Frederick Sanger Essay

Frederick Sanger was a biochemist that was born August 13th in Rendcomb, England, and died November 19th 2013 in Cambridge England. His father was a physician who wanted him to follow his tracks and stay in the medical field (Farrel). He instead went into biochemistry, attending Cambridge University and he would later be the first to sequence the amino acids in insulin, and also be the first to sequence DNA (DNA From the Beginning). He won many awards for these great achievements, including the Nobel Prize. Sanger shaped genetic sequencing as we know it today, and he is responsible for many genetic advances we have made.

Frederick Sanger got his Bachelors degree in natural sciences in the year 1939. He then pursued his PH.D at Cambridge in

the field of Biochemistry (Farrel). He was inspired to do the work he did partially because of his father’s background in somewhat the same field, and also because he felt a career in science would allow him to become a better problem solver (DNA From the Beginning). “About his many achievements, Sanger has said that he did not pursue biochemistry for fame or wealth, but because he felt the work was important and worthwhile” (Farrel).
Sanger’s biggest contributions to the biological community definitely had to be his work with amino acid sequencing in proteins and sequencing the amino acids in DNA.

He worked on sequencing amino acids first; in 1955 Sanger was able to determine the whole sequence for the protein insulin. He discovered that the protein insulin is actually made of two separate chains of amino acids. Not only was insulin the first protein to be sequenced ever, but also it provided much more to the scientific community (Farrel). It leads to the idea that DNA could possibly be sequenced too, because it was also made of proteins. In 1951, him and a team made of Francis Crick, John Kendrew, Aaron Klug and a few others started to sequence DNA of a bacteriophage called phi-X 174 (DNA From the Beginning). Sanger also developed a method to sequence DNA. This method was called the Diodexy Method. This technique has now been automated and is still the primary way to sequence DNA. The automated Diodexy Method was actually used in the Human Genome Project as the primary way they sequenced the DNA

(Farrel).
While Sanger was working on his protein sequencing, most biological progression was in genetics.

Famous biologists, such as R.A. Fisher, J.B.S Haldane, Sewall Wright, and W.D. Hamilton worked on and developed the idea of evolution by natural selection with Mendelian genetics, producing the modern synthesis (Wikipedia: History of Biology).

Sanger was the first to discover that proteins were made of amino acids arranged in different ways. It was already known that proteins were made of amino acids, but no one before Sanger knew that to make different proteins, the 20 amino acids had to be organized in different patterns (Farrel). Much like the alphabet, these 20 acids could be combined in an infinite amount of ways, to produce an infinite amount of proteins.

As for rewards, Sanger has earned 2 Nobel Prizes (one in 1958 and one in 1980), Corday-Morgan Medal in 1951, Prize of the Chemical Society in 1951, and a few more awards (Nobel Prize.org). Sanger is one of a few people who have one multiple Nobel Prizes in one category. He one his first Nobel Prize sequencing amino acids in insulin, and the second for sequencing DNA (DNA From the

Beginning).
The knowledge of DNA sequencing has not really changed, they have only improved on Sanger’s method to sequence DNA. They have made it more accurate, automated, and most importantly they have made the process quicker (Farrel).
Sanger was one of the most influential biologists in the 20th century. Without him, we may not know that proteins are made of amino acids in a certain sequence, and we also may not be able to sequence DNA. Sangers Diodexy method was almost revolutionary in sequencing DNA, making it a feasible task. He was well rewarded for these discoveries, with his many awards including two Nobel Prizes. Frederick Sanger gave a lot of praise to his wife Margaret, saying: “(She) contributed more to my work than anyone else by providing a peaceful and happy home” (Farrel). Sanger continues to impact the biological community with a few research centers in his name. One of these is the Sanger centre in Cambridge, which was established in 1992 (Farrel).