Biochemist Phoebus Levene

Posted by Tel Asiado Feb 25, 2008

Phoebus (Aaron Theodor) Levene (1869-1940), Russian-American biochemist.

Born: February 25, 1869, in Sasar, Russia.

He qualified in medicine in St Petersburg and emigrated to New York in 1892. His interest moved to chemistry, and later became the founder-member of the Rockefeller Institute in New York. He applied chemistiry to biological problems. The most important of his many biochemical studies is his pioneer research on the nucleic acids.

Levene's work established then ature of the sugar component defininf the two types of nucleic acids - the DNA and RNA), the elements in the maintenance of life.