Albert Szent-GyorgyiBorn 16 Sep 1893; died 22 Oct 1986 at age 93. Hungarian-American biochemist who was awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine “for his discoveries in connection with the biological combustion processes, with special reference to vitamin C and the catalysis of fumaric acid.” He isolated the vitamin C (ascorbic acid), noted its value for preventing scurvy, and extracted quantities of it from Hungarian paprika. He also investigated biological oxidation and recognized the catalytic function of the C4-dicarboxylic acids and discovered flavin. In 1938 he began work on muscle research and shortly discovered the proteins actin and myosin and their complex.« |