Richard Axel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Axel
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Axel in 2014
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| Born | July 2, 1946 New York City, U.S.
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| Education |
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| Spouse(s) | Cornelia Bargmann |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | Columbia University |
| Notable students |
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Richard Axel, born on July 2, 1946, is an American scientist who studies how our bodies work at a tiny level (molecular biologist) and how our brains work (neuroscientist). He teaches at Columbia University and also does research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004 with Linda B. Buck for their amazing discoveries about how we smell.
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Early Life and Education
Richard Axel grew up in Brooklyn, New York City. His parents were immigrants from Poland. He went to Stuyvesant High School and finished in 1963.
After high school, he studied at Columbia University, earning his bachelor's degree in 1967. He then went to Johns Hopkins University and became a doctor in 1971. However, he realized he preferred doing research over working as a doctor. So, he returned to Columbia University to focus on scientific research and became a full professor in 1978.
Discoveries and Career
Inserting DNA into Cells
In the late 1970s, Richard Axel, along with other scientists, found a way to put new DNA into cells. This process is called "cotransformation via transfection." It means they could insert foreign DNA into a cell to make it produce specific proteins. This discovery was very important for biotechnology and making new medicines.
Columbia University received patents for this technique, which helped fund a lot of new research. These patents were very valuable for many years.
Understanding the Sense of Smell
One of Axel's most famous discoveries was about how we smell. In 1991, he and Linda B. Buck found the genes that control our olfactory receptors. These receptors are special proteins in our noses that detect different smells. They discovered that there are about a thousand different genes for these receptors in mammals.
Their research showed that each special nerve cell in your nose (called an olfactory receptor neuron) usually only makes one type of smell receptor. All the signals from nerve cells that have the same receptor go to a specific tiny area in the brain called a glomerulus. This helps the brain understand and identify different smells.
Richard Axel's main research now focuses on how the brain takes these smell signals and turns them into the smells we recognize. He is a professor at Columbia University and also works at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Besides his work on smell, he also made important discoveries in immunology, which is the study of the body's immune system. His lab was one of the first to find a link between HIV infection and a protein called CD4.
Mentoring Future Scientists
Beyond his own discoveries, Richard Axel has also guided many other scientists. He has helped train many leading experts in the field of neurobiology. Several of his former students have become members of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a very high honor for scientists.
Awards and Honors
Richard Axel has received many awards for his scientific work.
- In 1983, he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
- He received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 2005.
- In 2007, he was given the Double Helix Medal.
- In 2014, he became a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
His most famous award is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Linda Buck in 2004. They won it for their groundbreaking work on the genes that control our sense of smell.
Personal Life
Richard Axel is married to Cornelia Bargmann, who is also a well-known scientist and pioneer in olfaction research. Before this, he was married to Ann Axel. Because he is very tall, Richard Axel played basketball when he was in high school.
See also
In Spanish: Richard Axel para niños
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
