My history is not atypical of many Americans: born in the midwest, educated in the East, and now living in the West. My early years were shared between Des Moines, Iowa and Cincinnati, Ohio. Shortly after I was born on May 28, 1942 in Des Moines, my father, Lawrence, was drafted into the United States…

Prions are simple proteins that are much smaller than viruses. They are unique since they lack a genome. All other known infectious agents contain genetic material. Bacteria are often surrounded by a strong protective cell wall and replicate through simple cell division. Fungi may cause infections of the mouth, throat, lungs, and skin. Parasites thrive…

Contents: These pages are based on material from the 1997 Physiology or Medicine Nobel Poster.

  The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1997 to Stanley B. Prusiner, for his discovery of “prions – a new biological principle of infection”. Stanley B. Prusiner was born in 1942 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Since 1968 he has been…

Prions affect different regions of the brain. A sponge-like appearance results when nerve cells die. Symptoms depend on which region of the brain is affected. Cerebral cortex When the cerebral cortex is affected, the symptoms include loss of memory and mental acuity, and sometimes also visual imparement (CJD). Thalamus Damage to the thalamus may result…

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Presentation Speech by Professor Bertil Andersson of the , December 10, 1997. Translation of the Swedish text. Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen, Life requires energy. Our muscles require energy when we move. We need energy to think. Energy input is required for the production of new biological molecules. This year’s three Nobel…

I was born in Halifax, Yorkshire on January 7th, 1941 to Thomas Ernest Walker and Elsie Walker (née Lawton). My father was a stone mason, and a talented amateur pianist and vocalist. I was brought up with my two younger sisters, Judith and Jennifer, in a rural environment overlooking the Calder valley near Elland, and…

      Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker have shown how the enzyme ATP synthase makes ATP. ATP synthase is found in chloroplast and mitochondrial membranes and in the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria. A difference in hydrogen ion concentration across the membrane drives the enzyme to synthesise ATP. Using chemical methods Paul Boyer proposed…