Otto Heinrich Warburg, 1883-1970

Otto Warburg died on 1 August 1970, after a very short illness. In the course of a career devoted entirely to research and extending over 60 years he made an exceptionally large number of highly original and far-reaching contributions to cell biology and biochemistry. In an age which has produced many outstanding scientists, he stands out as one of the great pioneers of contemporary biology. Lewis and Randall (31)*, in the preface to their Thermodynamics, liken the edifice of science to a cathedral built by the efforts of a few architects and many workers. In this sense Warburg belongs to the small band of real architects of his generation. He was born on 8 October 1883, in Freiburg im Breisgau where his father, Emil Warburg, was at that time Professor of Physics at the University. Emil Warburg (1846-1931) was one of the leading physicists of his time who made many classical contributions to his subject and formed a large school. An appreciation of his achievements and personality was published by James Franck (18), one of his students. * Figures given in round brackets refer to the list of references. Figures given in square brackets refer to the Bibliography.

[1]  R. Valentine,et al.  An electron transport factor from Clostridium pasteurianum. , 1962, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[2]  J. L. Smith,et al.  The Oxygen Tension of Arterial Blood , 1896, The Journal of physiology.

[3]  H. Schlegel.  A. Kleinzeller und Mitarbeiter, Manometrische Methoden und ihre Anwendung in Biologie und Biochemie. 620 S., 145 Abb., 82 Tab. Jena 1965: VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena MDN 75,60 , 1967 .

[4]  D. Arnon.  Role of ferredoxin in photosynthesis , 1969, Naturwissenschaften.

[5]  D. Keilin,et al.  Cytochrome and Cytochrome Oxidase , 1939 .

[6]  H. Goldblatt,et al.  INDUCED MALIGNANCY IN CELLS FROM RAT MYOCARDIUM SUBJECTED TO INTERMITTENT ANAEROBIOSIS DURING LONG PROPAGATION IN VITRO , 1953, The Journal of experimental medicine.

[7]  T. Dunn,et al.  NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATIONS IN C3H MOUSE EMBRYONIC TISSUE IN VITRO DETERMINED BY INTRAOCULAR GROWTH. I. CELLS FROM CHEMICALLY DEFINED MEDIUM WITH AND WITHOUT SERUM SUPPLEMENT. , 1964, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[8]  A. Beevers,et al.  Nitrate Reduction in Higher Plants , 1969 .

[9]  A. Claude,et al.  Studies on cells: Morphology, chemical constitution, and distribution of biochemical functions , 1948 .

[10]  L. Leloir.  Two decades of research on the biosynthesis of saccharides , 2011 .

[11]  E. Ball.  XANTHINE OXIDASE: PURIFICATION AND PROPERTIES , 1939 .

[12]  T. Broyer,et al.  Chlorine-A Micronutrient Element for Higher Plants. , 1954, Plant physiology.

[13]  D. Arnon.  The light reactions of photosynthesis. , 1971, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  F. R. Whatley,et al.  A natural factor catalyzing reduction of methaemoglobin by isolated chloroplasts , 1952, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B - Biological Sciences.

[15]  O. Warburg.  On respiratory impairment in cancer cells. , 1956, Science.

[16]  E. Racker.  Bioenergetics and the problem of tumor growth. , 1972, American scientist.

[17]  Gilbert N. Lewis,et al.  Thermodynamics and the free energy of chemical substances , 1923 .

[18]  V. Evans,et al.  Effect of serum on spontaneous neoplastic transformations in vitro. , 1966, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[19]  E. Shelton,et al.  Production of Malignancy in Vitro. V. Results of Injections of Cultures into Mice , 1943 .