William Astbury

William Thomas Astbury ( born February 25, 1898 in Longton (now about Stoke-on -Trent ), † June 4, 1961 in Leeds ) was an English physicist and molecular biologist. His work on keratin forms the foundation for Linus Pauling's discovery of the α - helix. He also dealt with the structure of DNA and made the first steps to explain the said structure.

Youth and studies

He was born in Longton, the fourth of seven children. His father, William Edwin Astbury, Potter was. With his younger brother Norman, he shared a love of music.

William Astbury also would also become potters, he would not get a scholarship to the Longton High School, where his interest from principal and deputy principal, both chemists, was promoted. After high school, he got a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge. After two semesters at Cambridge, he had to interrupt his studies because of the First World War, but returned to Cambridge and completed his studies.

X-ray crystallography work

In 1928, Astbury was appointed to the University of Leeds where he studied the structure of fibrous proteins such as keratin, a component of wool, and collages, with the support of the textile industry. These substances were röntgendiffraktographisch no sharp lines such as crystals, however, using the model the possible structure could be limited.

In the thirties Astbury found that the X-ray diffraction pattern of wet wool changed greatly. Based on the data he postulated a helical structure ( α - helix) and for stretched fibers, a new β - structure. These suspicions were later found to be qualitatively correct. Linus Pauling, who 20 years later, the right detail structure discovered Astburys maintained nomenclature.

Astbury was also the first who suggested a hydrogen bond to the stabilization of protein structures. X-ray diffraction studies of proteins such as myosin and fibrin also showed that they were present in a folded - helix structure. Astbury also examined early DNA samples, but was able to get the data do not indicate the structure.

Astbury has received many awards and honors.

Works

• W.T. Astbury and H. J. Woods: The Molecular Weights of Proteins. In: Nature. 127, 1931, pp. 663-665.
• W.T. Astbury and A. Street: X -ray studies of the structures of hair, wool and related fibers. I. General. In: Trans R. Soc. Lond. A230, 1931, pp. 75-101.
• W.T. Astbury: Some Problems in the X- ray Analysis of the Structure of Animal Hairs and Other Protein Fibers. In: Trans Faraday Soc. 29, 1933, pp. 193-211.
• W.T. Astbury and H. J. Woods: X -ray studies of the structures of hair, wool and related fibers. II The molecular structure and elastic properties of hair keratin. In: Trans R. Soc. Lond. A232, 1934, pp. 333-394.
• W.T. Astbury and W. A. Sisson: X -ray studies of the structures of hair, wool and related fibers. III. The configuration of the keratin molecule and its orientation in the biological cell. In: Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A150, 1935, pp. 533-551.