Walter Bruno Gratzer (20 September 1932 – 20 October 2021) was a German-born British biophysical chemist and science writer.

Career

Gratzer was born in a Jewish hospital in Breslau (now Wrocław). Gratzer and his parents escaped Nazi persecution by escaping to Czechoslovakia and the United Kingdom in 1939. He lived in Belsize Park and then Cheltenham. He won a scholarship to Cheltenham grammar school.

Gratzer completed at University of Oxford a BA in chemistry in 1954, followed by an MA in 1958. His PhD was completed at National Institute for Medical Research in 1960. He was a research fellow at Harvard University from 1960 to 1963, a lecturer in biophysics at King's from 1963 to 1966, and worked at the Medical Research Council from 1966 to 1996."Professor Walter Gratzer", King's College London, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010.

He was professor of biophysical chemistry at King's College London and an author and reviewer of popular science. He was the first Nature news correspondent appointed by editor John Maddox.. Oliver Sacks of Nature writes that his reviews have high literary quality and show knowledge of a wide range of topics. Gratzer was a friend of James D. Watson, and wrote the introduction and afterword of his A Passion for DNA.Friedberg, Errol C. (2005). The Writing Life of James D. Watson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, p. 111. . He died in London on 20 October 2021.

Publications

Books The Longman Literary Companion to Science (1989) (editor)Herbert, Roy. "To encourage insomnia", New Scientist 1690, 11 November 1989, p. 62, accessed 7 November 2010. See the copy at the New Scientist website. "Squashing bishops and fighting newts", The Economist, issue 7634, p. 121, 23 December 1989. A Bedside Nature: Genius and Eccentricity in Science 1869–1953 (1996)"Who did what", New Scientist, issue, 2018, 24 February 1996, accessed 10 November 2010. The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-Deception and Human Frailty (2000) (Google Books)McSweegan, Edward. '"The Undergrowth of Science" by Walter Gratzer', Salon, 30 November 2000, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Tunstad, Erik. "Vitenskap på ville veier" (Google Translate), Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 December 2000, updated, 10 June 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 10 November 2010. Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes (2002) (Google Books)"Eurekas and Euphorias", concatenation.org, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Matthews, Robert. "Telling tales", New Scientist, issue 2360, 14 September 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. Ince, Martin. "Wars, women and discovery", Times Higher Education, 11 October 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 10 November 2010. Terrors of the Table: The Curious History of Nutrition (2005) (Google Books)Hirst, Christopher. "Terrors of the Table, by Walter Gratzer", The Independent, 9 February 2007, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010.Youngman, Angela. "Book Review: Terrors of the Table by Walter Gratzer", Monsters and Critics, 20 February 2007, accessed 10 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 10 November 2010.Stern, Jane; Stern, Michael. "Something We Ate?", The New York Times, 4 December 2005, accessed 10 November 2010. by WebCite on 10 November 2010. Giant Molecules: From Nylon to Nanotubes (2009) (Google Books)

Reviews

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Articles

Gratzer, Walter.  , ASBMB Today, December 2009, pp. 15–17, accessed 7 November 2010. by WebCite on 7 November 2010. See HTML version here. on 7 November 2010.

Academic papers

Pinder, JC et al. "Actomyosin motor in the merozoite of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum: implications for red cell invasion", Journal of Cell Science 111 (13): 1831–1839, 1998, accessed 10 November 2010.

References

Further reading

Ince, Martin. "No moos is good news", Times Higher Education, 1 March 1996, accessed 10 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 10 November 2010. Mercer, Nick. "Serious Talk: Science and religion in dialogue", Third Way 19 (4): 27, May 1996. Barrow, John D. (1999) . Between Inner Space and Outer Space: Essays on Science, Art, and Philosophy, Oxford University Press, pp. 11–13. . Perspective: Walter Gratzer, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 10 December 2002, accessed 10 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 10 November 2010. Semenza, G.; Turner, A. J. (eds.) (2003). A History of Biochemistry: Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry (volume 42), Elsevier. . Skern, Tim (2009). Writing Scientific English: A Workbook, UTB (publisher), p. 174. . "Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes", Oxford University Press, accessed 7 November 2010. Archived by WebCite on 7 November 2010.

External links Webpage at King's College London Reviews at the London Review of Books