Sidney Altman
His Nobel-winning discovery that RNA could act as a biological catalyst shattered a fundamental dogma of molecular biology.
1939–2022 (age 83)·Canadian-American molecular biologist·Birthday: May 7·The Silent Generation
Biography
Sidney Altman's scientific journey upended a core principle of biochemistry. Born in Montreal, his path to Yale was shaped by a curiosity sparked by reading about radioactivity as a teenager. His groundbreaking work focused on a bacterial enzyme, RNase P, which processes RNA. The prevailing wisdom held that all enzymes—the workhorses of cellular chemistry—were proteins. Altman's meticulous experiments in the late 1970s and early 1980s demonstrated that the catalytic component of RNase P was not a protein, but the RNA molecule itself. This revelation, shared with Thomas Cech's concurrent findings, proved that RNA could be both an information carrier and a chemical catalyst. The discovery of these 'ribozymes' provided crucial support for the 'RNA World' hypothesis, a theory about the origins of life, and opened vast new avenues in genetics and molecular medicine. A dedicated teacher at Yale for decades, Altman remained a humble but towering figure whose work fundamentally changed how scientists understand the machinery of life.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Sidney was born in 1939, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Sidney Was Born
The biggest hits of 1939
#1 Movie
Gone with the Wind
Best Picture
Gone with the Wind
Sidney's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1939Born
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1944Started school
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1952Became a teenager
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1955Could drive
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1957Could vote
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Turned 21
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1969Turned 30
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 40
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 50
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 60
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 70
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 80
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2022Died at 83
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Key Achievements
- Shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas R. Cech for the discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA.
- His research on the enzyme RNase P provided definitive proof that RNA could act as a biological catalyst.
- Served as the Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry at Yale University.
- Was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
- His work provided foundational evidence for the 'RNA World' hypothesis concerning the origin of life.
Did You Know?
He initially studied physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before switching to biophysics.
As a child, he was fascinated by the atomic bomb and read everything he could find on radioactivity.
He performed his Nobel Prize-winning research while at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.
He became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
“The most important thing is to be excited about what you are doing. If you are not excited, you will not do good work.”
