Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel

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Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel

1853-1927

German biochemist who, for his work in cell and protein chemistry, won the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine. His research demonstrated that the cell substance nuclein (now called nucleoprotein) contains both protein and nonprotein (nucleic acid) parts. He also had great success in investigating the composition of proteins. Correctly concluding that nuclein, or nucleoprotein, is related to the formation of flesh tissue, his work foresaw modern investigations of acids as the bearers of genetic information.