Arthur Kornberg

Arthur Kornberg – Life, Career, and Scientific Legacy

Arthur Kornberg (1918–2007), American biochemist and Nobel laureate, uncovered the enzymatic mechanisms for DNA synthesis and helped launch molecular biology. Explore his life, discoveries, and lasting influence.

Introduction

Arthur Kornberg (March 3, 1918 – October 26, 2007) was an American biochemist and physician whose pioneering work revealed how deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is synthesized in cells.

He shared the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Severo Ochoa) for “the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid.”

Kornberg’s studies in enzyme chemistry and molecular biology greatly advanced our understanding of heredity, replication, and the foundations of biotechnology.

Early Life and Family

Arthur Kornberg was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Jewish immigrants Joseph and Lena (née Katz) Kornberg, who had emigrated from Galicia (then in Austria-Hungary) around 1900.

His father worked in sweatshops and later ran a small hardware store in Brooklyn, where young Arthur helped out from the age of nine.

Kornberg attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, followed by undergraduate studies at City College of New York, earning a B.S. in 1937.

He then studied medicine at the University of Rochester, receiving his M.D. in 1941.

While at medical school, Kornberg investigated a mild case of jaundice (due to what is now known as Gilbert’s syndrome), and surveyed his classmates for similar cases. That clinical observation became his first published research.

Education, Early Career & Research Foundations

After completing an internship at Strong Memorial Hospital (Rochester) in 1941–1942, Kornberg entered service as a medical officer in the U.S. Public Health Service / U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

During wartime, he was assigned to work at the Nutrition Laboratory of the NIH (National Institutes of Health), conducting biochemical and metabolic studies in rats, vitamins, and intermediary metabolism.

Over time, his interest gravitated toward enzymes as the molecular machines of life. He trained in enzyme purification, metabolism, and began to explore questions about DNA.

From 1947 until 1953, he led the Enzyme & Metabolism Section at NIH, refining tools and insights that would lead toward nucleic acid biosynthesis research.

Major Discoveries & Scientific Achievements

Isolation of DNA Polymerase I and in vitro DNA synthesis

A cornerstone of Kornberg’s career was his successful isolation (in 1956) of the first DNA polymerase (now called DNA polymerase I) from Escherichia coli.

He then demonstrated that, with the correct substrates, DNA replication (i.e. construction of a complementary strand) could occur in a test tube (in vitro).

This work proved that the machinery of replication could be dissected and understood biochemically — a key advance in molecular biology.

For these contributions, Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959 (shared with Ochoa)

Institutional leadership & further research

In 1953, Kornberg accepted a position as head of the Department of Microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis, where he built a research environment devoted to nucleic acids and enzymology.

Starting in 1959, he moved to Stanford University to become Professor and executive head of the Department of Biochemistry. There, he guided Stanford into a leading center for DNA research and recombinant DNA science.

Throughout his career, he continued research on spore biology (driven in part by personal motivation) and on topics such as inorganic polyphosphate metabolism in later years.

Even into his eighties, he remained an active scientist, maintaining his laboratory at Stanford and publishing research.

Kornberg also played a key role in linking academic science with biotechnology industry, helping catalyze translational research.

Challenges, Context & Family

Kornberg’s path was not free of challenges:

• His family’s economic constraints during the Great Depression influenced his choice of medicine (perceived as more stable) alongside research ambitions.

• The death of his mother in 1939 from gas gangrene (a spore infection) deeply affected him and stimulated his interest in spore biology.

He married Sylvy Ruth Levy (a biochemist who collaborated with him) in 1943; they had three sons: Roger, Thomas, and Kenneth.

• Roger D. Kornberg later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2006).

• Thomas B. Kornberg discovered DNA polymerase II and III; he is a professor at UCSF.

Kornberg married two more times after Sylvy’s death, and continued scientific activity well into his advanced age.

He passed away on October 26, 2007, at Stanford Hospital from respiratory failure.

Legacy & Influence

Arthur Kornberg’s influence spans science, institutions, and generations of scientists:

• His identification of DNA polymerase and the ability to replicate DNA in vitro laid foundational blocks for molecular biology, genetics, cloning, and biotechnology.

• The “Kornberg school” refers to the numerous graduate students and postdocs he trained — many of whom became leaders in biology, biochemistry, and molecular genetics.

• His efforts toward bridging academic science and industry helped promote translational research models.

• The Arthur Kornberg Medical Research Building at the University of Rochester is named in his honor.

• His writings (e.g. For the Love of Enzymes, The Golden Helix) remain influential in explaining molecular biology to broader audiences.

Selected Quotes & Reflections

Arthur Kornberg was not only a deep experimentalist but also a reflective thinker on science. Some of his notable quotes:

“Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.”

“Thou shalt not believe something just because you can explain it.”

“Nothing worthwhile is ever fun.”

“No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.”

“DNA, like a tape recording, carries a message in which there are specific instructions for a job to be done.”

“As in biomedical science, pioneering industrial inventions have not been mothered by necessity. Rather, inventions for which there was no commercial use only later became … modern society depends.”

“Without advances, medicine regresses and reverts to witchcraft.”

These reflect his humility, scientific rigor, and belief in fundamental curiosity.

Lessons from Arthur Kornberg’s Life

1. Follow deep curiosity
   Kornberg’s transition from metabolism to nucleic acids demonstrates how fundamental curiosity can lead to breakthroughs.

2. Build tools, not just ideas
   He didn’t stop at theories — he isolated enzymes, reconstructed systems in vitro, and enabled further experimentation.

3. Train successors
   His mentorship legacy shows the multiplier effect of investing in talented trainees.

4. Balance basic and translational science
   While his passion was for basic biochemistry, he also recognized the need to link discovery to application.

5. Persist through life’s challenges
   Kornberg overcame economic hardship, personal losses, and aging — yet remained scientifically active until the end.

Conclusion

Arthur Kornberg occupies a central place in the history of molecular biology. His discoveries regarding the enzymatic machinery of DNA replication reshaped how we view heredity, genetics, and cellular life.

His career demonstrates how rigor, curiosity, methodological mastery, and mentorship combine to produce lasting scientific influence. Through both his scientific output and the many scientists he trained, Kornberg’s legacy continues to resonate across the life sciences.

If you’d like, I can create a timeline of his major experiments or compare his work with that of Severo Ochoa or modern DNA researchers. Would you like me to do that next?