Have you noticed how Google decorated their logo today? At first glace you might think they're running a special advertising deal with the Florida Citrus Growers, but that's not the case. Google's citrus-themed logo sports two oranges and some other citrus fruits. Why?
Today is the 118th birthday of the Nobel-prize-winning biochemist Albert von Szent-Gy?rgyi de Nagyr?polt.
Szent-Gy?rgyi was a Hungarian-born biochemist and the first to isolate vitamin C, and his research on biological oxidation formed the foundation for Krebs' citric acid cycle. His
research and discovery of the biochemical nature of muscular contraction also proved revolutionary. He dedicated the latter part of his career to research in "submolecular" biology, applying quantum physics to biological processes.
Particularly interested in cancer, Szent-Gy?rgyi led the exploration of the connections between free radicals and cancer. He won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in biological oxidation and vitamin C, and the Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research in 1954, for contributions to understanding cardiovascular disease through basic muscle research.
You can read more about Albert von Szent-Gy?rgyi de Nagyr?polt's early life and his research at the National Library of Medicine.