Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen (; 6 April 19116 August 1979) was a German

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of "biological ch ...

. In 1964 he won the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...

together with Konrad Bloch for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of

cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell memb ...

and

fatty acid metabolism Fatty acid metabolism consists of various metabolic processes involving or closely related to fatty acids, a family of molecules classified within the lipid macronutrient category. These processes can mainly be divided into (1) catabolic processe ...

while he was director of the Max-Planck Institute for Cellular Chemistry in Munich.

Biography

Feodor Lynen was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

on 6 April 1911. He started his studies at the chemistry department of

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous oper ...

in 1930 and graduated in March 1937 under Heinrich Wieland with the work: "On the Toxic Substances in Amanita". Lynen remained in Germany throughout World War II. In 1942 he became a chemistry lecturer at the

. 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 Otto Warburg may refer to: * Otto Warburg (botanist) (1859–1938), German botanist *Otto Heinrich Warburg Otto Heinrich Warburg (, ; 8 October 1883 – 1 August 1970), son of physicist Emil Warburg, was a German physiologist, medical doctor, ...

and

Otto Hahn Otto Hahn (; 8 March 1879 – 28 July 1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry and father of nuclear fission. Hahn and Lise Meitner ...

. 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 The German Chemical Society (German: ', GDCh) is a learned society and professional association founded in 1949 to represent the interests of German chemists in local, national and international contexts. GDCh "brings together people working in che ...

(GDCh). In 1964, he won the

together with Konrad Bloch for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of

and

. 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 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 Biotin (or vitamin B7) is one of the B vitamins. It is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes, both in humans and in other organisms, primarily related to the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids. The name ''biotin'', bo ...

, or Vitamin B7, was needed for in the process. Feodor Lynen with family 1964

On 14 May 1937, Lynen married Eva Wieland (1915–2002), daughter of his academic teacher. 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.

Fellowship

The

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Rese ...

has a fellowship named in his honor.

Honours and awards

* 1962: elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

* 1962: elected to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

* 1963: Otto Warburg Medal from the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology * 1964:

(with Konrad Bloch) "for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of the metabolism of cholesterol and fatty acids" * 1965:

Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellec ...

* 1966: elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

* 1967: Norman Medal of the German Society for Fat Research * 1971:

Pour le Mérite for Science and Art Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Iranian si ...

* 1972:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

References

External links

*
Feodor Lynen's Nobel lecture
"The pathway from 'activated acetic acid' to the terpenes and fatty acids"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynen, Feodor Felix Konrad 1911 births 1979 deaths German biochemists German Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Scientists from Munich Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty Science teachers Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Max Planck Society people Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Presidents of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the German Chemical Society Max Planck Institute directors