Microbiology and Immunology

WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY Urey, Harold

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be highly relevant in current research on the possibilities of

global climate change.

In the early 1950s, Urey became interested in yet

another subject: the chemistry of the universe and of the for-

mation of the planets, including Earth. One of his first papers

on this topic attempted to provide an estimate of the relative

abundance of the elements in the universe. Although these

estimates have now been improved, they were remarkably

close to the values modern chemists now accept.

In 1958, Urey left the University of Chicago to become

Professor at Large at the University of California in San Diego

at La Jolla. At La Jolla, his interests shifted from original sci-

entific research to national scientific policy. He became

extremely involved in the U.S. space program, serving as the

first chairman of the Committee on Chemistry of Space and

Exploration of the Moon and Planets of the National Academy

of Science’s Space Sciences Board. Even late in life, Urey

continued to receive honors and awards from a grateful nation

and admiring colleagues.

See alsoCell cycle and cell division; Evolution and evolution-

ary mechanisms; Evolutionary origin of bacteria and viruses

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