Dodgen Lecturer for 2005 annual meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences: Dr. Bruce Alberts.Bruce Alberts Dr. Bruce Alberts (b. 1938) is an American biochemist. He is noted particularly for his extensive study of the protein complexes that allow chromosomes to be replicated, as required for a living cell to divide. He was President of the National Academy of Sciences from 1993 to 2005. , president of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., is known for his work both in biochemistry and molecular biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller , in particular for his extensive study of the protein complexes that allow chromosomes to be replicated. Alberts graduated from Harvard College and earned a doctorate from Harvard University in 1965. He joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1966 and after ten years moved to the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics biophysics, application of various methods and principles of physical science to the study of biological problems. In physiological biophysics physical mechanisms have been used to explain such biological processes as the transmission of nerve impulses, the muscle at the University of California, San Francisco , where he became chair. He is one of the original authors of The Molecular Biology of the Cell Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBC) is a scientific journal published monthly online and in print by the American Society for Cell Biology. MBC publishes original and scholarly research reports that contribute to the scientific understanding of the molecular basis of cell structure , through 4 editions the leading advanced textbook in this important field. His most recent text, Essential Cell Biology (2003), is intended to present this subject matter to a wider audience. Dr. Alberts has long been committed to the improvement of science education, dedicating much of his time to educational projects such as City Science, a program that seeks to improve science teaching in San Francisco elementary schools. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For the period 2000 to 2005, Dr. Alberts is the Co-chair of the InterAcademy Council, a new advisory institution in Amsterdam governed by the presidents of the science academies of 15 different nations. |
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