Frederick Sanger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frederick Sanger
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| Born | 13 August 1918 Rendcomb, Gloucestershire, England
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| Died | 19 November 2013 (aged 95) Cambridge, England
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| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (PhD) |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
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| Thesis | The metabolism of the amino acid lysine in the animal body (1943) |
| Doctoral advisor | Albert Neuberger |
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Frederick Sanger (13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013) was a famous English biochemist. A biochemist studies the chemistry of living things. Sanger won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry not once, but twice! This is a very rare achievement.
He received his first Nobel Prize in 1958. This was for figuring out the exact order of amino acids in insulin. Insulin is a protein that helps control blood sugar. His work showed that proteins have a specific, fixed structure. This was a huge step in understanding how living things work.
Later, at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, he created the first method to read DNA sequences. This method, called Sanger sequencing, made it much easier to study molecular biology. It is still used widely today. This amazing discovery earned him his second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980. He shared this prize with Walter Gilbert and Paul Berg.
Frederick Sanger is one of only three people to win two Nobel Prizes in the same science category. He is also one of only five people in history to win two Nobel Prizes in total.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Frederick Sanger was born on 13 August 1918 in Rendcomb, a small village in England. He was the second of three children. His father was a doctor who had worked in China. His parents raised him and his brother as Quakers. Quakers are a religious group known for their peaceful beliefs.
When Frederick was about five, his family moved to Tanworth-in-Arden. He had a governess teach him at home for a while. At age nine, he went to a Quaker boarding school called the Downs School. Later, at 14, he attended Bryanston School. He liked this school much more because it was less strict.
Frederick loved science subjects, especially chemistry. He spent a lot of time experimenting in the lab with his chemistry teacher. This experience made him want to become a scientist. In 1935, he even went on an exchange program to a school in Germany. He was surprised to see how much the school supported Adolf Hitler and his ideas.
University and Early Research
In 1936, Sanger went to St John's College, Cambridge, to study natural sciences. He found physics and math difficult but loved biochemistry. Biochemistry was a new and exciting field at the time. Both of his parents sadly passed away from cancer during his first two years at Cambridge.
Because of his Quaker upbringing, Sanger was a pacifist. This means he believed that war and violence are wrong. During World War II, he was allowed to avoid military service. Instead, he helped as a hospital orderly.
In 1940, he married Joan Howe. He started working on his PhD, which is a high-level university degree. His research looked at how the body uses a substance called lysine. He earned his PhD in 1943.
Groundbreaking Discoveries
Unlocking the Secrets of Insulin
After finishing his PhD, Sanger joined a research group in Cambridge. He started studying insulin, a protein important for health. At that time, scientists didn't know if proteins had a fixed structure. Many thought they were just random mixtures.
Sanger's big goal was to find the exact order of the "building blocks" (called amino acids) in insulin. He used special chemicals and methods to break insulin into smaller pieces. He then used a technique called chromatography to separate these pieces. He called the patterns he saw "fingerprints."
By carefully studying these "fingerprints," Sanger figured out the complete sequence of amino acids in insulin by 1955. This was a huge achievement! It proved that proteins have a precise, unique structure. This discovery was key to understanding how DNA carries instructions for making proteins. For this amazing work, he won his first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1958.
Mapping RNA Molecules
After his success with insulin, Sanger started looking at RNA molecules. RNA is similar to DNA and plays many roles in living cells. He worked on new ways to separate and study small pieces of RNA.
In 1964, he helped discover a special type of RNA that starts protein making in bacteria. His team also figured out the sequence of a small RNA molecule from a common bacteria called Escherichia coli by 1967.
Reading the DNA Code
Sanger then moved on to the biggest challenge: sequencing DNA. DNA holds all the genetic instructions for life. He developed a new method called the "Plus and Minus" technique in 1975. This allowed scientists to read short sections of DNA.
Using this method, his team was the first to sequence an entire DNA-based genome. This was for a tiny virus called Phi X 174. They were surprised to find that some of the virus's genes overlapped!
In 1977, Sanger and his team made an even bigger breakthrough. They introduced the "dideoxy" method, now widely known as the "Sanger method" for DNA sequencing. This new technique made it possible to read long stretches of DNA quickly and accurately. This was a major step forward for all of biology.
This incredible invention earned him his second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980. The Sanger method was later used to sequence the entire human genome, which is the complete set of human DNA instructions.
Mentoring Future Scientists
Frederick Sanger was also a great teacher. He guided many PhD students during his career. Two of his students even went on to win their own Nobel Prizes!
One student, Rodney Porter, shared the Nobel Prize in 1972 for his work on antibodies. Another student, Elizabeth Blackburn, shared the Nobel Prize in 2009 for her discoveries about telomeres, which are parts of chromosomes.
Awards and Special Honors
Frederick Sanger received many awards for his scientific work. He is one of only two people to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. He is also one of only five people ever to win two Nobel Prizes in any field.
Some of his key awards include:
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1958 and 1980)
- Royal Medal (1969)
- Copley Medal (1977)
- Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1979)
The Wellcome Sanger Institute, a world-leading research center, is named in his honor.
Personal Life and Retirement
Sanger married Margaret Joan Howe in 1940, and they had three children. He often said that his wife helped his work by creating a happy home.
He retired in 1983 at the age of 65. In 1992, the Sanger Centre (now the Wellcome Sanger Institute) was founded and named after him. He agreed to the honor but joked, "It had better be good." The institute became very important in sequencing the human genome.
Sanger was a humble person. He turned down a knighthood because he didn't want to be called "Sir" or be seen as different. In 1986, he accepted the Order of Merit, a very special honor given to only 24 living people.
Frederick Sanger passed away peacefully on 19 November 2013, at the age of 95. He once described himself as "just a chap who messed about in a lab." His work, however, changed our understanding of life itself.
See also
In Spanish: Frederick Sanger para niños
