Edmond H. Fischer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edmond H. Fischer
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Fischer in 2016
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| Born |
Edmond Henri Fischer
April 6, 1920 |
| Died | August 27, 2021 (aged 101) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Geneva |
| Known for | Protein phosphorylation |
| Spouse(s) | Nelly Gagnaux (died); Beverly Bullock |
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| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Washington |
| Thesis | La purification et l'isolement de l'alpha-amylase de pancréas (1947) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kurt Heinrich Meyer |
Edmond Henri Fischer (born April 6, 1920 – died August 27, 2021) was a Swiss-American biochemist. A biochemist studies the chemistry of living things.
He and his research partner, Edwin G. Krebs, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1992. They discovered how a process called phosphorylation acts like an on/off switch for proteins. This switch helps control many important activities inside our cells. From 2007 to 2014, he was the leader of the World Cultural Council. When he passed away at 101 years old in 2021, he was the oldest living Nobel Prize winner.
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Early Life and Education
Edmond Fischer was born on April 6, 1920, in Shanghai, China. His mother was from France, and his father was from Austria. His father worked as a lawyer in Shanghai. Edmond's grandfather started the first French newspaper in China. He also helped create a French school in Shanghai, where Edmond went for primary school.
When he was seven, Edmond and his two older brothers went to a Swiss boarding school. It was called La Châtaigneraie, near his mother's hometown. He learned to enjoy mountain climbing and skiing there. In high school, he and a friend made a promise. One would become a doctor, and the other a scientist. Together, they hoped to help solve the world's health problems. Edmond also studied piano at the Geneva Conservatory of Music. He even thought about becoming a professional musician.
After high school, Fischer wanted to study microbiology. He was inspired by the work of Louis Pasteur, a famous French scientist. He also wanted to help people because his father had been ill. However, he was advised to study chemistry instead. He attended the University of Geneva during World War II. He really enjoyed organic chemistry and also studied biology. He earned his PhD in organic chemistry. His work focused on understanding polysaccharides (complex sugars) and the enzymes that build or break them down.
Discovering How Proteins Work
After finishing his PhD, Fischer moved to the United States in 1950. He planned to work at a university in California. But he also got an unexpected offer from the University of Washington in Seattle. Seattle reminded Fischer and his wife of Switzerland, so they decided to live there.
The Protein Switch
About six months after arriving in Seattle, Fischer met another biochemist, Edwin G. Krebs. Krebs was also trying to understand how muscles get the energy they need to move. Fischer and Krebs started working together. They studied an enzyme called glycogen phosphorylase. This enzyme had been discovered by Gerty Cori and Carl Ferdinand Cori, who won a Nobel Prize for their work in 1947.
Krebs had studied this enzyme in muscle tissue. Fischer had studied it in potatoes. They noticed something interesting: the enzyme in muscle needed an extra chemical to work, but the potato enzyme did not. Fischer and Krebs then figured out a series of steps. These steps showed how hormones and calcium turn this enzyme on and off. In doing so, they discovered the cycle of protein phosphorylation and hydrolysis.
Simply put, this cycle works like a switch:
- A special enzyme, called a protein kinase, adds a small chemical group (a phosphate) to a protein. This changes the protein's shape and how it works.
- This change allows the protein to help turn glycogen (stored sugar) into glucose. Glucose is the fuel our muscles use to contract.
- When the protein's job is done, another enzyme, called phosphatase, removes the phosphate group. This turns the protein back to its original state.
This on-and-off switch controls many important processes in our bodies.
At first, people didn't fully realize how important this discovery was in 1955. But over time, it became clear that this process is key to how cells communicate. Phosphorylation helps control how a cell grows, divides, changes, and eventually dies. It also helps regulate hormones and the growth of cancer cells. Understanding this process is now very important for studying diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Many modern medicines are designed to control this protein switch.
For their discovery of this important cycle, Fischer and Krebs received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1992. They showed how this reaction acts as a switch to activate proteins and control many cell activities. Fischer continued to research how similar cycles work in other cell processes throughout his career.
Personal Life
Edmond Fischer married his first wife, Nelly Gagnaux, in 1948. They were married until she passed away in 1961. He then married Beverly Bullock in 1963, who died in 2006. Fischer loved playing the piano. He often performed music by famous composers like Beethoven and Mozart for his friends. He also had a private pilot's license and enjoyed flying airplanes.
Edmond Fischer passed away on August 27, 2021, in Seattle, Washington. He was 101 years old.
Awards and Honors
Fischer received many awards during his life. The most famous was the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1992. In 2010, he became a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. He also won the Werner Prize, the Lederle Medical Faculty Award, and the Prix Jaubert. He received honorary doctorates from universities in France and Switzerland.
He was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1972. In 1973, he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Fischer was also part of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF) from 1994 to 2021.
See also
In Spanish: Edmond H. Fischer para niños
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
