William Astbury facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Astbury
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| Born |
William Thomas Astbury
25 February 1898 Longton, England
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| Died | 4 June 1961 (aged 63) Leeds, England
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| Citizenship | British |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Known for | Beta sheet Fiber diffraction X-ray diffraction of DNA |
| Awards | Actonian Prize (1935) Croonian Medal (1945) Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics, Molecular biology |
| Institutions | University College London Royal Institution University of Leeds |
| Doctoral advisor | William Henry Bragg |
William Thomas Astbury (born February 25, 1898 – died June 4, 1961) was a British scientist. He was a physicist and a molecular biologist. He used X-rays to study tiny parts of living things.
His research on keratin, a protein found in hair and wool, helped another scientist, Linus Pauling, discover the "alpha helix" shape. Astbury also studied the structure of DNA in 1937. His work was a very important first step in understanding DNA's famous double helix shape.
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Early Life and Education
William Astbury was born in Longton, England. He was the fourth of seven children. His father was a potter, and the family lived comfortably. William and his younger brother, Norman, both loved music.
Astbury might have become a potter like his father. But he won a scholarship to Longton High School. There, his teachers, who were chemists, helped him discover his love for science. He became the top student and won a special medal. This led him to win the only local scholarship available. He then went to Jesus College, Cambridge University.
His studies at Cambridge were stopped for a short time by World War I. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1917. After the war, he returned to Cambridge. He finished his degree, focusing on physics.
Academic Career and Discoveries
After graduating, Astbury worked with William Henry Bragg in London. He worked at University College London and then at the Royal Institution. Many famous scientists were his fellow students, including Kathleen Lonsdale. Astbury was very excited about his studies. He published papers on the structure of different substances.
In 1928, Astbury became a teacher at the University of Leeds. He stayed at Leeds for the rest of his career. He became a professor in 1946. In 1940, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a great honor for scientists. Today, the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology at Leeds is named after him.
Later in his life, he received many awards and honorary degrees.
Studying Proteins with X-rays
At Leeds, Astbury studied materials like keratin (in wool and hair) and collagen. He received money from the textile industry for this research. These materials did not form sharp patterns like crystals. But the patterns still gave clues about their structure.
In the early 1930s, Astbury found that stretching wool or hair fibers changed their X-ray patterns. He suggested that unstretched fibers had a coiled shape, which he called the "alpha-form." When stretched, this coil would unroll into an "extended state," called the "beta-form."
Astbury's ideas were mostly correct. They led to the modern understanding of protein shapes. These shapes are now known as the alpha-helix and beta-strand. Other scientists, like Linus Pauling, later developed these ideas further.
In 1931, Astbury also suggested that special bonds, called hydrogen bonds, help hold protein structures together. This idea was very important for understanding how proteins work.
Astbury continued to study many other proteins using X-rays. He realized that understanding the shapes of these large molecules was key to understanding living things. He called this new way of thinking "molecular biology." He loved classical music and saw a connection between music and the complex shapes of proteins. In 1960, he even took an X-ray image of a hair strand believed to be from the composer Mozart.
Unlocking the Secrets of DNA
Proteins were not the only biological material Astbury studied. In 1937, a Swedish scientist sent him samples of DNA. The fact that DNA produced an X-ray pattern meant it also had a regular structure. This was a big clue!
Astbury hired a crystallographer named Florence Bell. They published an X-ray study on DNA in 1938. They described the DNA structure as a "Pile of Pennies."
Astbury and Bell found that DNA's structure repeated every 2.7 nanometers. They also saw that the bases, which are like the "letters" of DNA, were stacked flat. They were 0.34 nanometers apart. This spacing was similar to the spacing of amino acids in proteins.
In 1946, Astbury gave a speech where he said: "Biosynthesis is supremely a question of fitting molecules... against another." He believed that the most important interaction was between proteins and nucleic acids like DNA. He also said the spacing between DNA's parts and protein's parts was not an "accident."
Astbury and Bell's work was very important for two reasons. First, they showed that X-ray studies could reveal DNA's regular structure. This laid the groundwork for later work by Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin. Their work then helped Francis Crick and James D. Watson discover the famous DNA double helix in 1953.
Second, Astbury and Bell did this work when most scientists thought proteins carried genetic information. They thought DNA was just a simple molecule. But in 1944, Astbury was one of the few scientists to see the importance of Oswald Avery's work. Avery showed that DNA could pass on traits. This was strong evidence that DNA might be the material that carries heredity.
Astbury called Avery's discovery "one of the most remarkable discoveries of our time." He dreamed of creating a new department at Leeds after World War II. He wanted it to be a national center for the new science of molecular biology. He wrote to the university, saying that "all biology, is now passing over into the molecular structural phase."
Sadly, not everyone shared his vision. The university allowed him to start a new department. But they wouldn't let him use "molecular biology" in the name. Some older biologists felt he was stepping into their area. His new department was also in an old house. It had uneven floors, bad electricity, and leaky pipes. He also couldn't get funding from the Medical Research Council.
Despite these problems, two important things happened in Astbury's new department. One was the discovery of how blood clots form. A student named Laszlo Lorand found how a protein called thrombin helps create fibrin, which makes blood clots.
The second development was new X-ray photos of DNA taken in 1951 by Astbury's assistant, Elwyn Beighton. These photos were very similar to the famous "Photo 51" taken a year later by Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling. Photo 51 was crucial for Watson and Crick's discovery. When James Watson saw Franklin's photo, he was amazed. The cross-shaped pattern showed that DNA had to be a helix.
Astbury's response to Beighton's similar images was different. He never published them. This might seem strange, as he was an expert. One reason could be that Astbury thought biological information was in DNA's complex 3D shape. He didn't realize it was in the simple sequence of its bases. So, a simple twisting helix might have been a disappointment to him.
It's interesting to think what might have happened if Astbury had shown Beighton's images to Linus Pauling in 1952. Pauling was a rival of Watson and Crick. He was trying to solve DNA's structure too. If Pauling had seen these images, the discovery of the double helix might have happened somewhere else! Still, Astbury and Florence Bell made a huge contribution. They showed that X-rays could reveal DNA's regular, ordered structure.
Astbury's Legacy: The Overcoat
Perhaps Astbury's most unusual legacy was his overcoat. In the late 1930s, Astbury and his team found that they could change soluble plant proteins into insoluble fibers. A company called ICI was very interested. They built a factory to make a new fabric called "Ardil." This fabric was made from peanut protein. The idea was to create a cheap substitute for wool.
To show it was possible, ICI made an entire overcoat from Ardil. Astbury often wore this coat to his lectures! Ardil didn't save the British textile industry. But it showed Astbury's belief that we could not only understand the structure of giant molecules like proteins and DNA, but also change them for practical uses.
This idea truly became important later with recombinant DNA technology. Astbury had passed away by then. But as his friend J.D. Bernal wrote, "His monument will be found in the whole of molecular biology."
Personal Life and Qualities
Astbury was known for his constant cheerfulness, idealism, and enthusiasm. He correctly predicted the huge impact of molecular biology. He shared his vision with his students, making lab work feel like a great adventure. His enthusiasm sometimes made him a bit too quick to make scientific guesses.
Astbury was a great writer and speaker. His work was always clear and easy to understand. He also loved music and played both the piano and violin.
Astbury met Frances Gould when he was in Ireland during World War I. They married in 1922. They had a son, Bill, and a daughter, Maureen.
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