Background
Lynen, Feodor was born on April 6, 1911 in Munich, Germany. Son of Wilhelm and Frieda (Prym) Lynen.
Lynen, Feodor was born on April 6, 1911 in Munich, Germany. Son of Wilhelm and Frieda (Prym) Lynen.
Doctor philosophy, U. Munich, 1937. Doctor medical honorary, U. Freiburg (Germany), 1960. Honorary doctorates U. Seoul (of Korea), 1967, U. Miami (Florida), 1968, U. Rene Descartes, Paris, 1976, U. Federal Rio de Janeiro, 1977, U. Regensburg (West Germany), 1978.
Lynen remained in Germany throughout World World War World War II In 1942 he became a chemistry lecturer at the Munich University. In 1947 he became an assistant professor and in 1953 a professor of biochemistry. From 1954 onwards he was director of the Max-Planck Institute for Cellular Chemistry in Munich, a position which was created for him at the instigation of two senior scientists, Otto Warburg and Otto Hahn.
In 1972, that institute was merged into the newly founded Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in 1972.
Also in 1972, Lynen was named President of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh). These discoveries took many years to work out.
The Nobel Committee felt that this was important because understanding the metabolism of sterols and fatty acids could reveal how cholesterol affects heart disease and stroke. His Nobel Lecture on 11 December 1964 was "The pathway from "activated acetic acid" to the terpenes and fatty acids".
Working mostly separately, Lynen and Bloch both discovered the steps that created squalene and turned the squalene into cholesterol.
Initially, Lynen found that that acetate activated by Coenzyme A was needed to start the process. He discovered the chemical structure of acetyl-coenzyme A, which was needed for a detailed understanding of the biochemical pathways. He also learned that biotin, or Vitamin B7, was needed for in the process.
They had five children between 1938 and 1946.
Feodor Lynen died in Munich, Germany, on 6 August 1979, six weeks after an operation for aneurism. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has a fellowship named in his honor.
1963: Otto Warburg Medal from the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Member Bayerische Academy der Wissenschaften, Deutsche Academy der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Osterreich Academy der Wissenschaften (correspondent Member Academy Nacional de Medicina de Colombia. Member Royal Society, American Biological
Member Academy der Wissenschaften Göttingen.
Married Eva Wieland, May 14, 1937. Children: Peter, Annemarie, Susanne, Eva-Marie, Heinrich.