Richard Ambler facts for kids

Richard Penry Ambler (born May 26, 1933 – died December 27, 2013) was an English scientist. He was a molecular biologist. This means he studied tiny parts of living things, like cells and molecules. He did very important research on how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics are medicines that fight off bad bacteria.

Ambler was also the first scientist to figure out the exact order of building blocks (called amino acids) in a bacterial protein. He worked for many years at the University of Edinburgh.

Richard Ambler's Early Life and School

Richard Ambler was born on May 26, 1933. His birthplace was Bexleyheath, a part of London, England. His mother, Anne Evans, worked for the government. His father, Henry Ambler, was a chemist.

In 1940, when Richard was seven, his family moved. They went to Pune, India. His father worked there on explosives during wartime. Later, Richard came back to England for school. He went to a boarding school called Haileybury.

College and Important Discoveries

In 1954, Richard went to Pembroke College, Cambridge. He studied natural sciences there. He stayed at Cambridge to get his PhD. His research was about bacterial proteins. His teacher was Fred Sanger, a scientist who won a Nobel Prize.

In 1963, Ambler made a big discovery. He published the first amino acid sequence of a bacterial protein. This means he figured out the exact order of the small parts that make up a protein. He also created new ways to do this. He studied a protein called cytochrome c. This protein is still important for scientists today.

Working as a Scientist

In 1965, Ambler joined a new department. It was the Department of Molecular Biology. This was at the University of Edinburgh. Here, he started a long research project.

Understanding Antibiotic Resistance

Ambler studied how some bacteria were becoming resistant. This meant medicines like penicillin were not working as well. He made important discoveries about how bacteria share their genes. He also learned about how they develop new enzymes.

He found that something called horizontal gene transfer was key. This is when bacteria pass genes to each other. It helps them become resistant to antibiotics.

Studying Bacterial Proteins

Ambler kept studying bacterial proteins. He looked at proteins like Cytochrome C and Rubredoxin. These came from different types of bacteria. His work helped us understand how bacteria are related.

He was very interested in how horizontal gene transfer affects evolution. His ideas even influenced another famous scientist, Carl Woese.

Leading the Department

From 1984 to 1990, Ambler was the head of his department. He helped organize it into smaller groups. In 1985, he became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation. He retired from the University of Edinburgh in the mid-1990s. Richard Ambler passed away in Edinburgh in December 2013.

Richard Ambler's Personal Life

Richard Ambler was married two times. His first wife was Pat Waddington, who worked with robots. Later, he married Susan Hewlett. He had two daughters, four step-daughters, and seven grandchildren.

He was also very interested in archeology. This is the study of old human history through digging up artifacts. He was a member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.