Otto Heinrich Warburg 240836 225655609 2008-07-14T19:29:44Z Zwikki 5354908 /* The Otto Warburg Medal */ Link added {{dablink|This article is about the biochemist and Nobel laureate. For the botanist and World Zionist Organization president, see [[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Otto Warburg]].}} {{Infobox_Scientist |name = Otto Heinrich Warburg |image = Otto Warburg.jpg |image_width = 140px |caption = Otto Heinrich Warburg | birth_date = {{birth date|1883|10|8|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Freiburg]], [[Baden]], [[Germany]] |residence = [[Germany]] |nationality = [[Germany|German]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1970|8|1|1883|10|8}} | death_place = [[Berlin]], [[West Germany]] |field = [[Cell biology]] |work_institution = [[Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology]] |alma_mater = [[University of Berlin]]</br>[[University of Heidelberg]] |doctoral_advisor = [[Hermann Emil Fischer|Emil Fischer]] chemistry, [[Ludolf von Krehl]] medicine |doctoral_students = |known_for = |prizes = [[Image:Nobel prize medal.svg|20px]] [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (1931) |religion = |footnotes = }}'''Otto Heinrich Warburg''' ([[October 8]], [[1883]], [[Freiburg im Breisgau]] &ndash; [[August 1]], [[1970]], [[Berlin]]), son of physicist [[Emil Warburg]], was a [[Germany|German]] [[physiologist]], medical doctor and [[Nobel laureate]]. Warburg was one of the twentieth century's leading [[Cell biology|cell biologists]].<ref>{{cite journal|last = Krebs|first = HA|title = Otto Heinrich Warburg. 1883-1970 |journal = Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|volume = 18|pages = 628–699|publisher = The Royal Society|date = Nov., 1972|doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1972.0023}}</ref> ==Earlier life== {{Citations missing|date=June 2007}} Otto's father, Emil Warburg, was a distant relative of the illustrious [[Warburg family]] of [[Altona]], who had converted to Christianity reportedly after a disagreement in the family. Emil was also President of the Physikalische Reichsanstalt, Wirklicher Geheimer Oberregierungsrat. Otto's mother was the daughter of a Protestant family of civil servants from [[Baden]]. Otto studied chemistry under the great [[Hermann Emil Fischer|Emil Fischer]], and earned his Doctorate of Chemistry in [[Berlin]] in 1906. He then studied under [[Ludolf von Krehl]], and earned the degree of Doctor of Medicine in [[Heidelberg]] in 1911. Between 1908 and 1914, Otto was affiliated with the [[Naples Marine Biological Station]], also known as the [[Stazione Zoologica]], in [[Naples]], Italy, where he did research. In later years he would return for visits, and maintained a lifelong friendship with the family of the station's director. A lifelong equestrian, he served as an officer in the elite [[Uhlans]] (cavalry) on the front during the [[First World War]] where he won the [[Iron Cross]]. Warburg later credited this experience with affording him invaluable insights into "real life" outside the confines of academia. Towards the end of the war, when the outcome was unmistakable, [[Albert Einstein]], who had been a friend of Otto's father Emil, wrote Otto at the behest of friends, asking him to leave the army and return to academia, as it would be a tragedy for the world to lose his talents. ==Scientific work and Nobel Prize== While working at the Marine Biological Station Warburg performed research on oxygen consumption in [[sea urchin]] eggs after fertilization, and proved that upon fertilization, the rate of respiration increases by as much as sixfold. His experiments also proved that iron is essential for the development of the larval stage. In 1918 Warburg was appointed Professor at the [[Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology]] in Berlin-Dahlem (part of the [[Kaiser Wilhelm Institute|Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft]]). By 1931 he was named Director of the [[Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Cell Physiology]] there, which founded the previous year by a donation of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] to the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft (since renamed the [[Max Planck Society]]). Warburg investigated the metabolism of tumors and the respiration of cells, particularly cancer cells, and in [[1931]] was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] for his "discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme."<ref>NobelPrize.org, [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1931/ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1931] accessed April 20, 2007</ref> In 1944, Warburg was nominated again for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by [[Albert Szent-Györgyi]], for his work on [[nicotinic acid amide]] and the discovery of [[flavine]] (in [[lumiflavin|yellow enzymes]]).<ref name="Nobel-1972_210">{{Harvnb|Liljestrand|Bernhard|1972|loc="The Prize in Physiology or Medicine", p. 210}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://nobelprize.org/nomination/medicine/nomination.php?action=show&showid=1089 | title = The Nomination Database for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1901-1951: 1944: Otto H Warburg | publisher = [[Nobel Foundation]] | year = 1944 | accessdate = 2007-11-10}}</ref> It is rumored and reported by some sources that he was selected for a second Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 but was not allowed to accept the Prize due to the policies of the German government of the time.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9076088 | title="Otto Warburg" | work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online| date=2007 | accessdate=2007-11-12}}.</ref><ref name="Chernow-539-541">Chernow 539-541.</ref> According to the Nobel Foundation, this rumor is not true; although he was considered a worthy candidate, he was not selected for the prize.<ref name="Nobel-1972_210" /> Three scientists who worked in Warburg's lab, including Sir [[Hans Adolf Krebs]], went on to win the Nobel Prize. Among other discoveries, Krebs is credited with the identification of the [[citric acid cycle]] (or Krebs cycle). ==Cancer hypothesis== {{main|Warburg hypothesis}} In 1924, Warburg hypothesized that [[cancer]], malignant growth, and [[tumor]] growth are caused by the fact that tumor cells mainly generate [[energy]] (as e.g. [[adenosine triphosphate]] / ATP) by non-oxidative breakdown of [[glucose]] (a process called [[glycolysis]]). This is in contrast to "healthy" cells which mainly generate energy from oxidative breakdown of [[pyruvate]]. Pyruvate is an end-product of [[glycolysis]], and is [[oxidized]] within the [[mitochondria]]. Hence and according to Warburg, cancer should be interpreted as a [[mitochondrial]] dysfunction. ''"Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, [[Warburg hypothesis|the prime cause of cancer]] is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar."'' -- Dr. Otto H. Warburg in Lecture <ref>Otto H. Warburg, [http://healingtools.tripod.com/primecause1.html/ The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer] accessed October 30, 2007</ref> Warburg continued to develop the hypothesis experimentally, and held several prominent lectures outlining the theory and the data.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Warburg O |title=On the origin of cancer cells |journal=Science |volume=123 |issue=3191 |pages=309–14 |year=1956 |pmid=13298683 |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/123/3191/309 |doi=10.1126/science.123.3191.309}}</ref> The concept that cancer cells switch to glycolysis has become widely accepted, even if it is not seen as the ''cause'' of cancer. Some suggest that the Warburg phenomenon could be used to develop anticancer drugs.<ref name=Kim>{{cite journal |author=Kim JW, Dang CV |title=Cancer's molecular sweet tooth and the Warburg effect |journal=Cancer Res. |volume=66 |issue=18 |pages=8927–30 |year=2006 |pmid=16982728 |doi=10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-1501}}</ref> Indeed is the basis of [[positron emission tomography]] (18-FDG PET), a [[medical imaging]] technology that relies on this phenomenon.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Som P, Atkins HL, Bandoypadhyay D, ''et al'' |title=A fluorinated glucose analog, 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (F-18): nontoxic tracer for rapid tumor detection |journal=J. Nucl. Med. |volume=21 |issue=7 |pages=670–5 |year=1980 |pmid=7391842 |url=http://jnm.snmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/21/7/670}}</ref><ref name=Kim/> ==Later years== Otto Warburg edited and has much of his original work published in ''The Metabolism of Tumours'' (tr. 1931) and wrote ''New Methods of Cell Physiology'' (1962). An unabashed [[Anglophile]], Otto Warburg was thrilled when [[Oxford University]] awarded him an honorary doctorate. Otto Warburg was awarded the Order [[Pour le Mérite]] in 1952. Warburg was known to tell other universities not to bother with honorary doctorates, and to ask officials to mail him medals he had been awarded so as to avoid a ceremony that would separate him from his beloved laboratory, an unusual trait in German culture.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Warburg also wrote about oxygen's relationship to the pH of cancer cells internal environment. Since fermentation was a major metabolic pathway of cancer cells, Warburg reported that cancer cells maintain a lower pH, as low as 6.0, due to lactic acid production and elevated CO<sub>2</sub>. He firmly believed that there was a direct relationship between pH and oxygen. Higher pH means higher concentration of oxygen molecules while lower pH means lower concentrations of oxygen.{{fact|date=December 2007}} When frustrated by the lack of acceptance of his ideas, Warburg was known to quote an aphorism he attributed to [[Max Planck]] that science doesn't progress because scientists change their minds, but rather because scientists attached to erroneous views die, and are replaced.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Seemingly utterly convinced of the accuracy of his conclusions, Warburg expressed dismay at the "continual discovery of cancer agents and cancer viruses" which he expected to "hinder necessary preventative measures and thereby become responsible for cancer cases". {{Fact|date=June 2007}} In his later years Warburg came to be a bit of an eccentric in that he was convinced that illness resulted from pollution; this caused him to become a bit of a health nut. He insisted on eating bread made from wheat grown organically on land that belonged to him. When he visited restaurants he often made arrangements to pay the full price for a cup of tea but to only be served boiling water, from which he would make tea with a tea bag he had brought with him. He was also known to go to significant lengths to obtain organic butter whose quality he trusted.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} When Dr. [[Josef Issels]], an intrepid doctor who became famous for his use of non-mainstream therapies to treat cancer, was arrested and later found guilty of malpractice in what Issels alleged was a highly politicized case, Warburg offered to testify on Issels' behalf at his appeal to the German Supreme Court. All of Issels' convictions were overturned.<ref name="Issels">Issels.</ref> ==The Otto Warburg Medal== The Otto Warburg Medal is intended to commemorate Warburg's outstanding achievements. It has been awarded by the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, GBM) since 1963. The prize honors and encourages pioneering achievements in fundamental biochemical and molecular biological research. The Otto Warburg Medal is regarded as the highest award for biochemists and molecular biologists in Germany. It has been endowed with prize money of 25,000 euros since 2007, sponsored by [[Qiagen|QIAGEN]]. ==Bibliography== * ''Über die Rolle des Eisens in der Atmung des Seeigeleis nebst Bemerkungen über einige durch Eisen beschleunigte Oxydationen m. Abb. ''(Sitzungsber. Heidelberger Akad. Wiss. math.-nat. Kl B Heidelberg, 1911) (Trans: On the rôle of Iron in the Breathing of the Sea Urchin Egg and Comments about some Oxidations accelerated by Iron. Proceedings of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences Heidelberg 1911.) * ''Schwermetalle als Wirkungsgruppe von Fermenten'' (Berlin, 1946.) (Trans: Heavy metal prosthetic groups and enzyme action) * ''Ideen zur Fermentchemie der Tumoren (Abh. der Deutschen Akad. der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Math-naturwissenschaft. Kl 1947'', Berlin 1947) (Trans: Theses on the enzymatic chemistry of Tumors, Proceedings of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin, mathematical-scientific ?, Berlin 1947) * ''Wasserstoffübertragende Fermente'' (Berlin, Saenger 1948) (Trans: Hydrogen-transferring Enzymes) * ''Weiterentwicklung der zellphysiologischen Methoden: angewandt auf Krebs, Photosynthese und Wirkungsweise der Röntgenstrahlung: Arbeiten aus den Jahren 1945-1961'', (Thieme, Stuttgart 1962) (Trans: Further Developments of Methods in Cellular Physiology applied to Cancer, Photosynthesis and the Effects of X-ray Radiation) Texts in German and English == Notes == <div class="references-small"> <references/> </div> == References == <div class="references-small"> *{{Harvard reference | Surname1 = | Given1 = | Year = 1965 | Title = Nobel Lectures, Physiology or Medicine 1922-1941 | Publisher = Elsevier Publishing Company | Place = [[Amsterdam]] }} *{{Citation | last = Chernow | first = Ron | author-link = Ron Chernow | year = 1993 | title = The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family | publisher = Random House | place = New York, NY | isbn = 0-679-41823-7 }} * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Krebs | Given1 = Hans Adolf | Year = 1981 | Title = Otto Warburg: Cell Physiologist, Biochemist, and Eccentric | Publisher = Oxford University Press | ISBN = 0198581718 }} * {{Citation | last = Liljestrand | first = Göran | last2 = Bernhard | first2 = Carl Gustaf | chapter = The Prize in Physiology or Medicine | pages = 139–278 | editor = Nobel Foundation | editor-link = Nobel Foundation | editor2-last = Odelberg | editor2-first = W. (Coordinating Ed.) | title = Nobel: The Man and His Prizes | place = New York, NY | publisher = American [[Elsevier]] Publishing Company, Inc | year = 1972 | edition = 3rd | isbn = 0-444-00117-4 }} * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Werner | Given1 = Petra | Year = 1991 | Title = Ein Genie Irrt Seltener ... | Publisher = Akademie Verlag | Place = [[Berlin]] | ISBN = 3-05-501282-8 }} * {{Harvard reference | Surname1 = Werner | Given1 = Petra | Year = 1988 | Title = Otto Warburg : Von der Zellphysiologie zur Krebsforschung : Biografie | Publisher = Verlag Neues Leben | ISBN = 3-355-00789-7 }} * {{Citation | last = Issels MD | first = Josef | title = Mein Kampf gegen den Krebs: Erinnerungen eines Arztes | publisher = C. Bertelsmann | year = 1981 | isbn = 3570047369. }} </div> == External links == *[http://www.nndb.com/people/682/000127301/ Notable Names Database (NNDB) Biography] *[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1931/warburg-bio.html Nobel Lecture biography] *[http://nobelprize.org/medicine/laureates/1931/ 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine] *[http://healingtools.tripod.com/primecause1.html/ ''The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer''] *[http://www.smokershistory.com/OWarburg.htm Exerpt from ''The Warburgs'' by Ron Chernow (pgs. 539-541)]) *[http://www.otto-warburg-medal.org/en/ Website of the Otto Warburg Medal] {{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 1926-1950}} [[Category:Cell biology|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:University of Freiburg alumni]] [[Category:1883 births|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:1970 deaths|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:German Nobel laureates|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:German scientists|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:Jewish scientists|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine|Warburg, Otto Heinrich]] [[Category:Warburg family]] [[ar:أوتو فاربورغ]] [[bg:Ото Варбург]] [[ca:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[de:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[et:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[es:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[fr:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[hr:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[id:Otto Warburg]] [[it:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[he:אוטו היינריך ורבורג]] [[sw:Otto Warburg]] [[hu:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[nl:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[ja:オットー・ワールブルク]] [[pl:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[pt:Otto Heinrich Warburg]] [[ru:Варбург, Отто Генрих]] [[sv:Otto Warburg]] [[zh:奥托·海因里希·瓦尔堡]]