EMIL ABDERHALDEN (1877-
)
For biographical note contributed by Dr. Ralph I?. Oesper, of the Uni\ersity of Cincinnati, see page 237. Dr. Oerper .also lent the photograph lhrre reproduced.
EMIL ABDERHALDEN* NO CONTEMPORARY biochemist is better known than the editor of the "Handhuch der biologischen Arbeitsmethoden." However, Emil Ahderhalden's enviable reputation is not primarily derived from his efficient leadership in this monumental production; rather, his recognized eminence has been attained through the constant stream of high-class experimental studies that has flowed from his laboratory. His researches have covered or touched so many areas of his chosen field that an abstract of his hundreds of published papers might almost serve as a syllabus of a comprehensive course in physiological chemistry. Though a choice is difficult, the following will give an idea of the variety of his scientific output. By comparative analyses of bloods he has shown that the serum contains about the same content of mineral matters, no matter how widely varied were the animal species studied, a fact of importance in the planning of diets. On the other hand, the corpuscles differ markedly in this respect. He has made extensive studies of the mineral content of milks and sought to correlate the findings with the growth rate of the new-born animals. The resorption and assimilation of iron and the effect of living at high altitudes on the formation of blood are other typical examples of the topics that interested him in the early part of his career. His work on proteins is outstanding. He has shown that, by and large, the various albumins contain the same amino acids. He found that proteins are extensively degraded in the gastro-intestinal tract, hut that the animal organism can elaborate albumin from amino acids. This latter fact was utilized in studying the biological activity of the individual amino acids, by noting the influence of diets from which the acid under consideration had been omitted. He showed that amino acids are always present in the blood. He has synthesized numerous polypeptides, has isolated some of these from protein and demonstrated the identity of the natural and synthetic product. He has employed
'See frontispiece.
polypeptides as substrates in his studies directed toward the elucidation of the action of the polypeptidases. His discovery of the protective ferments opened up a field that has engaged the attention of many workers. He showed that parenteral introduction of albumin was followed by the appearance in the blood plasma and urine of proteinases which are highly specific in that they are capable of degrading only the injected albumin. He applied protective ferments to the study of heredity and transmission; he showed that protective enzymes that can break down placental proteins are present during pregnancy. He has worked out a reaction for the detection of pregnancy and has developed a procedure for the diagnosis of cancer. He discovered new structural units of protein, norleucine, and nomaline. He has studied protein metaholism and investigated the origin of creatine. He has shown that glycocoll can protect easily oxidizable materials. Hormones and vitamins form a further chapter in his researches. He has studied the influence of vitamin B1 on carbohydrate metabolism and has shown that the demand for this food accessory is dependent on the extent of the metaholism. The functions of vitamin C have also been of special interest to him. He is corresponding or honorary member of about fifty scientific societies and academies. He is now President of the Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher. Of his numerous honors, he is particularly proud of the Berzelius Medal conferred on h i by the Swedish Society of Physicians, a distinction hitherto received only by his revered teacher, Emil Fischer. Emil Ahderhalden was horn in Switzerland on March 9, 1877. He received his medical degree in 1901 from the University of Basel. He then went to the University of Berlin, where he occupied various teaching posts until 1911, when he was called to the University of Halle as Director of the Physiological Institute, where he has preferred to remain, despite flattering offers from other universities. (Contributed by Ralph E. Oesper, University of Cincinnati).
