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{{short description|Russian Jewish-American biochemist, microbiologist, and Nobel Laureate (1888–1973)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Selman Waksman
| image = Selman Waksman NYWTS.jpg
| caption = Waksman in 1953
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place
| alma_mater = [[Rutgers University]] <br> [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| doctoral_advisor = [[Thorburn Brailsford Robertson|T. Brailsford Robertson]]
| citizenship
| fields = [[Biochemistry]] and [[Microbiology]]▼
| prizes
▲| fields = [[Biochemistry]] and [[Microbiology]]
▲| prizes = {{no wrap|[[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] {{small|(1952)}} <br/>[[Leeuwenhoek Medal]] {{small|(1950)}}}}
| children = Byron H. Waksman (1919–2012)<ref>{{cite journal|title=Byron H. Waksman, M.D. (AAI '50) 1919–2012|journal=The Journal of Immunology|volume=189|issue=8|year=2012|pages=3783–3784|issn=0022-1767|doi=10.4049/jimmunol.1290059|s2cid=220253897|doi-access=free}}</ref>
▲|spouse=Deborah B. Mitnik (1 child) (died 1974)
}}
'''Selman Abraham Waksman''' (July 22, 1888 – August 16, 1973) was a
In 2005, Selman Waksman was granted an [[ACS National
==Early life and education==
Selman Waksman was born on July 22, 1888 (July 8 according to the old Russian calendar<ref>{{Cite web |title=Selman Waksman and Antibiotics - Landmark |url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/selmanwaksman.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=American Chemical Society |language=en}}</ref>), to [[Jewish]] parents, in
Waksman attended [[Rutgers University|Rutgers College]] (now Rutgers University), where he
==Career==
Later he joined the faculty at [[Rutgers University]] in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. It was at Rutgers that Waksman's team discovered several antibiotics, including [[actinomycin]], [[clavacin]], [[streptothricin]], [[streptomycin]], [[grisein]], [[neomycin]], [[fradicin]], [[candicidin]], [[candidin]], and others. Two of these, [[streptomycin]] and [[neomycin]], have found extensive application in the treatment of numerous infectious diseases. [[Streptomycin]] was the first [[antibiotic]] that could be used to cure the disease [[tuberculosis]]. Waksman is credited with coining the term [[antibiotics]], to describe compounds derived from other living organisms such as [[penicillin]], though the term was first used by the French dermatologist [[François Henri Hallopeau]], in 1871, to describe a substance opposed to the development of life.<ref>ref. needed!</ref>▼
He joined the faculty at [[Rutgers University]] in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.
▲
In 1931, Waksman organized the division of Marine Bacteriology at the [[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]] (WHOI) in addition to his task at Rutgers.<ref name="NobelBio" /> He was appointed a marine bacteriologist there and served until 1942. He was elected a trustee at WHOI and finally a Life Trustee.
Selman Waksman died on August 16, 1973 and was interred at the Crowell Cemetery in [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts|Woods Hole]], [[Barnstable County, Massachusetts]]. His tombstone is inscribed simply as ''Selman Abraham Waksman: Scientist'', followed by his dates of birth and death, and the phrase "The earth will open and bring forth salvation" in [[Hebrew]] and English, which is a reference to ''Isaiah 45:8''.<ref name="foundationhistory"/><ref>This verse is significantly different from the original text of ''Isaiah 45:8'' which states, in the [[King James Version]], as "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it."</ref>▼
In 1951,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.
==Research==
===Streptomycin===
{{main article|Streptomycin}}
Waksman had been studying the [[Streptomyces]] family of organisms since his college student days and had, for a time, been studying the organism ''[[Streptomyces griseus]]''. Streptomycin was isolated from ''S. griseus'' and found effective against [[tuberculosis]] by one of Waksman's graduate students, [[Albert Schatz (scientist)|Albert Schatz]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/63042d06-83c2-11e1-82ca-00144feab49a.html#axzz1s0Q17zi3 |title=Germ warfare |date=April 14, 2012 |publisher=[[Financial Times]] |author=Andrew Jack}}</ref> These results were later confirmed by [[Elizabeth Bugie]] Gregory, whose name was also published on "Streptomycin, a Substance Exhibiting Antibiotic Activity Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria" with Schatz and Waksman.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Forgotten Women of the Antibiotics Race|url=https://www.ladyscience.com/features/forgotten-women-researchers-in-the-race-for-antibiotics-2021|access-date=2021-12-21|website=Lady Science|date=22 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> However, Bugie's name was not on the second key paper in 1944, which was regarding the efficacy of streptomycin against tuberculosis in test tubes, as Schatz claimed Bugie was not involved with the experiment.<ref name=":0" /> Bugie was also not given credit for her work on streptomycin, nor was she listed on the patent proposal, as she signed an affidavit stating that she did not have any contribution in discovering streptomycin.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Obiturary: Elizabeth Gregory / Did McCandless woman get a fair shake for the role in the discovery of streptomycin?|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|access-date=2021-12-21|website=old.post-gazette.com|archive-date=2021-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129213617/http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20010414gregory2.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was submitted under an attorney of the Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
==
{{
The details and credit for the discovery of streptomycin and its usefulness as an antibiotic were strongly contested by [[Albert Schatz (scientist)|Albert Schatz]], leading to litigation in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/SciANDTech/Waksman/schatz.htm |title=The Schatz v. Waksman Lawsuit – 1950 |publisher=scc.rutgers.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014185512/http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/SciANDTech/Waksman/schatz.htm |archive-date=October 14, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> However, it was possible that Waksman did not see Schatz's contribution as significantly as Schatz saw his contributions. Waksman noted that Schatz was away at the military in 1943, adding that he was only in the lab for three months and only played a small role in discovering streptomycin.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Milton.|first=Wainwright|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1101806541|title=Streptomycin : discovery and resultant controversy|date=1991|publisher=[Verlag nicht ermittelbar]|oclc=1101806541}}</ref><ref name=":0"/> Waksman and Rutgers settled out of court with Schatz, resulting in financial remuneration and entitlement to "legal and scientific credit as co-discoverer of streptomycin."<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last=Pringle|first=Peter|date=June 11, 2012|title=Notebooks Shed Light on a Discovery, and a Mentor's Betrayal|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/science/notebooks-shed-light-on-an-antibiotic-discovery-and-a-mentors-betrayal.html|access-date=June 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name="young">{{cite news|last=Mistiaen|first=Veronique|date=November 2, 2002|title=Time, and the great healer.|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/weekend/story/0,3605,823114,00.html|access-date=April 13, 2010|quote=The story of streptomycin – of scientific triumphs, all-too-human scientists and a long quest for justice – lies somewhere between these two men.}}</ref> Schatz was awarded $120,000 for patent rights and 3% of royalties.<ref>{{Cite news |last=TIMES |first=Special to THE NEW YORK |date=1950-12-30 |title=Dr. Schatz Wins 3% of Royalty; Named Co-Finder of Streptomycin; KEY FIGURES IN STREPTOMYCIN DISCOVERY SUIT |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/12/30/archives/dr-schatz-wins-3-of-royalty-named-cofinder-of-streptomycin-key.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Lancet<ref>{{Cite journal |last=The Lancet Infectious Diseases |date=2005-11-01 |title=The Nobel cause |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309905702450 |journal=The Lancet Infectious Diseases |language=en |volume=5 |issue=11 |pages=665 |doi=10.1016/S1473-3099(05)70245-0 |pmid=16253880 |issn=1473-3099}}</ref> claimed that "the Nobel committee made a considerable mistake by failing to recognize Schatz's contribution."
Systematic experiments to test several strains of
The controversy of streptomycin between Waksman and Schatz brought to light the challenges of distributing credit for scientific research, discoveries, and patents.<ref name=":1" /> It prompted schools and universities to become more involved in the patenting process and to have more regulations on how credit is dispersed. Schools would also provide clearer lines for each individual's role in a lab to minimize future litigations against the school.<ref name=":1" />
▲Systematic experiments to test several strains of antibiotic against several different disease organisms were under way in Waksman's laboratory at the time. Their classic approach was to explore a complete matrix with rows consisting of antibiotics and columns consisting of different diseases. The bacteria which produced the antibiotic streptomycin was discovered by Schatz in the farmland outside his lab, and tested by him.<ref name=NYT/> Waksman, however, eventually came to claim sole credit for the discovery.
===Neomycin===
{{Main article|Neomycin}}
Neomycin is derived from
=== Marine bacteria ===
Waksman's research also examined the role of bacteria in marine systems, with a particular focus on the role of bacteria in nutrient cycles. Waksman examined the degradation of [[alginic acid]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Carey|first2=C. L.|last3=Allen|first3=M. C.|date=1934|title=Bacteria Decomposing Alginic Acid|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=28|issue=2|pages=213–220|doi=10.1128/jb.28.2.213-220.1934|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16559742|pmc=533668}}</ref> cellulose,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Carey|first2=C.|title=The Use of the Silica Gel Plate for Demonstrating the Occurrence and Abundance of Cellulose-Decomposing Bacteria|date=1926|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=12|issue=2|pages=87–95|doi=10.1128/jb.12.2.87-95.1926|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16559206|pmc=374888|doi-access=free}}</ref> and zooplankton.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Carey|first2=Cornelia L.|last3=Reuszer|first3=Herbert W.|date=1933-08-01|title=Marine bacteria and their rôle in the cycle of life in the sea: i. decomposition of marine plant and animal residues by bacteria|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1537188|journal=The Biological Bulletin|volume=65|issue=1|pages=57–79|doi=10.2307/1537188|jstor=1537188|issn=0006-3185}}</ref> Waksman, working with Cornelia Carey, [[Margaret Hotchkiss]], [[Yvette Hardman Edmondson|Yvette Hardman]], and Donald Johnston, conducted multiple studies on the actions of bacteria in marine systems which included quantifying the abundance<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Carey|first2=C. L.|date=1935|title=Decomposition of Organic Matter in Sea Water by Bacteria: II. Influence of Addition of Organic Substances upon Bacterial Activities|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=29|issue=5|pages=545–561|doi=10.1128/jb.29.5.545-561.1935|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16559809|pmc=543620|doi-access=free}}</ref> and viability of bacteria in seawater.,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Hotchkiss|first2=M.|date=1937|title=Viability of Bacteria in Sea Water|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=33|issue=4|pages=389–400|doi=10.1128/jb.33.4.389-400.1937|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16560007|pmc=545103|doi-access=free}}</ref> examining the impact of copper on bacterial growth,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Johnston|first2=Donald B.|last3=Carey|first3=Cornelia A.|date=1943|title=The effect of copper upon the development of bacteria in seawater and the isolation of specific bacteria|url=https://images.peabody.yale.edu/publications/jmr/jmr05-02-06.pdf|journal=Journal of Marine Research|volume=5|issue=2–06|pages=136–152}}</ref> estimating the impact of bacterial activity on the nitrogen cycle,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=S. A.|last2=Hotchkiss|first2=M.|last3=Carey|first3=C. L.|last4=Hardman|first4=Y.|title=Decomposition of Nitrogenous Substances in Sea Water by Bacteria|date=1938|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=35|issue=5|pages=477–486|doi=10.1128/jb.35.5.477-486.1938|issn=0021-9193|pmid=16560120|pmc=545432|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Hotchkiss|first2=Margaret|last3=Carey|first3=Cornelia L.|date=1933-10-01|title=Marine bacteria and their rôle in the cycle of life in the sea: ii. bacteria concerned in the cycle of nitrogen in the sea|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1537170|journal=The Biological Bulletin|volume=65|issue=2|pages=137–167|doi=10.2307/1537170|jstor=1537170|issn=0006-3185}}</ref> and a separation of bacteria into groups based on habitat use in seawater, on plankton, or in the sediments.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Selman A.|last2=Reuszer|first2=H. W.|last3=Carey|first3=Cornelia L.|last4=Hotchkiss|first4=Margaret|last5=Renn|first5=C. E.|date=1933-04-01|title=Studies on the biology and chemistry of the Gulf of Maine : iii. bacteriological investigations of the seawater and marine bottoms|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1537228|journal=The Biological Bulletin|volume=64|issue=2|pages=183–205|doi=10.2307/1537228|jstor=1537228|issn=0006-3185}}</ref>
Other tributes involve [[anti-fouling paint]] for the Navy, the use of [[enzyme]]s in [[laundry detergent]]s, and the practice of [[Concord grape]] [[rootstock]] to safeguard French vineyards from fungal infections.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
▲In 1951,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waksmanfoundation.org/html/foundation_history.html |title=Foundation History }}</ref> using half of his personal patent [[royalties]], Waksman created the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waksmanfoundation.org/ |title=Waksman Foundation for Microbiology homepage }}</ref> At a meeting of the board of Trustees of the Foundation, held in July 1951 he urged the building of a facility for work in microbiology, named the [[Waksman Institute of Microbiology]], which is located on the [[Busch Campus (Rutgers University)|Busch campus]] of [[Rutgers University]] in [[Piscataway, New Jersey]]. First president of the Foundation, Waksman was succeeded in this position by his son, Byron H. Waksman, from 1970 to 2000.
==Awards and honors==
The [[Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology]] of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] is given in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Selman A Walksman Award|url=http://nas.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_waksman|accessdate=July 29, 2012}}</ref>▼
Waksman acquired many awards and honors, including the [[Nobel Prize]] in 1952; the Star of the Rising Sun granted to him by the emperor of Japan, and the rank of ''Commandeur'' in the French [[Légion d'honneur]].<ref name="foundationhistory"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://waksman.rutgers.edu/Waks/Waksman/DrWaksman.html |title=Dr. Selman Waksman |publisher=The Waksman Institute at Rutgers (No further authorship information available) |access-date=January 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418134324/http://waksman.rutgers.edu/Waks/Waksman/DrWaksman.html |archive-date=April 18, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1952/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1952|website=www.nobelprize.org|access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref> During his Nobel Prize award presentation, Waksman was called "one of the greatest benefactors to mankind," as the result of his discovery of streptomycin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1952/press.html|title=Nobelprize.org|website=www.nobelprize.org|access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref> Schatz protested being left out of the award, even sending a letter to [[Gustaf VI Adolf]], the King of Sweden, but the State did not have any influence over the Nobel Prize Committee's decision and they ruled that he was a mere lab assistant working under a scientist.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="NYT" />
▲The [[Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology]] of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] is given in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Selman A Walksman Award|url=http://nas.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_waksman|
==Publications==▼
Selman Waksman was author or [[co-author]] of over 400 scientific papers, as well as twenty-eight books<ref name="foundationhistory"/> and 14 scientific pamphlets.▼
▲== Publications ==
▲Selman Waksman was the author or [[co-author]] of over 400 scientific papers, as well as
* ''Enzymes'' (1926)
* ''Humus: origin, chemical composition, and importance in nature'' (1936, 1938)
* ''Principles of Soil Microbiology'' (
* ''My Life with the Microbes'' (1954) (an autobiography)
==
Waksman was married to Deborah B. Mitnik. They had one son, Byron H. Waksman, M.D., who was an assistant professor at Harvard University Medical School, and Professor of Microbiology at Yale University Medical School.<ref name="NobelBio" />
▲Selman Waksman died on August 16, 1973, at a Hyannis, Massachusetts Hospital and was interred at the
== See also ==
* [[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]
==References==
{{reflist
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture December 12, 1952 ''Streptomycin: Background, Isolation, Properties, and Utilization''
* [
* [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_medicine_and_allied_sciences/v059/59.3kingston.html "Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery"]
* [http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=waksman&GSfn=selman&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=9533563&pt=Selman%20Abraham%20Waksman& Findagrave: Selman Waksman]
* [http://waksman.rutgers.edu/ The Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University]
* [
{{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 1951-1975}}
{{Presidents of the American Society for Microbiology|state=collapsed}}
{{1952 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waksman, Selman}}
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
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[[Category:American autobiographers]]
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[[Category:American biologists]]▼
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
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[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]
[[Category:Jewish American scientists]]
▲[[Category:Jewish American writers]]
[[Category:Jewish chemists]]
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[[Category:Leeuwenhoek Medal winners]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine]]
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[[Category:People from Kiev Governorate]]
[[Category:People from Vinnytsia Oblast]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research]]
[[Category:Rutgers University alumni]]
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▲[[Category:People from Barnstable County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
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