The achievements by Deisenhofer, Huber and Michel that were recognized with the 1988 Nobel Prize in chemistry signify breakthroughs in several fields of research: Photosynthesis: The knowledge about the location of the photochemically active groups in the reaction center has resulted in a deeper understanding of the mechanism of the primary reaction in photosynthetic organisms.…

An important step in biochemical research was taken in 1980 when Hartmut Michel managed to crystallize a membrane protein (bacteriorhodopsin) after having solubilized the lipid bilayer of the membrane with a detergent. Detergents, which are structurally similar to membrane lipids, form micelles in water. They bind to membrane proteins with their fatty, hydrophobic tails creating…

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Scientific American, (1987) Vol 256:6, 42-48. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, (1987) 12, 321-326. Nature (1985) 318, 618-624. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, (press release).  

1771 Joseph Priestley, England, discovers that plants can “purify” air that has been “burned out” by a candle. 1779 Jan Ingenhousz, The Netherlands, demonstrates that the plant in Priestley’s experiment is dependent on light and its green parts. 1782-1804 Several researchers show that carbon dioxide and water are stored as organic matter by plants. 1845…

Contents: Based on materials from the 1988 Nobel Poster for Chemistry.

Swedish Academy The Permanent Secretary Press release October 13, 1988 The Nobel Prize in Literature 1988 Naguib Mahfouz Through the Swedish Academy’s decision this year the Nobel Prize in Literature has for the first time been awarded to an Egyptian. Naguib Mahfouz was born and lives in Cairo. He is also the first literary Nobel…

  Presentation Speech by Professor Sture Allén, of the Translation from the Swedish text Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen, On the Nobel Day, 10th December, 1911, received that year’s Nobel Prize in Literature from the hands of King Gustavus V here in Stockholm. On the following day Naguib Mahfouz was born in…

Naguib Mahfouz – The Son of Two Civilizations by Anders Hallengren This article was published on 16 October 2003. “I am the son of two civilizations that at a certain age in history have formed a happy marriage. The first of these, seven thousand years old, is the Pharaonic civilization; the second, one thousand four…

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