Henrik Dam
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Henrik Carl Peter Dam
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1943
Born: 21 February 1895, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: 17 April 1976, Copenhagen, Denmark
Affiliation at the time of the award: Polytechnic Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
Prize motivation: “for his discovery of vitamin K”
Henrik Dam received his Nobel Prize one year later, in 1944.
Prize share: 1/2
Work
In addition to carbohydrates, proteins and fats, our bodies need vitamins to function well. When Henrik Dam conducted experiments on chickens that were given food with a low fat content, he noted that they suffered from bleeding that took a long time to stop. In 1934 he showed that an addition of hempseed counteracted the bleeding and concluded that the seed contained a substance, vitamin K, that was needed for the blood to coagulate. This knowledge became especially important in treating bleeding among small children.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
