Scientific Contributions
By bombarding matter with particles in the cyclotron, radioactive isotopes such as carbon-14, were generated. Using carbon-14, the order of events in biochemical reactions could be elucidated, showing the precursors of a particular biochemical product, revealing the network of reactions that constitute life. Kamen is credited with confirming that all of the oxygen released in photosynthesis comes from water, not carbon dioxide. He also studied the role of molybdenum in biological nitrogen fixation, the biochemistry of cytochromes and their in photosynthesis and metabolism, the role of iron in the activity of porphyrin compounds in plants and animals, and calcium exchange in cancerous tumors.
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“The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. In our system, she must become a passive, much more than an active, influence, and her passivity shall be composed of anxious scientific curiosity and of absolute respect for the phenomenon which she wishes to observe. The teacher must understand and feel her position of observer: the activity must lie in the phenomenon.”
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