidity, it was unlike any cellular substance that had to then been observed.
Kossel showed that the substance, called "nuclein", consisted of a protein component and a non-protein component. Kossel further isolated and described the non-protein component. This substance has become known as nucleic acid
, which contains the genetic information found in all living cells.
and worked under the supervision of Emil du Bois-Reymond
.
Kossel continued his previous work on the nucleic acids. During the period 1885 to 1901, he was able to isolate and name its five constituent organic compounds: adenine
, cytosine
, guanine
, thymine
, and uracil
. These compounds are now known collectively as nucleobases, and they provide the molecular structure necessary in the formation of stable DNA
and RNA
molecules.
s, the alterations in proteins during transformation into peptone, the peptide
components of cells, and other investigations.
In 1896, Kossel discovered histidine
, then worked out the classical method for the quantitative separation of the "hexone bases" (the alpha-amino acids arginine
, histidine
, and lysine
). He was also the first to isolate Theophylline
, a therapeutic drug found naturally in tea and cocoa beans.
In 1901, Kossel was named to a similar post at Heidelberg University, and became director of the Heidelberg Institute for Protein Investigation. His research predicted the discovery of the polypeptide nature of the protein molecule.
in 1910 for his research in cell biology
, the chemical composition of the cell nucleus
, and for his work in isolating and describing nucleic acid
s. The award was presented on 10 December 1910.
In the autumn of 1911, Kossel was invited to the United States to deliver the Herter Lecture at Johns Hopkins
. Traveling with his wife Luise and daughter Gertrude, he took the opportunity to travel and to visit acquaintances, one of which was Eugene W. Hilgard
, professor emeritus of agricultural chemistry
at the University of California at Berkeley, who was also his wife's cousin. He also visited and delivered lectures at several other universities, including the University of Chicago
.
On the occasion of his visit to New York City, Kossel was interviewed by a reporter from the New York Times. Kossel's English was reportedly very good, and his self-effacing modesty is voluminously mentioned in the reporter's account.
His Herter lecture at Johns Hopkins was titled, "The Proteins". This was the only time Kossel ever visited the United States.
, Kossel investigated arginase
, the ferment which hydrolyses arginine
into urea
and ornithine
. Later, he discovered agmatine
in herring roe and devised a method for preparing it.
Another of Kossel's students was American biochemist
Edwin B. Hart
, who would later return to the United States to participate in the "Single-grain experiment
" (1907–1911) and be part of research teams that would determine the nutritive
causes of anemia
and goiter
. Another was Otto Folin
, an American chemist who discovered Phosphocreatine
.
In 1923, Kossel was honored by being named Germany's representative to the Eleventh Physiological Congress in Edinburgh
, Scotland. When he appeared before the assembled scientists, they gave him an ovation that lasted several minutes. At the congress, he was conferred an honorary degree by the University of Edinburgh
.
In 1924, Kossel became professor emeritus, but continued to lecture at Heidelberg University. In April, 1927, he attended the Lister
Centenary Celebration held in England.
During the last years of Kossel's life, he conducted important research into the composition of the protein types protamines and histones, and discovered flavianic acid. A monograph describing this work was published shortly after his death.
(Journal of Physiological Chemistry). This publication was founded by his professor and mentor, Felix Hoppe-Seyler, in 1877, the same year that Kossel started work as his research assistant. After Hoppe-Seyler's death in 1895, Kossel took over editorship of the Zeitschrift and continued in that role until his own death in 1927.
. Holtzmann was Professor at the University of Heidelberg, lecturing in German literature
as well as Sanskrit
. He was also a noted philologist of his day. The couple had three children, two of which survived to maturity: Walther, born in 1888, and daughter Gertrude, born in 1889.
Son Walther Kossel
(1888–1956) became a prominent physicist
and was professor of theoretical physics
and director of the Physics Institute at the University of Tübingen. He is known for his theory of the chemical bond
(ionic bond
/octet rule
), the Sommerfeld–Kossel displacement law, and other achievements.
There is no record of any political activity by Kossel, and by all accounts he was apolitical.
Through his marriage to Luise, Kossel was related to several prominent Americans, including soil science
pioneer Eugene W. Hilgard
, journalist and financier Henry Villard
, and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison
.
Luise Kossel died in 1913 of acute pancreatitis
. Kossel died quietly on 5 July 1927, after a recurring attack of angina pectoris. He is buried in Heidelberg
, Germany.
and the nucleobases, he provided the necessary precursors that led to the double-helix model
of DNA
, devised by James D. Watson
and Francis Crick
in 1953.
The Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration
at the University of Rostock
is named in his honor.
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
and pioneer in the study of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
in 1910 for his work in determining the chemical composition of nucleic acids, the genetic substance of biological cells
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
.
Kossel isolated and described the five organic compounds that are present in nucleic acid
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
: adenine
Adenine
Adenine is a nucleobase with a variety of roles in biochemistry including cellular respiration, in the form of both the energy-rich adenosine triphosphate and the cofactors nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide , and protein synthesis, as a chemical component of DNA...
, cytosine
Cytosine
Cytosine is one of the four main bases found in DNA and RNA, along with adenine, guanine, and thymine . It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached . The nucleoside of cytosine is cytidine...
, guanine
Guanine
Guanine is one of the four main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the others being adenine, cytosine, and thymine . In DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine. With the formula C5H5N5O, guanine is a derivative of purine, consisting of a fused pyrimidine-imidazole ring system with...
, thymine
Thymine
Thymine is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA that are represented by the letters G–C–A–T. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine is also known as 5-methyluracil, a pyrimidine nucleobase. As the name suggests, thymine may be derived by methylation of uracil at...
, and uracil
Uracil
Uracil is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of RNA that are represented by the letters A, G, C and U. The others are adenine, cytosine, and guanine. In RNA, uracil binds to adenine via two hydrogen bonds. In DNA, the uracil nucleobase is replaced by thymine.Uracil is a common and...
. These compounds were later shown to be nucleobases, and are key in the formation of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
and RNA
RNA
Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....
, the genetic material found in all living cells.
Kossel was an important influence on and collaborator with other important researchers in biochemistry, including Henry Drysdale Dakin
Henry Drysdale Dakin
Henry Drysdale Dakin FRS was an English chemist.He was born in London as the youngest of 8 children to a family of steel merchants from Leeds. As a school boy he did water analysis with the Leeds City Analyst. He studied chemistry at the University of Leeds with Julius B...
, Friedrich Miescher
Friedrich Miescher
Johannes Friedrich Miescher was a Swiss physician and biologist. He was the first researcher to isolate and identify nucleic acid.-Biography:...
, Edwin B. Hart
Edwin B. Hart
Edwin B. Hart was an American biochemist.A native of Ohio, Hart studied physiological chemistry under Albrecht Kossel in Germany, and also studied at the University of Marzburg and University of Heidelberg...
, and his professor and mentor, Felix Hoppe-Seyler. Kossel was editor of the Zeitschrift für Physiologische Chemie
Biological Chemistry (journal)
Biological Chemistry is a peer-review scientific journal focusing on biological chemistry. The journal is published by Walter de Gruyter, and edited by Helmut Sies...
(Journal of Physiological Chemistry) from 1895 until his death.
Kossel also conducted important research into the composition of protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
, and his research predicted the discovery of the polypeptide nature of the protein molecule.
The Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration
Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration
The Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration is a medical research hospital located in Rostock, Germany. It was formed from the neurobiological laboratory of the hospital for neurology at the University of Rostock, and it operates under the auspices of The University Clinic of Rostock.The...
at the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
is named in his honor.
Early life and education
Kossel was born in RostockRostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Germany as the son of the merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n consul Albrecht Karl Ludwig Enoch Kossel and his wife Clara Jeppe Kossel. As a youth, Kossel attended the Gymnasium at Rostock, where he evidenced substantial interest in chemistry and botany.
In 1872, Kossel attended the University of Strasbourg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
to study medicine. He studied under Felix Hoppe-Seyler, who was head of the department of biochemistry, the only such institution in Germany at the time. He attended lectures by Anton de Bary
Anton de Bary
Heinrich Anton de Bary was a German surgeon, botanist, microbiologist, and mycologist ....
, Waldeyer
Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz
Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz was a German anatomist, famous for consolidating the neuron theory of organization of the nervous system and for naming the chromosome...
, August Kundt
August Kundt
August Adolf Eduard Eberhard Kundt was a German physicist.-Biography:Kundt was born at Schwerin in Mecklenburg. He began his scientific studies at Leipzig, but afterwards went to Berlin University. At first he devoted himself to astronomy, but coming under the influence of H. G...
, and Baeyer. He completed his studies at University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
, and passed his German medical license exam in 1877.
Early research and collaboration
After completing his university studies, Kossel returned to the University of Strasbourg as research assistant to Felix Hoppe-Seyler. At the time, Hoppe-Seyler was intensely interested in research concerning an acidic substance that had first been chemically isolated from pus cells by one of his former students, Friedrich MiescherFriedrich Miescher
Johannes Friedrich Miescher was a Swiss physician and biologist. He was the first researcher to isolate and identify nucleic acid.-Biography:...
, in 1869. Like protein, the substance contained considerable amounts of phosphorus, but with its high acidity, it was unlike any cellular substance that had to then been observed.
Kossel showed that the substance, called "nuclein", consisted of a protein component and a non-protein component. Kossel further isolated and described the non-protein component. This substance has become known as nucleic acid
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
, which contains the genetic information found in all living cells.
Isolation and description of nucleobases
In 1883, Kossel left Strasburg to become Director of the Chemistry Division of the Physiological Institute at the University of Berlin. In this post, he succeeded Eugen BaumannEugen Baumann
Eugen Baumann was a German chemist. He was one of the first people to create polyvinyl chloride , and, together with Carl Schotten, he discovered the Schotten-Baumann reaction.-Life:...
and worked under the supervision of Emil du Bois-Reymond
Emil du Bois-Reymond
Emil du Bois-Reymond was a German physician and physiologist, the discoverer of nerve action potential, and the father of experimental electrophysiology.-Life:...
.
Kossel continued his previous work on the nucleic acids. During the period 1885 to 1901, he was able to isolate and name its five constituent organic compounds: adenine
Adenine
Adenine is a nucleobase with a variety of roles in biochemistry including cellular respiration, in the form of both the energy-rich adenosine triphosphate and the cofactors nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide , and protein synthesis, as a chemical component of DNA...
, cytosine
Cytosine
Cytosine is one of the four main bases found in DNA and RNA, along with adenine, guanine, and thymine . It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached . The nucleoside of cytosine is cytidine...
, guanine
Guanine
Guanine is one of the four main nucleobases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the others being adenine, cytosine, and thymine . In DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine. With the formula C5H5N5O, guanine is a derivative of purine, consisting of a fused pyrimidine-imidazole ring system with...
, thymine
Thymine
Thymine is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA that are represented by the letters G–C–A–T. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine is also known as 5-methyluracil, a pyrimidine nucleobase. As the name suggests, thymine may be derived by methylation of uracil at...
, and uracil
Uracil
Uracil is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of RNA that are represented by the letters A, G, C and U. The others are adenine, cytosine, and guanine. In RNA, uracil binds to adenine via two hydrogen bonds. In DNA, the uracil nucleobase is replaced by thymine.Uracil is a common and...
. These compounds are now known collectively as nucleobases, and they provide the molecular structure necessary in the formation of stable DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
and RNA
RNA
Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....
molecules.
Research into the chemical composition of protein
In 1895, Kossel was professor of physiology as well as director of the Physiological Institute at the University of Marburg. Around this time, he began investigations into the chemical composition of proteinProtein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
s, the alterations in proteins during transformation into peptone, the peptide
Peptide
Peptides are short polymers of amino acid monomers linked by peptide bonds. They are distinguished from proteins on the basis of size, typically containing less than 50 monomer units. The shortest peptides are dipeptides, consisting of two amino acids joined by a single peptide bond...
components of cells, and other investigations.
In 1896, Kossel discovered histidine
Histidine
Histidine Histidine, an essential amino acid, has a positively charged imidazole functional group. It is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids. Its codons are CAU and CAC. Histidine was first isolated by German physician Albrecht Kossel in 1896. Histidine is an essential amino acid in humans...
, then worked out the classical method for the quantitative separation of the "hexone bases" (the alpha-amino acids arginine
Arginine
Arginine is an α-amino acid. The L-form is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. At the level of molecular genetics, in the structure of the messenger ribonucleic acid mRNA, CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, and AGG, are the triplets of nucleotide bases or codons that codify for arginine during...
, histidine
Histidine
Histidine Histidine, an essential amino acid, has a positively charged imidazole functional group. It is one of the 22 proteinogenic amino acids. Its codons are CAU and CAC. Histidine was first isolated by German physician Albrecht Kossel in 1896. Histidine is an essential amino acid in humans...
, and lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
). He was also the first to isolate Theophylline
Theophylline
Theophylline, also known as dimethylxanthine, is a methylxanthine drug used in therapy for respiratory diseases such as COPD and asthma under a variety of brand names. Because of its numerous side-effects, the drug is now rarely administered for clinical use. As a member of the xanthine family, it...
, a therapeutic drug found naturally in tea and cocoa beans.
In 1901, Kossel was named to a similar post at Heidelberg University, and became director of the Heidelberg Institute for Protein Investigation. His research predicted the discovery of the polypeptide nature of the protein molecule.
Nobel prize
Kossel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
in 1910 for his research in cell biology
Cell biology
Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
, the chemical composition of the cell nucleus
Cell nucleus
In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...
, and for his work in isolating and describing nucleic acid
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
s. The award was presented on 10 December 1910.
In the autumn of 1911, Kossel was invited to the United States to deliver the Herter Lecture at Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Traveling with his wife Luise and daughter Gertrude, he took the opportunity to travel and to visit acquaintances, one of which was Eugene W. Hilgard
Eugene W. Hilgard
Eugene Woldemar Hilgard was a German-American expert on pedology...
, professor emeritus of agricultural chemistry
Agricultural chemistry
Agricultural chemistry is the study of both chemistry and biochemistry which are important in agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and in environmental monitoring and remediation...
at the University of California at Berkeley, who was also his wife's cousin. He also visited and delivered lectures at several other universities, including the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
On the occasion of his visit to New York City, Kossel was interviewed by a reporter from the New York Times. Kossel's English was reportedly very good, and his self-effacing modesty is voluminously mentioned in the reporter's account.
His Herter lecture at Johns Hopkins was titled, "The Proteins". This was the only time Kossel ever visited the United States.
Later research and collaboration
With his distinguished English pupil Henry Drysdale DakinHenry Drysdale Dakin
Henry Drysdale Dakin FRS was an English chemist.He was born in London as the youngest of 8 children to a family of steel merchants from Leeds. As a school boy he did water analysis with the Leeds City Analyst. He studied chemistry at the University of Leeds with Julius B...
, Kossel investigated arginase
Arginase
Arginase is a manganese-containing enzyme. The reaction catalyzed by this enzyme is: arginine + H2O → ornithine + urea. It is the final enzyme of the urea cycle.- Structure and function :Arginase belong to the ureohydrolase family of enzymes....
, the ferment which hydrolyses arginine
Arginine
Arginine is an α-amino acid. The L-form is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. At the level of molecular genetics, in the structure of the messenger ribonucleic acid mRNA, CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, and AGG, are the triplets of nucleotide bases or codons that codify for arginine during...
into urea
Urea
Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula CO2. The molecule has two —NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl functional group....
and ornithine
Ornithine
Ornithine is an amino acid that plays a role in the urea cycle.-Role in urea cycle:L-Ornithine is one of the products of the action of the enzyme arginase on L-arginine, creating urea. Therefore, ornithine is a central part of the urea cycle, which allows for the disposal of excess nitrogen....
. Later, he discovered agmatine
Agmatine
Agmatine is the decarboxylation product of the amino acid arginine and is an intermediate in polyamine biosynthesis. It is discussed as a putative neurotransmitter. It is synthesized in the brain, stored in synaptic vesicles, accumulated by uptake, released by membrane depolarization, and...
in herring roe and devised a method for preparing it.
Another of Kossel's students was American biochemist
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
Edwin B. Hart
Edwin B. Hart
Edwin B. Hart was an American biochemist.A native of Ohio, Hart studied physiological chemistry under Albrecht Kossel in Germany, and also studied at the University of Marzburg and University of Heidelberg...
, who would later return to the United States to participate in the "Single-grain experiment
Single-grain experiment
The single-grain experiment was an experiment carried out at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from May 1907 to 1911. The experiment tested if cows could survive on a single type of grain. The experiment would lead to the development of modern nutritional science.-Foundations:In 1881,...
" (1907–1911) and be part of research teams that would determine the nutritive
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
causes of anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
and goiter
Goitre
A goitre or goiter , is a swelling in the thyroid gland, which can lead to a swelling of the neck or larynx...
. Another was Otto Folin
Otto Folin
Otto Knut Olof Folin was a Swedish-born American chemist who is best known for his groundbreaking work at Harvard University on practical micromethods for the determination of the constituents of protein-free blood filtrates and the discovery of creatine phosphate in muscles.-Background:Folin was...
, an American chemist who discovered Phosphocreatine
Phosphocreatine
Phosphocreatine, also known as creatine phosphate or PCr , is a phosphorylated creatine molecule that serves as a rapidly mobilizable reserve of high-energy phosphates in skeletal muscle and brain.-Chemistry:...
.
In 1923, Kossel was honored by being named Germany's representative to the Eleventh Physiological Congress in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland. When he appeared before the assembled scientists, they gave him an ovation that lasted several minutes. At the congress, he was conferred an honorary degree by the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
In 1924, Kossel became professor emeritus, but continued to lecture at Heidelberg University. In April, 1927, he attended the Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...
Centenary Celebration held in England.
During the last years of Kossel's life, he conducted important research into the composition of the protein types protamines and histones, and discovered flavianic acid. A monograph describing this work was published shortly after his death.
Zeitschrift für Physiologische Chemie
Kossel contributed to early issues of the Zeitschrift für Physiologische ChemieBiological Chemistry (journal)
Biological Chemistry is a peer-review scientific journal focusing on biological chemistry. The journal is published by Walter de Gruyter, and edited by Helmut Sies...
(Journal of Physiological Chemistry). This publication was founded by his professor and mentor, Felix Hoppe-Seyler, in 1877, the same year that Kossel started work as his research assistant. After Hoppe-Seyler's death in 1895, Kossel took over editorship of the Zeitschrift and continued in that role until his own death in 1927.
Personal life
In 1886, Kossel married Luise Holtzman, daughter of Adolf HoltzmannAdolf Holtzmann
Adolf Holtzmann was a German professor and philologist.Holtsmann was Professor of German Literature and of Sanskrit at the University of Heidelberg, and a notable philologist of his day....
. Holtzmann was Professor at the University of Heidelberg, lecturing in German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
as well as Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. He was also a noted philologist of his day. The couple had three children, two of which survived to maturity: Walther, born in 1888, and daughter Gertrude, born in 1889.
Son Walther Kossel
Walther Kossel
Walther Ludwig Julius Kossel was a German physicist known for his theory of the chemical bond , Sommerfeld–Kossel displacement law of atomic spectra, the Kossel-Stranski model for crystal growth, and the Kossel effect...
(1888–1956) became a prominent physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and was professor of theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
and director of the Physics Institute at the University of Tübingen. He is known for his theory of the chemical bond
Chemical bond
A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction...
(ionic bond
Ionic bond
An ionic bond is a type of chemical bond formed through an electrostatic attraction between two oppositely charged ions. Ionic bonds are formed between a cation, which is usually a metal, and an anion, which is usually a nonmetal. Pure ionic bonding cannot exist: all ionic compounds have some...
/octet rule
Octet rule
The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that states that atoms of low The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that states that atoms of low The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that states that atoms of low (The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that states that atoms of low (...
), the Sommerfeld–Kossel displacement law, and other achievements.
There is no record of any political activity by Kossel, and by all accounts he was apolitical.
Through his marriage to Luise, Kossel was related to several prominent Americans, including soil science
Pedology (soil study)
Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It is one of two main branches of soil science, the other being edaphology...
pioneer Eugene W. Hilgard
Eugene W. Hilgard
Eugene Woldemar Hilgard was a German-American expert on pedology...
, journalist and financier Henry Villard
Henry Villard
Henry Villard was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway....
, and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
.
Luise Kossel died in 1913 of acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis or acute pancreatic necrosis is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. It can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment...
. Kossel died quietly on 5 July 1927, after a recurring attack of angina pectoris. He is buried in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Germany.
Legacy
Albrecht Kossel is one of the truly great scientists of biochemistry and genetics. By isolating and defining nucleic acidNucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
and the nucleobases, he provided the necessary precursors that led to the double-helix model
Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids
The "Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" was an article published by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in the scientific journal Nature in its 171st volume on pages 737–738 . It was the first publication which described the discovery of the double helix...
of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
, devised by James D. Watson
James D. Watson
James Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick...
and Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
in 1953.
The Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration
Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration
The Albrecht Kossel Institute for Neuroregeneration is a medical research hospital located in Rostock, Germany. It was formed from the neurobiological laboratory of the hospital for neurology at the University of Rostock, and it operates under the auspices of The University Clinic of Rostock.The...
at the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
is named in his honor.
Selected works
- Untersuchungen über die Nukleine und ihre Spaltungsprodukte ("Investigations into the nucleins and their cleavage products", 1881)
- Die Gewebe des menschlichen Körpers und ihre mikroskopische Untersuchung ("The tissues in the human body and their microscopic investigation", 1889–1891)
- Leitfaden für medizinisch-chemische Kurse ("Textbook for medical-chemical courses", 1888)
- Die Probleme der Biochemie ("The problems of biochemistry", 1908)
- Die Beziehungen der Chemie zur Physiologie ("The relationships between chemistry and physiology", 1913)