The Nobelprize in Århus
Professor dr. med. J. C. Schou
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The Nobel Prize in Aarhus
In 1997, Emeritus Professor Jens Christian Skou was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the sodium-potassium pump.
The Nobel prize, the most important international distinction within the area of research, has helped to draw the attention of the outside world to Aarhus and its research environment.
The prize testifies to the fact that the University of Aarhus shares the company of other centres where the research is of a very high quality, at the same time as having created greater focus on the importance of conducting basic research.
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The significance of the pump
Many years of research show that the discovery of the sodium-potassium pump can have considerable significance for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of diseases and illnesses. The sodium-potassium pump is necessary to maintain the balance between water and salt in cells so they do not swell up and burst. At the same time, it is a prerequisite for a nerve stimulant being conveyed along a nerve fibre or a muscle cell.
Skou discovered the solution
After training as a doctor, Jens Christian Skou conducted research into anaesthesia at the Department of Physiology at the University of Aarhus. Back then, it was known that when a nerve is stimulated, sodium ions flow into the nerve cell. The difference in concentration is equalized when the sodium flows out again. It was probable that this mechanism required adenosine triphosphate (ATP) since it was possible to block it in a living cell by inhibiting the formation of ATP. Using this knowledge as a starting point, Skou started to look for an ATP-dependent enzyme in the nerve membrane which could be coupled with for transporting sodium. The pump was identified, and in 1957 Skou published an article on the subject – _although without mentioning the discovery in the title. It was only after further research and experiments, which showed how the pump functioned, that Jens Christian Skou was able, in 1965, to write a concluding article, after which the discovery received the attention it merited.
What characterises Jens Christian Skou is that – then as now – he is always incredibly interested in the things with which he is involved. He is modest, persistent and well-liked by all – not least by those at the Department of Biophysics at the University of Aarhus where he continues to work.
There was never any doubt about who was responsible for discovering the sodium-potassium pump. However, it was only after four decades and many obstacles that Jens Christian Skou was able to receive the award he deserved, the Nobel Prize.
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Jens Christian Skou
· 1918 Born 8 October, Lemvig
· 1944 Doctor of Medicine (cand.med.), University of Copenhagen
· 1944 Employed at Hjørring Hospital
· 1947 Assistant lecturer, Department of Physiology, University of Aarhus
· 1954 Doctor of Medical Science (dr.med.), University of Aarhus
· 1954 Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Aarhus
· 1963 Professor of Physiology, Head of Department, Department of Physiology
· 1988 Professor of Biophysics and Head of Department, Department of Biophysics, University of Aarhus
· 1988 Emeritus Professor
· 1997 Nobel prize in Chemistry
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