John Sutherland (chemist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Sutherland
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Sutherland in 2017
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| Born |
John David Sutherland
24 July 1962 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Awards | Darwin Medal (2014) Tilden Prize (2011) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Manchester Laboratory of Molecular Biology |
| Thesis | Genetic engineering of penicillin biosynthesis (1988) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jack Baldwin |
John David Sutherland (born 24 July 1962) is a British chemist. He works at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). He is known for his important work on how life might have started on Earth.
Studying Chemistry
John Sutherland went to the University of Oxford to study chemistry. He earned his first degree in 1984. Later, he completed his PhD, which is a very high-level degree, also at Oxford. His supervisor for his PhD was a chemist named Jack Baldwin.
A Career in Science
After finishing his studies, John Sutherland taught organic chemistry at Oxford for eight years. Organic chemistry is the study of chemicals that contain carbon.
In 1998, he became a professor at the University of Manchester. He taught biological chemistry there until 2010. After that, he moved to Cambridge to work at the Medical Research Council (UK) Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Since 2013, he has been a special investigator for a group called the Simons Collaboration on the Origin of Life. This group studies how life began.
Discoveries About Early Life
In 2009, John Sutherland and his team made a big breakthrough. They found a way that important building blocks for life, called nucleotides, could have formed on early Earth. These nucleotides are like tiny puzzle pieces that make up DNA and RNA.
Before his work, scientists had trouble figuring out how these pieces formed. John Sutherland showed a new way. He found that simple chemicals, like cyanoacetylene and cyanamide, could react together. These chemicals were likely present on early Earth. His discovery helped explain how early life might have used RNA, which is part of the "RNA World hypothesis."
In 2012, John Sutherland and his former colleague, Matthew Powner, won a special prize. It was called the Origin of Life Challenge. They won it for their amazing work on how life began.
In 2015, he published another important article. He showed that the same simple chemicals that form nucleotides could also create parts for fats and proteins. This was a big step in understanding that all early life might have come from a common set of chemical reactions. His work has been praised by other top scientists.
He also supports a new field called systems chemistry. This field looks at how many different chemical reactions work together.
Awards and Recognition
John Sutherland has received several awards for his scientific work:
- 2009: The Max Tishler Prize Lectureship from Harvard University.
- 2011: The Royal Society of Chemistry Tilden Prize.
- 2012: Co-winner of the Origin of Life Challenge.
- 2014: The Royal Society Darwin Medal.
- 2017: He was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
