Walter Gratzer

Gratzer was born in a Jewish hospital in Breslau (now Wrocław).{{cite journal|year=2022|title=Walter Bruno Gratzer (1932–2021): In his own words, as far as possible|journal=Current Biology|url=https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00567-X|volume=32|issue=9|pages=402–R404|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.002 |last1=Robertson |first1=Miranda |bibcode=2022CBio...32.R402R |url-access=subscription}} Gratzer and his parents escaped Nazi persecution by escaping to Czechoslovakia and the United Kingdom in 1939.{{cite web |author=Ferry, Georgina| title=Walter Gratzer obituary |date=10 November 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606025958/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/nov/10/walter-gratzer-obituary |archive-date=6 June 2023 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/nov/10/walter-gratzer-obituary}} He lived in Belsize Park and then Cheltenham. He won a scholarship to Cheltenham grammar school.

Gratzer received his BA in chemistry in 1954 and his MA in 1958 from the University of Oxford, and his PhD in 1960 from the National Institute for Medical Research. He was a research fellow at Harvard University from 1960 to 1963, a lecturer in biophysics at King's from 1963 to 1966, and worked at the Medical Research Council from 1966 to 1996.[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/biohealth/research/randall/res-sections/biophysics/sleep/wgratzer "Professor Walter Gratzer"], King's College London, accessed 7 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101019135823/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/biohealth/research/randall/res-sections/biophysics/sleep/wgratzer Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010.

He was professor of biophysical chemistry at King's College London{{Cite journal | last1 = Gratzer | first1 = W. | doi = 10.1186/1741-7007-9-12 | title = Biophysics - whence, whither, wherefore - or Hold that hyphen | journal = BMC Biology | volume = 9 | pages = 12 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21371341| pmc =3055213 | doi-access = free }} and an author and reviewer of popular science. He was the first Nature news correspondent appointed by editor John Maddox.{{Cite journal | last1 = Gratzer | first1 = W. | title = Obituary: John Maddox (1925–2009) | doi = 10.1038/458983a | journal = Nature | volume = 458 | issue = 7241 | pages = 983–984 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19396135| doi-access = }}. Oliver Sacks of Nature writes that his reviews have high literary quality and show knowledge of a wide range of topics.Sacks, Oliver. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6909/full/419786a.html "Bringing scientists to life"], Nature 419: 786, 24 October 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}} {{doi|10.1038/419786a}}. Gratzer was a friend of James D. Watson, and wrote the introduction and afterword of his A Passion for DNA.Friedberg, Errol C. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=WR1GcZAR6RQC&pg=PA111 The Writing Life of James D. Watson], Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, p. 111. {{ISBN|0-87969-700-8}}. He died in London on 20 October 2021.

• The Longman Literary Companion to Science (1989) (editor)Herbert, Roy. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hV72KUegEHIC&pg=PA62 "To encourage insomnia"], New Scientist 1690, 11 November 1989, p. 62, accessed 7 November 2010. See [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12416904.300-review-to-encourage-insomnia--review-of-the-longman-literary-companion-to-science-edited-by-walter-gratzer.html the copy] at the New Scientist website. {{subscription required}}"Squashing bishops and fighting newts", The Economist, issue 7634, p. 121, 23 December 1989.
• A Bedside Nature: Genius and Eccentricity in Science 1869–1953 (1996)Mbanya, Jean Claude. [http://www.bmj.com/content/312/7039/1169.1.extract "A Bedside Nature: Genius and Eccentricity in Science 1869–1953"], BMJ 312 (7039): 1169, 4 May 1996, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}}[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14920185.900-who-did-what.html "Who did what"], New Scientist, issue, 2018, 24 February 1996, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}}
• The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-Deception and Human Frailty (2000) ([https://books.google.com/books?id=cEpVqNp7sg4C Google Books])Bauer, Henry H. {{cite web |url= http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/reviews/reviews_15_2_bauer.pdf |title= The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-Deception and Human Frailty |access-date= 7 November 2010 |archive-date= 6 July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100706172032/http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/reviews/reviews_15_2_bauer.pdf |url-status= bot: unknown }} {{small|(69.3 KB)}} Journal of Scientific Exploration 15 (2): 291–293, 2001, accessed 7 November 2010. by WebCite on 7 November 2010. [http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/reviews/ Reviews webpage], 7 November 2010.McSweegan, Edward. [http://www.salon.com/books/review/2000/11/30/gratzer '"The Undergrowth of Science" by Walter Gratzer'], Salon, 30 November 2000, accessed 7 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110604235301/http://www.salon.com/books/review/2000/11/30/gratzer Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Stasiak, Andrzej. [http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/v2/n9/full/embor325.html "Pathological science"], EMBO Reports 2 (9): 762, 15 September 2001, accessed 7 November 2010. {{doi|10.1093/embo-reports/kve196}}. {{PMC|1084050}}.Tunstad, Erik. [http://www.nrk.no/programmer/radioarkiv/verdt_a_vite/vitenskap/594607.html "Vitenskap på ville veier"] {{in lang|no}} ([https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrk.no%2Fprogrammer%2Fradioarkiv%2Fverdt_a_vite%2Fvitenskap%2F594607.html Google Translate]), Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 December 2000, updated, 10 June 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081228232534/http://www.nrk.no/programmer/radioarkiv/verdt_a_vite/vitenskap/594607.html Archived] by WebCite on 10 November 2010.
• Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes (2002) [2004] ([https://books.google.com/books?id=yDBep9y0SVsC Google Books])[http://www.concatenation.org/nfrev/eurekasandeuphs.html "Eurekas and Euphorias"], concatenation.org, accessed 7 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100523125817/http://www.concatenation.org/nfrev/eurekasandeuphs.html Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Matthews, Robert. [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17523605.900-telling-tales.html "Telling tales"], New Scientist, issue 2360, 14 September 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}}Ince, Martin. [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=172184§ioncode=22 "Wars, women and discovery"], Times Higher Education, 11 October 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120916221658/http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=172184§ioncode=22 Archived] by WebCite on 10 November 2010.
• Terrors of the Table: The Curious History of Nutrition (2005) [2007] ([https://books.google.com/books?id=FfAtQ2HZpu4C Google Books])Carpenter, Kenneth J. [http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/83/3/725 "Terrors of the Table: the Curious History of Nutrition"], American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 83 (3): 725, March 2006, accessed 7 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081015125656/http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/83/3/725 Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Hirst, Christopher. [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/terrors-of-the-table-by-walter-gratzer-435552.html "Terrors of the Table, by Walter Gratzer"], The Independent, 9 February 2007, accessed 7 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121109192346/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/terrors-of-the-table-by-walter-gratzer-435552.html Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Kornberg, Hans. [http://www.fasebj.org/content/21/1/5.full "Terrors of the table: the curious history of nutrition by Walter Gratzer"], The FASEB Journal 21 (1): 5–7, 1 January 2007. {{doi|10.1096/fj.07-0102ufm|doi-access=free}}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150224182220/http://www.fasebj.org/content/21/1/5.full Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Youngman, Angela. [http://www.monstersandcritics.com/books/lifestyle/reviews/article_1265925.php/Book_Review_Terrors_of_the_Table_by_Walter_Gratzer "Book Review: Terrors of the Table by Walter Gratzer"], Monsters and Critics, 20 February 2007, accessed 10 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101029112604/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/books/lifestyle/reviews/article_1265925.php/Book_Review_Terrors_of_the_Table_by_Walter_Gratzer Archived] by WebCite on 10 November 2010.Stern, Jane; Stern, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/books/review/04stern.html "Something We Ate?"], The New York Times, 4 December 2005, accessed 10 November 2010. [https://archive.today/20120906073025/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/books/review/04stern.html?_r=1 Archived] by WebCite on 10 November 2010.
• Giant Molecules: From Nylon to Nanotubes (2009) ([https://books.google.com/books?id=TT1sbLDgdr8C Google Books])Menger, Frederic, M. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201003186/full "Giant Molecules"], Angewandte Chemie International Edition 49 (12): 4859, accessed 7 November 2010. Hosted by Wiley; first published online on 11 June 2010. {{doi|10.1002/anie.201003186}}. {{subscription required}}Smidt, Scott. [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ed100624d "Book Review of Giant Molecules: From Nylon to Nanotubes"], Journal of Chemical Education 87 (9): 910, accessed 7 November 2010. Published online on 16 July 2010. {{doi|10.1021/ed100624d}}. [https://archive.today/20120712150801/http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ed100624d Archived] by WebCite on 7 November 2010. For the PDF, see {{cite journal|title=Giant Molecules: From Nylon to Nanotubes |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |volume=87 |issue=9 |pages=911 |doi=10.1021/ed100624d |year = 2010|last1 = Smidt|first1 = Scott}} {{small|(549 KB)}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20240507090544/https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed100624d archived] on 7 November 2010.Jones, Richard. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7287/full/464354a.html "A macromolecular history"], Nature 464: 354, 18 March 2010, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}} {{doi|10.1038/464354a}}.

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• [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v19/n13/walter-gratzer/in-the-hands-of-any-fool Review] of A Short History of Cardiology by Peter Fleming, London Review of Books 19 (13): 24, 3 July 1997, accessed 7 November 2010. {{subscription required}}
• [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v393/n6686/full/393640b0.html "Per ardua ad: Stockholm"], Nature 393: 640641, 18 June 1998, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}} {{doi|10.1038/31388}}.
• [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v408/n6808/full/408024a0.html "Now you see it, now you don't"], Nature 408: 24–25, 2 November 2000, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}} {{doi|10.1038/35040637}}.
• [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v424/n6950/full/424725a.html "A stranger in a strange land"], Nature 424: 725, 14 August 2003, accessed 10 November 2010. {{subscription required}} {{doi|10.1038/424725a}}.

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• {{cite journal |title=Max Perutz (1914–2002) |journal=Current Biology |volume=12 |number=5 |pages=R152–R154 |date=5 March 2002 |doi=10.1016/S0960-9822(02)00727-3|last1=Gratzer |first1=Walter |s2cid=30263181 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2002CBio...12.R152G }}
• Gratzer, Walter. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v431/n7011/full/431922a.html "Obituary: Maurice Wilkins (1916–2004)"], Nature 431: 922, 21 October 2004, accessed 7 November 2010. {{doi|10.1038/431922a}}
• Gratzer, Walter. [http://www.nature.com/nature/history/full/nature06241.html "Nature — The Maddox Years"], Nature, accessed 7 November 2010. {{doi|10.1038/nature06241}}.
• Gratzer, Walter. [http://www.fasebj.org/content/22/10/3415.full "Embryologist in Eden, a review of The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester (2008), Harper Collins, New York "], The FASEB Journal 22 (10): 3415–3416, 1 October 2008, accessed 7 November 2010. by WebCite on 7 November 2010. {{doi|10.1096/fj.08-1002ufm|doi-access=free}}.
• Gratzer, Walter. {{cite web |url= http://www.asbmb.org/uploadedFiles/AboutUs/ASBMB_History/Charles%20Tanford.pdf |title= Retrospective: Charles Tanford (1921–2009) |access-date= 7 November 2010 |archive-date= 17 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110717141302/http://www.asbmb.org/uploadedFiles/AboutUs/ASBMB_History/Charles%20Tanford.pdf |url-status= bot: unknown }} {{small|(131 KB)}}, ASBMB Today, December 2009, pp. 15–17, accessed 7 November 2010. by WebCite on 7 November 2010. See HTML version [http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article_print.aspx?id=4564 here]. on 7 November 2010.

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• [http://www.kcl.ac.uk/biohealth/research/divisions/randall/people/profiles/gratzerwalter.aspx Webpage at King's College London]
• [http://www.lrb.co.uk/contributors/walter-gratzer Reviews at the London Review of Books]

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Category:1932 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:20th-century British biologists

Category:21st-century British biologists

Category:Academics of King's College London

Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford

Category:British chemists

Category:British male journalists

Category:British science writers