What was Rita Levi-Montalcini known for?
What was Rita Levi-Montalcini known for?
Rita Levi-Montalcini, (born April 22, 1909, Turin, Italy—died December 30, 2012, Rome), Italian American neurologist who, with biochemist Stanley Cohen, shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for her discovery of a bodily substance that stimulates and influences the growth of nerve cells.
Who discovered NGF?
The discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF) by Rita Levi-Montalcini in the 1950s represents an important milestone in the processes that led to modern cell biology. NGF was the first growth factor identified, for its action on the morphological differentiation of neural-crest-derived nerve cells.
What was Rita Levi-Montalcini childhood like?
Rita Levi-Montalcini was the daughter of a wealthy Italian Jewish family. Together with her identical twin sister, Levi-Montalcini was the youngest of four children. During the Second World War, Levi-Montalcini and her family were forced to abandon Turin with the invasion of Italy by the German army.
How old was Rita Levi-Montalcini when she died?
103 years (1909–2012)Rita Levi-Montalcini / Age at death
She was also politically active during her lifetime. Rita Levi-Montalcini died aged 103 years, thereby becoming the longest-living Nobel Laureate.
Did Giuseppe Levi Montalcini have a wife?
Personal life. He was one of the most well known Italian architects and a professor at the University of Turin. She had two sisters: Anna, five years older than Rita, and Paola, her twin sister, a popular artist who died on 29 September 2000, age 91. Levi-Montalcini never married and had no children.
Where did Joseph Levi-Montalcini do his research?
Career and research. In September 1946, Levi-Montalcini was granted a one-semester research fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Viktor Hamburger at Washington University in St. Louis; he was interested in two of the articles Levi-Montalcini had published in foreign scientific journals.
Why did levlevi-Montalcini win the Nobel Prize?
Levi-Montalcini earned a Nobel Prize along with Stanley Cohen in 1986 in the physiology or medicine category. The two earned their Nobel Prizes for their research in to the nerve growth factor (NGF), the protein that causes cell growth due to stimulated nerve tissue.
What did Maria Levi-Montalcini do in her hiding place?
In her hiding place, she set up a laboratory in a corner of their shared living space. During the Nazi occupation, Levi-Montalcini was in contact with the partisans of the Action Party. After the liberation of Florence in August 1944, she volunteered her medical expertise for the Allied health service.
