Murdoch Mitchison
Encyclopedia
John Murdoch Mitchison FRS, FRSE (11 June 1922, Oxford
– 17 March 2011, Edinburgh
) was a British zoologist, the son of the Labour politician Dick Mitchison
and his wife, the writer Naomi (née Haldane). The biologist J.B.S. Haldane was his uncle, and the physiologist John Scott Haldane was his maternal grandfather. His elder brother is the bacteriologist Denis Mitchison
, and his younger brother is the zoologist Avrion Mitchison
. His wife was the historian Rosalind Mitchison
.
Murdoch Mitchison went to Winchester College
and Trinity College
in Cambridge
, and later became Professor
of Zoology
at Edinburgh University in 1963 after working there for a decade. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1978. Considered a pioneer in the area of cellular biology, Mitchison developed the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe
as a model system
to study the mechanisms and kinetics of growth and the cell cycle
. He was an academic advisor to the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology recipient Paul Nurse
.
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
– 17 March 2011, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
) was a British zoologist, the son of the Labour politician Dick Mitchison
Dick Mitchison
Gilbert Richard Mitchison, Baron Mitchison CBE QC, otherwise known as Dick Mitchison , was a British Labour politician....
and his wife, the writer Naomi (née Haldane). The biologist J.B.S. Haldane was his uncle, and the physiologist John Scott Haldane was his maternal grandfather. His elder brother is the bacteriologist Denis Mitchison
Denis Mitchison
Denis Anthony "Denny" Mitchison CMG is a British bacteriologist.- Biography :Mitchison was born in 1919, the son of the Labour politician Dick Mitchison and his wife, the writer Naomi . His uncle was the biologist J.B.S. Haldane and his grandfather the physiologist John Scott Haldane...
, and his younger brother is the zoologist Avrion Mitchison
Avrion Mitchison
The Honourable Avrion "Av" Mitchison FRS is a British zoologist and immunologist.- Biography :Mitchison was born in 1928, the son of the Labour politician Dick Mitchison and his wife, the writer Naomi . His uncle was the biologist J.B.S...
. His wife was the historian Rosalind Mitchison
Rosalind Mitchison
Rosalind Mary Mitchison was a historian of Scotland who specialised in social history.Rosalind Mary Wrong was born in Manchester. Her father, Edwin Wrong, and his father, George Wrong, were both historians...
.
Murdoch Mitchison went to Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, and later became Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
at Edinburgh University in 1963 after working there for a decade. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1978. Considered a pioneer in the area of cellular biology, Mitchison developed the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, also called "fission yeast", is a species of yeast. It is used as a model organism in molecular and cell biology. It is a unicellular eukaryote, whose cells are rod-shaped. Cells typically measure 3 to 4 micrometres in diameter and 7 to 14 micrometres in length...
as a model system
Model organism
A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to...
to study the mechanisms and kinetics of growth and the cell cycle
Cell cycle
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that takes place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission...
. He was an academic advisor to the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology recipient Paul Nurse
Paul Nurse
Sir Paul Maxime Nurse, PRS is a British geneticist and cell biologist. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Leland H. Hartwell and R...
.