About
Arthur Kornberg (1918-2007) was an American biochemist. He shared the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Severo Ochoa for their discoveries concerning the mechanisms of biological synthesis of RNA and DNA. In 1956, he isolated and purified DNA polymerase I from Escherichia coli, the first enzyme shown to synthesize DNA in a test tube. He founded and served as the first chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine from 1959 to 1969. In 1967, his team achieved the first laboratory synthesis of the active inner core of a virus. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1979.
* 1918-03-03 — † 2007-10-26
Major works
- Enzymatic Synthesis of DNA (1961)scientific book
- DNA Replication (1980)scientific book
- For the Love of Enzymes: The Odyssey of a Biochemist (1989)autobiography
Key milestones
- 1956Isolated and purified DNA polymerase I from Escherichia coli, the first enzyme shown to synthesize DNA in a test tube.
- 1959Shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Severo Ochoa for their discoveries concerning the biological synthesis of RNA and DNA.
- 1967Led the team that first synthesized the active inner core of a virus in the laboratory.
Themes
DNA synthesisEnzymologyBiochemistryInorganic polyphosphateDNA replication
Sources: nobelprize.org · nationalmedals.org