Sir Bernard Katz - The Physician Physiologist Who Shaped Electrophysiology

Sir Bernard Katz

(1911- 2003)

Bernard Katz was born on March 26th, 1911, in Leipzig, Germany, of Russian Jewish origin. He studied Medicine (MD) at the University of Leipzig, He left Germany in February 1935 and joined for a Ph. D. under Professor A.V. Hill at University College, London. Katz worked in A.V. Hill's laboratory until August 1939. He received a Ph.D. (London University) and a Beit Memorial Research Fellowship in 1938. In 1942, he was also awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (London University).Bernard Katz was an icon of post-war biophysics. He was one of the last of the generation of distinguished physiologists who were refugees from the Third Reich and who contributed immeasurably to the scientific reputation of their adopted country. In 1970 he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Prof.Katz, who shared the prize with the Swede Ulf von Euler and the American Julius Axelrod, was known for his studies on the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which carries impulses from nerve to muscle fibres. Using a micro-pipette, Katz began to measure the "end-plate potential" - the minute electrical voltage emitted at the junction between nerve and muscle - and found that his oscilloscope registered a random reading of about half a millivolt, even when there was no stimulation at all. At first Katz assumed that this was the result of random interference from the machine; but when the application of curare (a poison that paralyses the muscles) stopped the voltage readings, he knew that they must represent real activity at the nerve end. He then found that the size of the voltage potential, whether the nerve was being stimulated or not, was always a multiple of a tiny but exact minimum value. His iconic works on resting membrane potential. The student of medicine and physiology will never forget his works on "Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation" calculates as estimated membrane potential that reflects the relative contributions of the chemical concentration gradients and relative membrane permeability for K⁺ , Na⁺  and Cl^-. 

^{He was conferred Knighthood and Fellowship at The Royal Society,UK.}