Paul Berg

Biologist

Paul Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States on June 30th, 1926 and is the Biologist. At the age of 98, Paul Berg biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
June 30, 1926
Nationality
United States
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Age
98 years old
Zodiac Sign
Cancer
Profession
Biochemist, Chemist, Molecular Biologist
Paul Berg Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 98 years old, Paul Berg physical status not available right now. We will update Paul Berg's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

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Paul Berg Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Not Available
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Pennsylvania State University (BS), Case Western Reserve University (PhD)
Paul Berg Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Mildred Levy ​(m. 1947)​
Children
one
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Not Available
Paul Berg Life

Paul Berg (born June 30, 1926) is an American biochemist and professor emeritus at Stanford University.

In 1980, he and Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger were the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The award was given for their contributions to basic studies involving nucleic acids.

Berg received his undergraduate education at Penn State University, where he concentrated in biochemistry.

He received his Ph.D.

Case Western Reserve University introduced biochemistry in 1952.

In addition to being the director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine, Berg served as a professor at Washington University School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine.

Berg was given the National Medal of Science in 1983 and the National Library of Medicine Medal in 1986 in lieu of the Nobel Prize.

Berg is a member of the Atomic Scientists' Bulletin.

Early life and education

Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant couple, Sarah Brodsky, a homemaker, and Harry Berg, a clothing manufacturer. Berg earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1952. He is a member of Beta Sigma Rho fraternity (now Beta Sigma Beta).

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Paul Berg Career

Research and career

Berg spent two years (1952–1954) as a postdoctoral fellow with the American Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Washington University School of Medicine, as a Scholar in Cancer Research, and he spent additional time in 1954 with the Department of Microbiology at the Washington University School of Medicine. While attending Washington University, Arthur Kornberg worked with him. Berg served as a research fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge, for several years. He served as a professor at Washington University School of Medicine from 1955 to 1959. Berg began studying biochemistry at Stanford University from 1959 to 2000, where he served as the head of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine from 1985 to 2000. He resigned from his administrative and teaching positions in 2000 and is now actively involved in research.

Berg's postgraduate research involved the use of radioisotope tracers to study intermediary metabolism. This resulted in the discovery of how foodstuffs are converted to cellular components by the use of isotopic carbons or heavy nitrogen atoms. The conversion of formic acid, formaldehyde, and methanol to completely reduced states of methyl groups in methionine is now known in Paul Berg's doctorate paper. He was also one of the first to show that folic acid and B12 cofactors were involved in the process.

Berg is perhaps best known for his pioneering work involving gene splicing of recombinant DNA. Berg was the first scientist to create DNA from two species by inserting DNA from another species into a molecule. This gene-splicing process was a major step in modern genetic engineering's evolution. Berg used it for his analyses of viral chromosomes after determining the procedure.

Berg is now a Stanford professor emeritus. He halted doing active research in 2000 and began focusing on other areas, including involvement in public policy for recombinant DNA and embryonic stem cells, as well as writing a book about geneticist George Beadle.

Berg is a member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and he is a sponsor. In 1975, he served as an initiator of the Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA. Since they could determine the risks, Berg and other scientists had called for a voluntary moratorium on certain recombinant DNA research. The influential conference did not only identify the risks and set guidelines for biotechnology research. It can be regarded as an early application of the precautionary principle.

Berg was given one-half of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger sharing the other half. Berg was praised for "his fundamental studies of nucleic acids, particularly in regard to recombinant DNA," while Sanger and Gilbert were lauded for their "intuitive contributions to the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids."

In 1966, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. Ronald Reagan awarded Berg with the National Medal of Science in 1983. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in the same year. He received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1989. In 1992, he was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS). The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation presented him with the Biotechnology Heritage Award in 2005. He received the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization in 2006.

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