SidneyAltman

=**Sidney Altman**=

Om Patel



Sid Altman is a molecular biologist, who was born on May 7, 1939 in the great French city of Montreal, Quebec. He was the second born son of a poor family who immigrated into Canada long before he was born. He learned much from the lifestyle that he lived, with his poor family, the most important of these is that "Hard work in stable surroundings could yield rewards, even if it is in small increments." Sid Altman is a great scientist, who should have the great honour of being inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame of Science, not only because he went through great troubles just to get to where he is now, but also because he discovered something that still to this day, is helping scientists further their knowledge of the human body. To add to his great achievements, he has also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which only honoured men/women with great knowledge are capable of winning.

Sidney Altman, currently is a Sterling Professor of Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry at Yale University. He started his education in the city of Montreal, which lead him to believe he will most likely further his study in McGill University. Everything was going according to what he planned, but with a series uncertain events, Altman saw himself pursuing Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Upon receiving his bachelor's degree in physics from MIT in 1960, Altman spent nearly 20 months at Columbia University as a graduate student in physics. He waited for a good amount of time, simply wondering if he would get the chance to work in a laboratory and if he shoul continue pursuing physics. Another eight months passed and he left Columbia. He then began to study physics in a summer program working in Colorado when he suddenly decided to enroll as a graduate student in biophysics. This is when Sidney Altman's true career began, the discoveries he made in this new career is the reason why people who he is now.

Altman joined the laboratory of Meselson at Harvard University, but only after working on the effects of acridines on the replication of bacteriophage T4 DNA, for a good period of time. At Harvard University, Altman began to study a DNA endonuclease involved in the replication and recombination of T4 DNA. This is the topic and research he earned his PhD for, from the University of Colorado Medical Centre, back in 1967. Once he received his PhD, he began to take his research further and was determined to make a great discovery that would help scientists all around the world. Altman specialized in the chemical processes that are involved in copying information from DNA and using it to make things such as proteins, which are molecular building blocks of cells. Infromation is copied from the DNA by a molecule called the RNA. There are around six different RNA's involved in the copying process. This research alone is quite significant, and should be enough to give him great honours.

In the year 1970, Altman was invited to Crick's (co-discoverer of DNA) laboratory in Cambridge, England. THere, Altman worked on mutant cells with malfunctioning t-RNA (transfer RiboNucleic Acid). t-RNA is a substance that is part of the machinery in a cell that decodes special instructions that have come from the nucleus in the cell, which are stored or scripted on the DNA strands. Both DNA and RNA are long twisty chain-like molecules, very similar, but still have different functions. When there was only 2 weeks left before Altman had to leave the laboratory, he did one final experiment to see if can accomplish something before he has to leave. Finally, Altman made a discovery with experiment he conducted with a fellow friend of his, and he said, "Now I know I can ultimately get a job." He had offically taken the first step, among many in a long series of experiments, that would ultimately lead to the discovery of the Catalytic RNA.

With the discovery of the Catalytic RNA in mind, Altman was hired for one more year in Crick's laboratory, where he further researched his findings, to make sure he was 100% correct about what he had just discovered about the Catalytic RNA. He solidified his research within the year he was in Cambridge. With his name nearly in the books, he then became a biology professor at Yale University in USA. The work he did for the next two decades of his life, lead to the discovery of Catalytic RNA and resulted in his winning of the Nobel Prize in 1989.

Still to this day, Altman is working on aspects of the same molecular biology system. Growing up in the Notre Dame de Grace suburb in Montreal must've been tough for Altman, as he was also a second son to a poor immigrated family. With the library being his favourite places, he was almost destined to become a great person further in his lifetime, and that is exactly what happened. The long and hard work he did just to get to Crick's laboratory, and then the countless experiments he conducted to have his name known to the world, is a sign of only a true scientist that is determined to help the world by providing it with a piece of his knowledge. The all important discovery of the Catalytic RNA, and the honourable achievement of the Nobel Prize, should be more than enough to prove to the people of Canada, that Sidney Altman should be inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame of Science.