Stanley Cohen Essay

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Born on the 17 November 1922 Stanley Cohen is a biochemist who worked with Rita Levi-Montalcini on NGF in the 1950s, isolating it and developing an anti-serum. He was born in New York and graduated with a bachelor in double major chemistry and biology from Brooklyn College in 1943. He then graduated from Oberlin College with a Master of Arts in zoology in 1945 and finally earning a PhD from the University of Michigan in the field of biochemistry in 1948. He is described as a quiet, clarinet-playing man who liked working with Rita, whom he described as a very hard worker. He went on to discover the epidermal growth factor as well. Stanley and Rita won the shared Nobel Prize for physiology/medicine in 1986, as well as sharing the Louisa Gross Horowitz Prize form Columbia University in 1983. He also won the National Medal of Science in 1986 and his research has been vital for the understanding of cancer cell development. He is still alive to this day, at age 92 as of 17 November this year.Having been linked to Down Syndrome, the NGF is really far more important than you …show more content…

The hippocampus is responsible for memory etc. and is deeply affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Once the NGF is expelled by the hippocampus’ secreting cell it is received by a BFCN receptor and taken via the axon to the nucleus, where it then sets off a series of complex changes that affect, for example, the expression of particular genes in the cell. However, if NGF doesn’t reach the BCFN nucleus the BCFN stops producing a neurotransmitter responsible for communicating with hippocampal neurons called the acetylcholine. When this isn’t produced, it severely depletes learning, attention and memory capabilities.Though it took a few years for the scientific community to realise the significance of the discovery of NGF, Rita had her fair share of awards and

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