Friedrich Miescher

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Friedrich Miescher

Swiss physician and biologist

Friedrich Miescher

Born	August 13, 1844
Birth place	Basel, Switzerland
Died	August 26, 1895
Place of death	Davos, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Known for	Discovery of nucleic acids

Friedrich Miescher (August 13, 1844 – August 26, 1895) was a Swiss physician and biologist who is best known for his discovery of nucleic acids, which he initially called "nuclein". This discovery laid the foundation for the field of molecular biology.

Early Life and Education

Friedrich Miescher was born in Basel, Switzerland, into a family of scientists. He studied medicine at the University of Basel and later at the University of Göttingen, where he earned his doctorate. Miescher's early education was influenced by his uncle, Wilhelm His Sr., a prominent anatomist.

Career and Research

After completing his studies, Miescher worked under the guidance of Felix Hoppe-Seyler at the University of Tübingen. It was here, in 1869, that Miescher made his groundbreaking discovery of nucleic acids while studying the cell nucleus of white blood cells.

Miescher isolated a new substance from the nuclei of pus cells, which he found to be rich in phosphorus and resistant to proteolysis. He named this substance "nuclein", which we now know as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This discovery was crucial in understanding the chemical nature of genetic material.

Later Work and Legacy

In 1871, Miescher returned to Switzerland and joined the University of Basel as a professor. He continued his research on nucleic acids and other biological substances. Despite his significant contributions, Miescher's work was not fully recognized during his lifetime. It was only later that the importance of his discovery was acknowledged, particularly with the advent of molecular genetics.

Miescher's work laid the groundwork for future scientists, such as James Watson and Francis Crick, who elucidated the double helix structure of DNA. Today, Miescher is remembered as a pioneer in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology.

Personal Life

Friedrich Miescher suffered from tuberculosis and spent the later years of his life in Davos, a town known for its sanatoriums. He passed away on August 26, 1895, at the age of 51.

See Also

• Nucleic acid
• DNA
• Molecular biology
• University of Basel
• Felix Hoppe-Seyler