Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen (; 6 April 1911 – 6 August 1979) was a German

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

. In 1964 he won the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

together with

Konrad Bloch Konrad Emil Bloch (; 21 January 1912 – 15 October 2000) was a German Americans, German-American biochemist. Bloch received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1964 (joint with Feodor Lynen) for discoveries concerning the mechanism and ...

for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

and

fatty acid metabolism Fatty acid metabolism consists of various metabolic processes involving or closely related to fatty acids, a family of molecules classified within the lipid macronutrient category. These processes can mainly be divided into (1) catabolic processe ...

while he was director of the Max-Planck Institute for Cellular Chemistry in Munich.

Biography

Feodor Lynen was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

on 6 April 1911. His parents were Wilhelm Lynen, who taught mechanical engineering, and Frieda née Prym, whose father was an industrialist. He started his studies at the chemistry department of

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

in 1930 and graduated in March 1937 under Heinrich Wieland with the work: "On the Toxic Substances in Amanita". Lynen remained in Germany throughout World War II. In 1942 he became a chemistry lecturer at the

. In 1947 he became an assistant professor and in 1953 a professor of biochemistry. From 1954 onwards he was director of the Max-Planck Institute for Cellular Chemistry in Munich, a position which was created for him at the instigation of two senior scientists, Otto Warburg and

Otto Hahn Otto Hahn (; 8 March 1879 – 28 July 1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry and discoverer of nuclear fission, the science behind nuclear reactors and ...

. In 1972, that institute was merged into the newly founded Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in 1972. Also in 1972, Lynen was named President of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh). In 1964, he won the

together with

for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of

and

. These discoveries took many years to work out. The Nobel Committee felt that this was important because understanding the metabolism of sterols and fatty acids could reveal how cholesterol affects heart disease and stroke. His Nobel Lecture on 11 December 1964 was 'The pathway from "activated acetic acid" to the terpenes and fatty acids'. Working mostly separately, Lynen and Bloch both discovered the steps that created squalene and turned the squalene into cholesterol. Initially, Lynen found that acetate activated by coenzyme A was required to start the process. He discovered the chemical structure of acetyl-coenzyme A, which was required for a detailed understanding of the biochemical pathways. He also learned that

biotin Biotin (also known as vitamin B7 or vitamin H) is one of the B vitamins. It is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes, both in humans and in other organisms, primarily related to the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids. ...

, or Vitamin B7, was required in the process. Feodor Lynen with family 1964

On 14 May 1937, Lynen married Eva Wieland (1915–2002), daughter of his academic teacher. They had five children between 1938 and 1946. Feodor Lynen died in Munich, Germany, on 6 August 1979, six weeks after an operation for an aneurysm.

Fellowship

The

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

has a fellowship named in his honor.

Honours and awards

* 1962: elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

* 1962: elected to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

* 1963: Otto Warburg Medal from the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology * 1964:

(with

) "for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of the metabolism of cholesterol and fatty acids" * 1965: Grand Cross of Merit with Star and Sash of the Federal Republic of Germany * 1966: elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

* 1967: Norman Medal of the German Society for Fat Research * 1971: Pour le Mérite for Science and Art * 1972:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

References

External links

*
Feodor Lynen's Nobel lecture
"The pathway from 'activated acetic acid' to the terpenes and fatty acids"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynen, Feodor Felix Konrad 1911 births 1979 deaths German biochemists German Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Scientists from Munich Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Science teachers Foreign members of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Max Planck Society people Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Presidents of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Members of the American Philosophical Society Presidents of the German Chemical Society Max Planck Institute directors