Aaron Klug
Encyclopedia
Sir Aaron Klug, OM
, PRS
(born 11 August 1926) is a Lithuania
n-born British chemist
and biophysicist, and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy
and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid
-protein complexes.
to Jewish
parents Lazar and Bella (née Silin) Klug with whom he moved to South Africa at the age of two. He later graduated with a degree in science at the University of Witwatersrand and studied crystallography
at the University of Cape Town
before moving to England, completing his doctorate at Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1953.
He moved to Birkbeck College
in the University of London
in late 1953, and started working with Rosalind Franklin
in John Bernal
's lab. This experience aroused a lifelong interest in the study of virus
es, and during his time there he made discoveries in the structure of the tobacco mosaic virus
. In 1962 he moved to the newly built MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. Over the following decade Klug used methods from X-ray diffraction, microscopy and structural modelling to develop crystallographic electron microscopy in which a sequence of two-dimensional images of crystals taken from different angles are combined to produce three-dimensional images of the target.
He was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
from Columbia University
in 1981. Between 1986 and 1996 he was director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology
in Cambridge, and was knighted
by Elizabeth II in 1988. He was elected President of the Royal Society
, and served from 1995–2000. He was appointed OM
in 1995 – as is customary for Presidents of the Royal Society. He is also a member of the Board of Scientific Governors at The Scripps Research Institute
.
In 2005 he was awarded South Africa's Order of Mapungubwe
(gold) for exceptional achievements in medical science.
He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering
.
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
, PRS
President of the Royal Society
The president of the Royal Society is the elected director of the Royal Society of London. After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was founded officially on 15 July 1662 for the encouragement of ‘philosophical studies’, by a royal charter which nominated William Brouncker as...
(born 11 August 1926) is a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n-born British chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and biophysicist, and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy
Electron crystallography
Electron crystallography is a method to determine the arrangement of atoms in solids using a transmission electron microscope .- Comparison with X-ray crystallography :...
and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
-protein complexes.
Biography
Klug was born in Želva, LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
to Jewish
Lithuanian Jews
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks are Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:...
parents Lazar and Bella (née Silin) Klug with whom he moved to South Africa at the age of two. He later graduated with a degree in science at the University of Witwatersrand and studied crystallography
Crystallography
Crystallography is the experimental science of the arrangement of atoms in solids. The word "crystallography" derives from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and grapho = write.Before the development of...
at the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
before moving to England, completing his doctorate at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1953.
He moved to Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
in the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in late 1953, and started working with Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Elsie Franklin was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite...
in John Bernal
J. D. Bernal
John Desmond Bernal FRS was one of Britain’s best known and most controversial scientists, called "Sage" by his friends, and known for pioneering X-ray crystallography in molecular biology.-Origin and education:His family was Irish, of mixed Italian and Spanish/Portuguese Sephardic Jewish origin...
's lab. This experience aroused a lifelong interest in the study of virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es, and during his time there he made discoveries in the structure of the tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus is a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus that infects plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteristic patterns on the leaves . TMV was the first virus to be discovered...
. In 1962 he moved to the newly built MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. Over the following decade Klug used methods from X-ray diffraction, microscopy and structural modelling to develop crystallographic electron microscopy in which a sequence of two-dimensional images of crystals taken from different angles are combined to produce three-dimensional images of the target.
He was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers that have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry....
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1981. Between 1986 and 1996 he was director of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The Laboratory of Molecular Biology is a research institute in Cambridge, England, which was at the forefront of the revolution in molecular biology which occurred in the 1950–60s, since then it remains a major medical research laboratory with a much broader focus.-Early beginnings: 1947-61:Max...
in Cambridge, and was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
by Elizabeth II in 1988. He was elected President of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and served from 1995–2000. He was appointed OM
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
in 1995 – as is customary for Presidents of the Royal Society. He is also a member of the Board of Scientific Governors at The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
.
In 2005 he was awarded South Africa's Order of Mapungubwe
Order of Mapungubwe
The Order of Mapungubwe is South Africa's highest honour. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and is granted by the president of South Africa, for achievements in the international area which have served South Africa's interests...
(gold) for exceptional achievements in medical science.
He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering
Campaign for Science and Engineering
The Campaign for Science and Engineering is a non-profit organization which promotes science and engineering in the UK. It focuses on arguing for more research funding, promoting a high-tech and knowledge-based economy, highlighting the need for top-quality science and maths education at all...
.
See also
- History of RNA biologyHistory of RNA biologyNumerous key discoveries in biology have emerged from studies of RNA , including seminal work in the fields of biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, molecular evolution and structural biology. As of 2010, 30 scientists have been awarded Nobel Prizes for experimental work that...
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
- List of RNA biologists
Further reading
- John Finch; 'A Nobel Fellow On Every Floor', Medical Research Council 2008, 381 pp, ISBN 978-1-84046-940-0; this book is all about the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge.
- Aaron Klug tells his life story at Web of Stories
- Aaron Klug biography at the Nobel FoundationNobel FoundationThe Nobel Foundation is a private institution founded on 29 June 1900 to manage the finances and administration of the Nobel Prizes. The Foundation is based on the last will of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite....
- Aaron Klug interviews with Harry Kroto
- Aaron Klug article by Bob Weintraub.
- The Official Site of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
- Aaron Klug interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 11 December 2007 (film)
- Listen to an oral history interview with Aaron Klug - a life story interview recorded for National Life Stories at the British Library