Gilbert Smithson Adair facts for kids

Gilbert Smithson Adair (1896–1979) was an important scientist. He studied proteins, which are tiny building blocks inside living things. He is famous for figuring out how a special protein called haemoglobin works.

Haemoglobin is found in your blood. It carries oxygen around your body. Gilbert Adair discovered that haemoglobin is made of four parts, like a puzzle with four pieces. He also showed how these parts work together to pick up and drop off oxygen. This teamwork is called cooperative binding.

Early Life and Education

Gilbert Adair was born on September 21, 1896, in Whitehaven, England. His parents, Harold and Anna Mary Adair, were part of a group called the Quakers.

Gilbert and his sister Anna first learned at home. Later, Gilbert went to Bootham School, a Quaker boarding school. His family moved to Egremont, where his father managed an iron ore mine.

In 1915, Gilbert started studying at King's College, Cambridge. He studied Natural Sciences and did very well.

Science Career

During World War I, Gilbert Adair worked for the Food Investigation Board. This group helped stop food from spoiling on cargo ships. They wanted to make sure there was enough food for everyone.

In 1920, he became a research student at King's College. He became a Fellow there in 1928, which meant he could spend five years doing research. In 1931, he became an assistant director at the Physiological Laboratory in Cambridge.

From 1945 until he retired in 1963, he was a Reader in Biophysics. This means he taught and did research on how physics applies to living things. In 1939, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a big honor for scientists in the UK.

Family Life

Gilbert Adair married Muriel Elaine Robinson in Cambridge in 1931. Muriel was also a smart scientist. She had studied at Girton College and did research at Newnham College. Muriel passed away in 1975.

Important Discoveries

Gilbert Adair's work was very important for understanding proteins. He showed that haemoglobin is a tetramer. This means it has four parts that work together. He also explained how these parts help haemoglobin bind to oxygen.

He even provided the pure haemoglobin that another famous scientist, Max Perutz, used. Max Perutz then used X-ray crystallography to figure out the exact structure of a protein for the very first time! This was a huge step in science.

Gilbert Smithson Adair passed away in Cambridge on June 22, 1979. His work helped us understand how our bodies work at a tiny level.

Adair Equation

Gilbert Adair also created an important mathematical formula. It is called the Adair equation. This equation helps scientists understand how molecules, like oxygen, attach to proteins. It shows how much of a protein is "full" of what it's supposed to bind to. This formula is useful for studying how different parts of a protein work together.