Otto Loewi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Otto Loewi
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|---|---|
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| Born | June 3, 1873 |
| Died | December 25, 1961 (aged 88) |
| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | University of Strasbourg |
| Known for | Acetylcholine |
| Spouse(s) |
Guida Goldschmiedt
(m. 1908; died 1958) |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Pharmacology, Psychobiology |
| Institutions | University of Vienna University of Graz |
Otto Loewi (born June 3, 1873 – died December 25, 1961) was a scientist born in Germany. He was a pharmacologist, which means he studied how medicines and chemicals affect living things. He also studied psychobiology, which looks at how our minds and bodies work together.
Loewi made a very important discovery: he found out that a chemical called acetylcholine acts as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are like tiny messengers that carry signals between nerve cells in our bodies. For this amazing discovery, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1936. He shared the prize with his good friend, Sir Henry Hallett Dale, who helped inspire the experiment that led to this discovery.
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Otto Loewi's Early Life and Education
Otto Loewi was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 3, 1873. He came from a Jewish family. In 1891, he started studying medicine at the University of Strasbourg, which was in Germany at the time but is now part of France. He learned from many famous professors there.
He earned his medical degree in 1896. After finishing his studies, he worked in different hospitals and research labs. He saw many patients who were very sick with diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia. Sadly, there were no good treatments for these illnesses back then. This made him decide that instead of becoming a doctor who treats patients, he wanted to do research. He hoped his research could help find new ways to understand and treat diseases.
In 1898, he became an assistant to Professor Hans Horst Meyer, a well-known pharmacologist at the University of Marburg. Loewi's early research focused on how the body uses and processes different substances.
Moving to Austria and Important Discoveries
In 1902, Loewi visited Ernest Starling's lab in London. There, he met Henry Hallett Dale, who became his lifelong friend and fellow scientist.
In 1903, Loewi moved to Austria and started working at the University of Graz. He stayed there for many years. In 1905, he became an Associate Professor and also became an Austrian citizen. He was made a full professor in pharmacology in Graz in 1909. He also taught at the University of Vienna.
In 1908, he married Guida Goldschmiedt. They had four children together—three sons and one daughter.
In 1921, Otto Loewi began studying how important organs in the body react to chemicals and electrical signals. He learned that nerve impulses, which are signals sent by our nerves, are carried by chemical messengers. The first chemical messenger he found was acetylcholine.
The Famous Dream and Experiment
Before Loewi's experiments, scientists weren't sure if nerve signals crossed the tiny gaps between nerve cells (called synapses) using electricity or chemicals. Some thought it was all electrical, like wires. Others thought chemicals were involved.
Loewi's most famous experiment, published in 1921, helped answer this big question. He had a dream on Easter Saturday in 1921 about how to prove that nerve signals were chemical. He woke up, quickly wrote down the idea, and went back to sleep.
The next morning, he couldn't read his notes! He spent the whole day trying to remember his dream. Luckily, that night, he had the exact same dream again. This time, he immediately went to his lab to do the experiment.
Here's what he did:
- He took two beating hearts from frogs.
- One heart still had its vagus nerve attached. This nerve helps control the heart rate.
- Both hearts were placed in separate containers with a special salty liquid.
- Loewi then gave a small electrical shock to the vagus nerve of the first heart. This made that heart beat slower.
- Next, he took some of the liquid from the first heart's container and put it into the container with the second heart.
- Amazingly, the second heart also started to beat slower!
This experiment proved that something chemical was released by the vagus nerve. This chemical traveled through the liquid and affected the second heart. Loewi called this unknown chemical "Vagusstoff" (which means "vagus substance" in German). Later, it was identified as acetylcholine.
This experiment was a huge breakthrough. It showed for the first time that nerve signals cause the release of a chemical. This chemical then carries the message to other cells or organs. This discovery changed how we understand our nervous system and how our bodies work.
Life During and After World War II
In 1938, when Germany invaded Austria, Otto Loewi and two of his sons were arrested. He was released after three months, but only if he gave up all his belongings and research to the Nazis.
He first went to Britain, then to Belgium. In 1940, he moved to the United States and became a research professor at New York University. In 1946, he became an American citizen. He continued his scientific work and was recognized for his contributions.
Otto Loewi passed away in New York City on December 25, 1961. After his death, his youngest son gave Loewi's gold Nobel medal to the Royal Society in London. The Nobel diploma was given to the University of Graz in Austria, where it is still kept today.
Awards and Honours
Otto Loewi received many awards for his important scientific work:
- 1936: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (shared with Henry Hallett Dale)
- 1944: Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh
- 1954: Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in London.
- 1959: Austrian Medal for Science and Art
- 1959: Honorary Ring of the city of Graz. A street in Graz, "Otto Loewi Gasse," was also named after him.
See also
In Spanish: Otto Loewi para niños
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
