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Peter D. Mitchell

Born

in Mitcham, Surrey, England, The United Kingdom

September 29, 1920

Died

April 10, 1992

Website

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_D._Mitchell

Genre

Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry

Influences

Jennifer Moyle

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Peter Dennis Mitchell, FRS (29 September 1920 – 10 April 1992) was a British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis.

Peter D. Mitchell was born in Mitcham, Surrey on 29 September 1920. His parents were Christopher Gibbs Mitchell, a civil servant, and Kate Beatrice Dorothy (née) Taplin. His Uncle was Sir Godfrey Way Mitchell, chairman of George Wimpey. He was educated at Queen's College, where he studied the Natural Sciences Tripos specialising in biochemistry.

He accepted a research post in the Department of Biochemistry, Cambridge, in 1942, and received the degree of Ph.D. in early 1951 for work on the mode of action of penicillin. In 1955 he was invited Peter Dennis Mitchell, FRS (29 September 1920 – 10 April 1992) was a British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis.

Peter D. Mitchell was born in Mitcham, Surrey on 29 September 1920. His parents were Christopher Gibbs Mitchell, a civil servant, and Kate Beatrice Dorothy (née) Taplin. His Uncle was Sir Godfrey Way Mitchell, chairman of George Wimpey. He was educated at Queen's College, where he studied the Natural Sciences Tripos specialising in biochemistry.

He accepted a research post in the Department of Biochemistry, Cambridge, in 1942, and received the degree of Ph.D. in early 1951 for work on the mode of action of penicillin. In 1955 he was invited by Professor Michael Swann to set up a biochemical research unit, called the Chemical Biology Unit, in the Department of Zoology, Edinburgh University, where he was appointed to a Senior Lectureship in 1961, to a Readership in 1962, although ill health led to his resignation in 1963.

From then to 1965, he supervised the restoration of a Regency-fronted Mansion, known as Glynn House, near Bodmin, Cornwall - adapting a major part of it for use as a research laboratory. He and his former research colleague, Jennifer Moyle founded a charitable company, known as Glynn Research Ltd., to promote fundamental biological research at Glynn House and they embarked on a programme of research on chemiosmotic reactions and reaction systems.

In 1978 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory."

In the 1960s, ATP was known to be the energy currency of life, but the mechanism by which ATP was created in the mitochondria was assumed to be by substrate-level phosphorylation. Mitchell's chemiosmotic hypothesis was the basis for understanding the actual process of oxidative phosphorylation. At the time, the biochemical mechanism of ATP synthesis by oxidative phosphorylation was unknown.

Mitchell realised that the movement of ions across an electrochemical membrane potential could provide the energy needed to produce ATP. His hypothesis was derived from information that was well known in the 1960s. He knew that living cells had a membrane potential; interior negative to the environment. The movement of charged ions across a membrane is thus affected by the electrical forces (the attraction of positive to negative charges). Their movement is also affected by thermodynamic forces, the tendency of substances to diffuse from regions of higher concentration. He went on to show that ATP synthesis was coupled to this electrochemical gradient.

His hypothesis was confirmed by the discovery of ATP synthase, a membrane-bound protein that uses the potential energy of the electrochemical gradient to make ATP. ...more

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	The New Mortgage Investment Advisor: Structuring Your Mortgage to Work As a Financial Planning Tool by Peter D. Mitchell, James D. Pidd it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2007 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Red Rider Coming Book One 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Peter D. Mitchell (?)

“Finally, to the theme of the respiratory chain, it is especially noteworthy that David Kellin's chemically simple view of the respiratory chain appears now to have been right all along–and he deserves great credit for having been so reluctant to become involved when the energy-rich chemical intermediates began to be so fashionable. This reminds me of the aphorism: 'The obscure we see eventually, the completely apparent takes longer'.”
― Peter D. Mitchell

tags: chemistry, credit, david-kellin, kellin, nobel-laureate, nobel-lecture, noteworthy, respiratory, science, simple, theme, view

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Peter D. Mitchell

Combine EditionsPeter D. Mitchell’s books

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Peter D. Mitchell’s books