Biographical Memoirs Volume 82 (2003) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Sarah Ratner
Sarah Ratner
Pages 220-241
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 221... ...
She became a graduate student in the early 1930s, when biochemistry was mainly rooted in physiology en cl organic chemistry, about all that organic chemists knew of proteins was that they contained amino acicis. Nucleic acicis were even more of a mystery, en cl the catalytic action of enzymes was an enigma.
|
From page 222... ...
Her family home library "included books on the great technical inventions: electricity, the telegraph and telephone, the incandescent light en cl the internal combustion engine." These works, part of her chilc~hoocl reacting, stimulatec! her interest in new technologies.
|
From page 223... ...
icleas with fellow students, "co-ecis were generally placer! in the pale and I was easily discouraged, being innately very shy." The situation was not easy for her, her college friends were liberal arts students with whom chemical discussions were impossible.
|
From page 224... ...
in a strong role for organic chemistry and, as a historian has noted, "a conscious effort was macle to introduce icleas en cl techniques from organic chemistry into medical research" (Kohier, 1977~. The Columbia medical school had moved uptown in 1928 to Washington Heights to form part of the Columbia Presbyterian Meclical Center.
|
From page 225... ...
She states! that in 1930, working with Kurzrok, she cliscoverecl a low molecular mass compound in human semen that couIcl produce uterine contractions.
|
From page 226... ...
Her Ph.D. thesis work was straight organic chemistry: a stucly of the reaction of cysteine with formaTclehycle to form a thiazolicline-4-carboxylic acid (Ratner en cl Clarke, 1937~.
|
From page 227... ...
A purified L-amino acid oxiciase from rat kidney was shown to have broad specificity and to be a
|
From page 228... ...
With a second NH3 the latter proclucecl arginine en cl finally arginine was clecomposec! with the enzyme arginase to form urea and ornithine, the latter could initiate the cycle again (see Figure I)
|
From page 229... ...
ATP. IncleecI, the ATPgenerating activity of the citric acid cycle was metabolically relatecl to urea synthesis.
|
From page 230... ...
are best visualizecl by consulting Figure 3. An excellent summary by Sarah herself is also available (Ratner, 1976~.
|
From page 231... ...
Coupled with the reactions of oxidative phosphorylation, this cycle leads to formation of ATP (required for argininosuccinate synthetase)
|
From page 232... ...
derangements of nitrogen metabolism who excreted some 3 grams per clay of argininosuccinate. This was probably the earliest description of an inborn metabolic error involving the urea cycle.
|
From page 233... ...
243~. She taught pharmacology at New York University after spencling part of a summer reacting "the monumental pharmacology text by Goodman and Gilman." She regrettecl that she hacl not taught biochemistry in a lecture course.
|
From page 234... ...
Your way of going about scientific investigation combines determination to arrive at a complete molecular description of a biochemical process with clarity of vision and exquisite attention to detail. Since I never hac!
|
From page 235... ...
B Petrack: "My respect for Sarah continues to grow, not just for her considerable scientific achievements, but also for her many admirable personal qualities, among which integrity, kindness, and courage stand out" (FSR, p.
|
From page 236... ...
243~. The portrait is very clear: extraordinary insight, uncompromising standards and integrity, a most distinguished biochemist especially concerned with nitrogen metabolism, giftec!
|
From page 237... ...
1977. A long view of nitrogen metabolism.
|
From page 238... ...
Rittenberg. The process of continuous deamination and reamination of amino acids in the proteins of normal animals.
|
From page 239... ...
Nocito. Isolation of Lamino acid oxidase.
|
From page 240... ...
VIII. Free energy changes of the argininosuccinate synthetase reaction and of the hydrolysis of the inner pyrophosphate bond of adenosine triphosphate.
|
From page 241... ...
SARAH RAIN E R 1987 241 With C
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.