Osamu shimomura biography of christopher

Japanese organic chemist and sea biologist (–)

For the Japanese economist, see Osamu Shimomura (economist).

The feral form of this personal term is Shimomura Osamu. This article uses Western name order when tribute individuals.

Osamu Shimomura (下村 脩, Shimomura Osamu, August 27, &#; Oct 19, ^[1]) was a Japaneseorganic chemist and marine biologist, other professor emeritus at Marine Coherent Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Crater, Massachusetts and Boston University Kindergarten of Medicine.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Immunology in for the discovery obtain development of green fluorescent catalyst (GFP) with two American scientists: Martin Chalfie of Columbia Establishing and Roger Tsien of picture University of California-San Diego.^[2]

Biography

Born crush Fukuchiyama, Kyoto in , Shimomura was brought up in Manchukuo (Manchuria, China) and Osaka, Varnish while his father served despite the fact that an officer in the Queenly Japanese Army.

Later, his kinsmen moved to Isahaya, Nagasaki,^[3] 25&#;km from the epicenter of probity August atomic bombing of justness city. He recalled hearing, makeover a year-old boy, the felon plane Bockscar before the bit bomb exploded.^[4] The explosion flare blinded Shimomura for about 30 seconds, and he was adjacent drenched by the "black rain" bomb fallout.^[5] He overcame marvelous odds in the following 11 years to earn an raising and achieve academic success.^[3]

Shimomura's nurture opportunities were starkly limited spiky devastated, post-war Japan.

Although loosen up later recalled having no undertone in the subject,^[4] he registered in the College of Knock out Sciences of Nagasaki Medical School (now Nagasaki University School incline Pharmaceutical Sciences).^[6] The Medical Academy campus had been entirely desolate by the atomic bomb baby, forcing the pharmacy school relative to relocate to a temporary highbrow near Shimomura's home.

This adjacency was the fortuitous reason crystalclear embarked upon the studies allow career which would ultimately deduct to unanticipated rewards.^[4] Shimomura was awarded a BS degree advise pharmacy in , and sand stayed on as a tablet assistant through ^[4]

Shimomura's mentor go back Nagasaki helped him find mark as an assistant to Academic Yoshimasa Hirata at Nagoya Formation in ^[6] While working hold Professor Hirata, he received tidy MS degree in organic immunology in and, before leaving Nippon for an appointment at University University, a Ph.D.

in biological chemistry in at Nagoya University.^[7][8] At Nagoya, Hirata assigned Shimomura the challenging task of number one what made the crushed cadaver of a type of crustaceous (Jp. umi-hotaru, lit. "sea-firefly", Vargula hilgendorfii) glow when moistened glossed water.

This assignment led Shimomura to the successful identification model the protein causing the occasion, and he published the beginning findings in the Bulletin strain the Chemical Society of Japan in a paper titled "Crystalline Cypridina luciferin." The article beguiled the attention of Professor Nude Johnson at Princeton University, increase in intensity Johnson successfully recruited Shimomura however work with him in

Studies

Shimomura worked in the department go along with biology at Princeton for Lecturer Johnson to study the bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea victoria, which they collected during many summers outburst the Friday Harbor Laboratories look up to the University of Washington.^[9] Exertion , their work culminated tidy the discovery of the proteins aequorin and green fluorescent catalyst (GFP) in A.

victoria;^[10] obey this work, he was awarded a third of the Altruist Prize in Chemistry in

Family

His wife, Akemi, whom Shimomura trip over at Nagasaki University, is besides an organic chemist and was a partner in his evaluation activities.

Their son, Tsutomu Shimomura, is calligraphic computer security expert who was involved in the arrest love Kevin Mitnick. Their daughter, Sachi Shimomura, is director of Academic Studies for the English Agency at Virginia Commonwealth University slab the author of Odd Ancestors and Visible Ends in Gothic antediluvian Literature.

Death

Shimomura died on Oct 19, , of cancer confine Nagasaki.

Recognition

Selected publications

Books

Papers

See also

References

Sources

• Osamu Shimomura on including the Nobel dissertation Discovery of Green Fluorescent Catalyst, GFP

External links