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Event |
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Allbutt was an English physician who is renowned for inventing the short clinical thermometer. He introduced the instrument in 1866. It was a marked improvement on the previous foot-long thermometer which took 20 minutes to register a patient's temperature. In 1871 he introduced the use of the ophthalmoscope to inspect the interior of the eye. A few years later, in 1894, Allbutt determined that the painful heart condition angina pectoris stems from the aorta. 1836-07-20T00:00:00+0000| 20 Jul 1836 | | Thomas Clifford Allbutt was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, UKAllbutt | University of Cambridge | Diagnostics, Cardiovascular |
Hopkins was a biochemist who shared the 1929 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering vitamins and demonstrating they are an important nutrient in the diet. This was based on experiments he carried out on rats in 1901. He also helped establish the chemistry of muscle contraction, showing that lactic acid accumulates in working muscle in 1907. In 1922 he isolated and demonstrated the importance of tripeptide gluathione to the utilisation of oxygen by the cell.
1861-06-20T00:00:00+0000| 20 Jun 1861 | | Frederick Gowland Hopkins was born in Eastbourne, UKHopkins | Cambridge University | Biochemistry, Cell |
Aston was a chemist and physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1922 for his identification of isotopes (atoms of the same element that differ in mass). He initially found them in the element neon and later in chlorine and mercury. Aston made the discovery with the help of a mass spectometer which made it possible to separate the isotopes of the chemical elements. Overall Aston discovered 212 naturally occurring isotopes. 1877-09-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Sep 1877 | | Francis W Aston was born in Harborne, UKAston | Cambridge University | |
Hill was a physiologist who helped found the disciplines of biophysics and operations research. His investigations into the physiological thermodynamics of muscle and nerve tissue helped to demonstrate that oxygen is necessary for recovery from muscular activity. At one point he used himself as a research subject which involved him running for three and a quarter hours every morning. His work paved the way to the discovery of a series of biochemical reactions carried out in muscle cells that are necessary for contraction. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1922 for helping to elucidate the production of heat and mechanical work in muscles. 1886-09-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Sep 1886 | | Archibald Vivian Hill was born in Bristol, UKHill | Cambridge University, University of Manchester, University College London | Physiology |
Adrian was an electrophysiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1932 for his discoveries relating to the nerve cell. This he did with the help of a capillary electrometer and cathode ray tube to amplify the signals produced by the nerve system. Recording the electrical discharge of single nerve fibres under stimulus in a frog he was the first to prove the presence of electricity within nerve cells. This paved the way to a better understanding of the physical basis of sensation and the mechanism of muscular control. His work on the electrical activity of the brain opened up new investigations into epilepsy and the location of cerebral lesions. 1889-11-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Nov 1889 | | Edgar Douglas Adrian born in London, UKAdrian | Cambridge University | Neuroscience |
Haldane was a geneticist, biometrician and physiologist who helped to open up new research paths into population genetics and evolution. He was responsible for the
establishment of human gene maps for haemophilia and colour blindness on the X chromosome and was one of the first to suggest that sickle-cell anaemia provides some immunity to Malaria. Haldane is also remembered for establishing the principles for in vitro fertilisation and for coining the terms 'clone' and 'cloning' in human biology. He was also a strong populariser of science and a renowned socialist. 1892-11-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Nov 1892 | | John BS Haldane born in Oxford, UKJBS Haldane | University of Cambridge, University of California Berkeley, University of London | Genetics, Biology, Physiology |
Gwei-djen was a biochemist who undertook pioneering work on metabolic pathways. In 1933, Gwei-djen took the bold decision to leave China, then isolated from the West, to study for a doctorate at Cambridge University where she remained for the rest of her career. By 1939 she had developed the first sensitive assay for detecting low levels of pyruvic acid, an intermediate involved in the breakdown of carbohydrates. Her work demonstrated that the levels of pyruvic acid could be raised by vitamin B1 deficiency and exercise. Gwei-djen worked closely with both Dorothy and Joseph Needham. Together with Joseph she compiled a series of books detailing Chinese achievements in science and technology.1904-07-22T00:00:00+0000| 22 Jul 1904 | | Lu Gwei-djen was born in Nanjing, Qing ChinaGwei-djen | University of Cambridge | Biochemistry, Metabolism |
Lehmann was a biochemist who was renowned for his studies on the distribution of abnormal haemoglobins in many different human populations. This grew out of his interest in anaemia, begun when he served as assistant director of pathology to the North East India Command between 1942 and 1947. He helped to discover a high incidence in the sickle-cell trait in several aboriginal southern Indian populations. Based on his work he hypothesised that the gene for the trait could have been brought to Africa from India during prehistoric migrations.1910-07-08T00:00:00+0000| 8 Jul 1910 | | Hermann Lehmann was born in Halle, Saxony, GermanyLehmann | St Bartholomew's Hospital, Cambridge University | Biochemistry, Haematology |
Hodgkin was a physiologist and biophysicist who helped discover, with Andrew F Huxley, the chemical processes responsible for the transmission of electrical impulses from one nerve cell in the brain through to other nerve fibers. This they did based on experiments involving the introduction of microelectrodes into the giant nerve fibre of the squid. Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1963 for this work. 1914-02-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Feb 1914 | | Alan Lloyd Hodgkin was born in Banbury, UKA Hodgkin | Cambridge University | Neuroscience |
Huxley was a physiologist and biophysicist who helped uncover the mechanism of muscle contraction in 1954 through experiments on the giant axon of the Atlantic Squid. His study of muscle fibres was helped by his development of interference microscopy. Huxley shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1963 for 'discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane'. 1917-11-22T00:00:00+0000| 22 Nov 1917 | | Andrew F Huxley was born in Hampstead, UKHuxley | Cambridge University, University College London | Cell, Neuroscience |
Krebs was a biochemist who in 1933 was forced to leave Nazi Germany because his father was Jewish. He is best known for having discovered two important chemical reactions in the body - the urea cycle and the citric acid cycle. These chemical reactions help break down food molecules into carbon dioxide, water and energy. He made the breakthrough in the 1930s. The process is known as the Krebs cycle. Krebs was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954.1918-08-25T00:00:00+0000| 25 Aug 1918 | | Hans Adolf Krebs was born in Hildesheim, GermanyKrebs | University of Freiburg, Cambridge University, Sheffield University, Oxford University | Cell, Biochemistry |
The concept, known as ectogenesis, was first put forward by JBS Haldane, a geneticist and biochemist, to the Heretics Society at the University of Cambridge.1923-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1923 | | Idea that embryos could be developed in artificial conditions outside the uterusJBS Haldane | University of Cambridge | Reproduction, IVF |
Allbutt was an English physician who is renowned for inventing the short clinical thermometer. He introduced the instrument in 1866. It was a marked improvement on the previous foot-long thermometer which took 20 minutes to register a patient's temperature. In 1871 he introduced the use of the ophthalmoscope to inspect the interior of the eye. A few years later, in 1894, Allbutt determined that the painful heart condition angina pectoris stems from the aorta.1925-02-22T00:00:00+0000| 22 Feb 1925 | | Thomas Clifford Allbutt diedAllbutt | University of Cambridge | Diagnostics, Cardiovascular |
Edwards won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2010 for the part he played in perfecting the in vitro fertilisation of the human egg. His work helped the development of IVF which made possible the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first 'test-tube' baby in 1978. Edwards first began his work in the area in the 1950s. Initially met with great resistance, Edwards' efforts helped break down the social taboos surrounding infertility. Millions of babies have now been created with the help of IVF since 1978. 1925-09-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Sep 1925 | | Robert G Edwards born in Batley, United KingdomRobert Edwards | Cambridge University, Oldham Hospital | Reproduction, IVF |
McLaren was a major pioneer in the development of IVF. She was also the key architect behind the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act (1990) which provided the world’s first legal guidelines for infertility treatment and all human embryo research. Following this Act, McLaren served for 10 years on the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, established in 1991, and became a critical player in debates about the governance of embryonic stem cells for therapy. She also made history in 1991 by becoming the Royal Society’s first woman officer.
1927-04-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Apr 1927 | | Anne McLaren was born in London, UKMcLaren | University College London, Edinburgh University, Cambridge University | Embryology, Reproduction, Stem cells |
Hopkins, an English biochemist. was awarded the Prize for his discovery of growth-stimulating vitamins and Eijkman, a Dutch physician and pathologist, for his discovery of the antinuetritic vitamin. Their work marked the beginning of research into vitamins. 1929-12-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Dec 1929 | | Frederick Hopkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Christiaan Eijkman for the discovery of vitaminsHopkins, Eijkman | Cambridge University, Javanese Medical School | Nutrition |
Studies a combination of chemistry, physics, maths and physiology and specialises in biochemistry in his final year.1936-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1936 - 1940 | | Sanger takes degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge UniversitySanger | Cambridge University | DNA Sequencing |
Initially supervised by Bill Pirie, and then by Albert Neuberger, in the Department of Biochemistry. Thesis: 'On the metabolism of the amino acid lysine in the animal body'. 1940-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1940 - 1943 | | Sanger studies for a doctorate at Cambridge UniversitySanger | Cambridge University | DNA Sequencing |
C.H. Waddington, 'The Epigenotype', Endeavour, 1 (1942), 18-20.1942-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1942 | | 'Epigenetics' coined as a term to describe how genes interact with the environment to produce the physical traits of an organism Waddngton | Cambridge University | Epigenetics |
Sanger undertakes the research as part of team working with Albert Chibnall in Department of Biochemistry. His work is initially supported by a Beit Memorial Fellowship from 1944 and then by Medical Research Council from 1951. 1944-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1944 | | Sanger starts working on amino acid composition of insulinSanger | Cambridge University | DNA Sequencing |
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