Cech, Thomas Robert

Cech, Thomas Robert

▪ American scientist
born Dec. 8, 1947, Chicago, Ill., U.S.

      American biochemist and molecular biologist who, with Sidney Altman (Altman, Sidney), was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discoveries concerning RNA (ribonucleic acid).

      Cech attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa (B.A., 1970), and the University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D., 1975, in chemistry). After serving as a National Cancer Institute fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1975–77), he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Colorado in 1978, becoming a full professor in 1983. Concurrently he was an investigator for the National Institutes of Health from 1978 and for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1988.

      Cech and Altman received a Nobel Prize for their independent discoveries that RNA, traditionally considered to be only a passive messenger of genetic information, can also take on an enzymatic role in which it catalyzes, or facilitates, intracellular chemical reactions essential to life. Before their discoveries, enzymatic activity had been attributed exclusively to proteins. Cech was the first person to show that an RNA molecule could catalyze a chemical reaction, and he published his findings in 1982. Altman, whose earlier research had pointed strongly to such a conclusion, conclusively demonstrated such enzymatic activity by an RNA molecule in 1983.

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  • Cech , Thomas Robert — (1947–) American chemist Chicago born Cech was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, where he gained his PhD in 1975. He then joined the faculty of the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he became professor of chemistry in 1983 …   Scientists

  • Cech, Thomas (Robert) — born Dec. 8, 1947, Chicago, Ill., U.S. U.S. biochemist, molecular biologist, and Nobel laureate. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1975. In 1982 he became the first to show that an RNA molecule could catalyze a chemical reaction. He and… …   Universalium

  • Cech, Thomas (Robert) — (n. 8 dic. 1947, Chicago, Ill., EE.UU.). Bioquímico y biólogo molecular estadounidense. Obtuvo su Ph.D. en la Universidad de California en Berkeley, en 1975. Fue el primero en demostrar que una molécula de ARN podía catalizar una reacción química …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thomas Robert Cech — (8 décembre 1947 à Chicago) est un chimiste américain. Il est colauréat avec Sidney Altman du prix Nobel de chimie de 1989 pour « la découverte des propriétés catalytiques de l ARN[ …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cech — Thomas Robert …   Scientists

  • Thomas Cech — Thomas Robert Cech Thomas Robert Cech Thomas Robert Cech, né le 8 décembre 1947 à Chicago, est un chimiste américain. En 1989, il obtint conjointement avec Sidney Altman le prix Nobel de chimie pour la découverte des propriétés catalytiques de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Thomas R. Cech — Thomas Robert Cech Thomas Robert Cech Thomas Robert Cech, né le 8 décembre 1947 à Chicago, est un chimiste américain. En 1989, il obtint conjointement avec Sidney Altman le prix Nobel de chimie pour la découverte des propriétés catalytiques de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chemienobelpreis 1989: Sidney Altman — Thomas Robert Cech —   Die beiden amerikanischen Chemiker erhielten den Nobelpreis für »die Entdeckung der katalytischen Eigenschaften von Ribonucleinsäure«.    Biografien   Sidney Altman * Montreal (Kanada) 8. 5. 1939; seit 1984 US Bürgerschaft, 1967 Promotion an… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Thomas R. Cech — Thomas R. Cech. Thomas Robert Cech (Chicago, EUA 1947) es un químico, bioquímico y profesor universitario estadounidense galardonado con el Premio Nobel de Química del año 1989. Biografía Cuando era pequeño su familia se trasladó a la ciudad de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Thomas — Thomas, Albert Thomas, André Antoine Thomas, Ch. L. Ambroise Thomas, Dylan Thomas, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, Theodore * * * (as used in expressions) Adès, Thomas …   Enciclopedia Universal

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