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Jacques LoebAmerican biologist. One of the founders of physical and chemical biology
Date of Birth: 07.04.1859
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb was an American biologist and one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry biology. He studied at the universities of Berlin, Munich, and Strasbourg, earning his master's degree in 1884. From 1886 to 1888, he worked as an assistant at the University of Würzburg, and from 1889 to 1891, he taught at the University of Strasbourg. During the winter months of 1890 and 1891, Loeb conducted research at the zoological station in Naples, Italy. In 1891, he moved to the United States.
Academic Career
Loeb taught biology at Bryn Mawr College and then became a professor of physiology and experimental biology at the University of Chicago from 1892 to 1902. He later became a professor at the University of California from 1902 to 1910. In 1910, Loeb became the head of the Department of Experimental Biology at the Rockefeller Institute in New York, where he worked until the end of his life.
Contributions to Science
Loeb is widely known for his work on artificial parthenogenesis, the development of an egg cell without fertilization, using physical or chemical factors. Through experiments on artificial fertilization, Loeb produced hybrids of species that would never naturally crossbreed. He also developed the physico-chemical theory of tissue regeneration and studied the effects of salts on living cells, particularly developing egg cells. Loeb laid the foundations of the ionic theory of excitation and investigated the influence of temperature on the lifespan of animals, demonstrating that low temperatures contribute to its prolongation. Furthermore, he studied the behavior of proteins in solution.
Notable Works
Among Loeb's numerous works are "Studies in General Physiology" (1905), "The Mechanistic Conception of Life" (1912), "Artificial Parthenogenesis and Fertilization" (1913), "Forced Movements, Tropisms and Animal Conduct" (1918), and "Regeneration" (1924). He also founded the "Journal of General Physiology".
