Bengt Olof Torsten Falck (16 January 1927 – 16 July 2023) was a Swedish scientist, who was professor emeritus at the Faculty of Medicine at
Lund University
Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
, Sweden. Falck has published numerous works in the fields of histology,
endocrinology
Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...
and
neurobiology
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
.
Personal life
Bengt Falck was the son of Hans Falck, city court judge in Malmö, Sweden, and Maria Hagander. He married Eva Torp in 1951, and together they had four children. In 1994 he married Inger Vestvik.
Falck died on 16 July 2023, at the age of 96.
Scientific career
Falck became Doctor of Medical Science, equivalent of
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
, in 1959. His thesis focused on the production of
estrogen
Estrogen (also spelled oestrogen in British English; see spelling differences) is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three ...
in the
ovaries
The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are endocr ...
, and he attempted to show that this production is dependent on an interplay of two different hormone producing systems. His hypothesis has come to be called "Falck's two-cell hypothesis of oestrogen synthes". Between 1960 and 1970 he acted as associate professor, before becoming a full professor of
histology
Histology,
also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
in 1970, all at the University of Lund, Sweden.
In 1960–61 Falck and
Nils-Åke Hillarp
Nils-Åke Hillarp (4 July 1916 – 17 March 1965) was a Swedish scientist and a prominent force in research on the brain's monoamines.
Biography
Hillarp was the son of merchant Nils Bengtsson and Hulda, former Johansson, and the brother of Rut H ...
developed the
Falck-Hillarp fluorescence method. This technique made it possible to study biologically active substances called
monoamines
Monoamine neurotransmitters are neurotransmitters and neuromodulators that contain one amino group connected to an aromaticity, aromatic ring by a two-carbon chain (such as -CH2-CH2-). Examples are dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.
All m ...
–
dopamine
Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. It is an amine synthesized ...
,
noradrenaline
Norepinephrine (NE), also called noradrenaline (NA) or noradrenalin, is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as a hormone, neurotransmitter and neuromodulator. The name "noradrenaline" (from ...
,
adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands a ...
and
serotonin
Serotonin (), also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a monoamine neurotransmitter with a wide range of functions in both the central nervous system (CNS) and also peripheral tissues. It is involved in mood, cognition, reward, learning, ...
– on the cellular level employing fluorescence microscope. Consequently, it was then possible to demonstrate their presence in the central as well as peripheral nervous system. Thereby, it could be established that these monoamines were actually functioning as interneuronal transmitters (signal substances). The method has since its development been used several times, within fields such as
dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the Human skin, skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A List of dermatologists, ...
and
histochemistry
Immunohistochemistry is a form of immunostaining. It involves the process of selectively identifying antigens in cells and tissue, by exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens in biological tissues. Albert Hewett ...
. The publication on the chemical background was named among the 200 most cited papers of all time in 1991, and had at the time been cited 2,435 times.
In 2012, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lund arranged a symposium “From Nerve to Pills” celebrating the 50th anniversary of the initial publication of the F-H method. In 2004 his latest publication ”Mediated exodus of L-Dopa from human epidermal Langerhans cells", was published.
References
Notes
Sources
Falck, Bengt O Ti
Vem Vem är Vem? : Skåne, Halland, Blekinge (2:a upplagan, 1966).
External links
* The most-cited papers of all time 1945–1988, part 2
http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v13p227y1990.pdf*
www.falck-hillarp.seFrån nerv till piller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falck, Bengt
1927 births
2023 deaths
Swedish neuroscientists
Histologists
Academic staff of Lund University
People from Malmö