Carl Woese

American microbiologist

Carl Richard Woese [2] (July 15, 1928 – December 30, 2012) was an American microbiologist and biophysicist.

Carl Woese
Carl Woese in February 2004
Born(1928-07-15)July 15, 1928
DiedDecember 30, 2012(2012-12-30) (aged 84)
Cause of deathPancreatic cancer[1]
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materAmherst College
Yale University
Known forArchaea
AwardsLeeuwenhoek Medal (1992)
Selman A. Waksman Award (1995)
National Medal of Science (2000)
Crafoord Prize (2003)
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The three domains

Career

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Woese is famous for defining the Archaea (a new domain or kingdom of life) in 1977. He used phylogenetic taxonomy of 16S ribosomal RNA, a technique pioneered by him which is now standard practice.[3][4][5]

He was also the originator of the RNA world hypothesis in 1977, although not by that name. He was the Stanley O. Ikenberry professor of microbiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Work and discoveries

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After defining Archaea as a new domain, Woese redrew the taxonomic tree. His three-domain system is based upon genetic relationships. It divides life into 23 main divisions in three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Archaea are neither bacteria nor eukaryotes. Looked at another way, they are prokaryotes that are not bacteria.

The tree of life shows the diversity of microbes. Single-celled organisms represent the vast majority of the biosphere's diversity. This is surprising to some, given our familiarity with the larger metazoan world. Microbes are responsible for many biochemical cycles and are crucial to the whole biosphere. Woese's efforts to clarify the evolution and diversity of microbes was an invaluable service to ecology, conservation and evolutionary biology.

Personal life

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Woese was born on July 15, 1928 in Syracuse, New York. He studied at Amherst College and at Yale University. Woese died on December 30, 2012 in his home in Urbana, Illinois from pancreatic cancer, aged 84.

References

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  1. "Carl R. Woese: 1928 – 2012". The Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2012-12-30. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  2. /ˈwz/: Say How? A pronunciation guide to names of public figures
  3. Woese C, Kandler O, Wheelis M (1990). "Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 87 (12): 4576–9. Bibcode:1990PNAS...87.4576W. doi:10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576. PMC 54159. PMID 2112744.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Woese C, Magrum L, Fox G (1978). "Archaebacteria". J Mol Evol. 11 (3): 245–51. doi:10.1007/BF01734485. PMID 691075. S2CID 260611975.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Woese C, Fox G (1977). "Phylogenetic structure of the prokaryotic domain: the primary kingdoms". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 74 (11): 5088–90. Bibcode:1977PNAS...74.5088W. doi:10.1073/pnas.74.11.5088. PMC 432104. PMID 270744.

Other websites

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