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Gottfried Schatz

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Gottfried Schatz

Gottfried Schatz(18 August 1936 – 1 October 2015) was a Swiss-Austrianbiochemist.

Life and career[edit]

Schatz was born inStrem.Upon obtaining his PhD inchemistryandbiochemistryat theUniversity of Graz(Austria), he did postdoctoral work at theUniversity of Viennaand at "The Public Health Institute" of the City of New York. In 1968, he emigrated to the US in order to assume a professorshipCornell UniversityinIthaca,New York.Six years later, he returned to Europe in order to join the newly createdBiozentrum[1]at theUniversity of Basel,which he chaired from 1983 to 1985, From 1984 to 1989 he was Secretary General of theEuropean Molecular Biology Organization(EMBO). After his retirement in 2000, he presided theSwiss Science and Technology Council(SSTC) until 2003. He is the author of more than 200 professional publications as well as of two books of essays on the broader implications of science. His scientific autobiographyInterplanetary travels[2]was published in 2000.

Schatz died on 1 October 2015, aged 79.[3]

Work[edit]

Schatz played a leading role in elucidating the biogenesis ofmitochondriaand in discoveringmitochondrial DNA.[4]He recognized that this DNA encoded only a small number of mitochondrial proteins which was decisive for his further research on the import of proteins into the mitochondria and the degradation of proteins within these organelles. Schatz discovered a complex transport system that recognizes mitochondrial proteins made in the cytoplasm by specific signals attached to these proteins and then transfers them into the mitochondria. This system comprises two protein complexes,TOM and TIM,which are localized in the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes respectively. Mutations in these complexes can disrupt protein import and cause illnesses such as the neurodegenerativeMohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome,which leads to deafness. Schatz also demonstrated that the energy-requiring protease Lon regulates protein turnover within the mitochondria, thus maintaining the integrity and the proper functioning of mitochondrial DNA. Gottfried Schatz is the author of more than 200 scientific publications, three volumes of essays, anautobiographyand a novel. His books have appeared in English, French, Greek and Czech translation.[5]

Honorary memberships and prizes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Biozentrum History".Biozentrum.unibas.ch.Retrieved2015-10-04.
  2. ^Gottfried Schatz:Interplanetary travels– A scientific autobiography (Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry, edited by G. Semenza and R. Jaenicke: Personal Recollections VI – Comprehensive Biochemistry Vol.41, Chapter 9, p. 449-530 – Elsevier Science B.V., 2000)
  3. ^"Wissenschaft – Biochemiker Gottfried Schatz verstorben > Kleine Zeitung".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-10-02.
  4. ^Ellen Haslbrunner,Hans Tuppyand Gottfried Schatz (1964 at the Institut for Biochemistry at the Medical Faculty of theUniversity of ViennainVienna,Austria):"Deoxyribonucleic Acid Associated with Yeast Mitochondria"Archived2008-09-10 at theWayback Machine(PDF) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 15, 127 – 132.
  5. ^"Wissenschaft – Biochemiker Gottfried Schatz verstorben".Kleine Zeitung.2 October 2015.
  6. ^"Professor Gottfried SCHATZ | Jeantet".October 1, 2017.
  7. ^"G. Schatz".Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived fromthe originalon 14 February 2016.Retrieved14 February2016.
  8. ^"Reply to a parliamentary question"(PDF)(in German). p. 1359.Retrieved27 November2012.
  9. ^"Reply to a parliamentary question"(PDF)(in German). p. 1908.Retrieved27 November2012.
  10. ^"Gottfried Schatz erhält europäischen Preis für Wissenschaftskultur".idw-online.de.
  11. ^"Europäische Kulturstiftung Pro Europa".europaeische-kulturstiftung.de.26 February 2011.

Books for a general audience[edit]

  • Gottfried Schatz:Feuersucher: Die Jagd nach dem Geheimnis der Lebensenergie– NZZ Buchverlag, Zürich, 2011 –ISBN3-03823-677-2
  • Gottfried Schatz:A Matter of Wonder. What Biology Reveals about Us, Our World, and Our Dreams(Translated by A. Shields). S. Karger AG, Basel, 2011 –ISBN978-3-8055-9744-9
  • Gottfried Schatz:Jeff’s View on Science and Scientists,. Elsevier BV/FEBS 2006 –ISBN978-0-444-52133-0
  • Gottfried Schatz:Jenseits der Gene. Essays über unser Wesen, unsere Welt und unsere Träume,NZZ Libro,2012 (4. Aufl.) –ISBN978-3-03823-780-8;Audio Version on CD:Kein & Aber, 2008 –ISBN978-3-0369-1246-2
  • Gottfried Schatz:Die Welt in der wir leben: Ein Biologe über unser Wesen, unsere Träume und den Grund der Dinge– Herder, 2010 –ISBN3-451-05792-1(vergriffen).
  • Gottfried Schatz:Feuersucher: Die Jagd nach dem Geheimnis der Lebensenergie.NZZ Libro, Zürich 2011,ISBN978-3-03823-677-1.
  • Gottfried Schatz:Zaubergarten Biologie. Wie biologische Entdeckungen unser Menschenbild prägen.NZZ Libro, Zürich 2012,ISBN978-3-03823-753-2
  • Postdoc, Roman, Styria-Verlag, 2015,ISBN978-3-222-13486-9

External links[edit]

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