Albert Levan

Albert Levan (8 March 1905, Gothenburg – 28 March 1998, Lund) was a Swedish botanist and geneticist.

Albert Levan
Born	(1905-03-08)8 March 1905 Gothenburg, Sweden
Died	28 March 1998(1998-03-28) (aged 93) Lund, Sweden
Education	University of Lund (Ph.D. 1935)
Known for	Showing that humans have 46 chromosomes
Spouse	Karin Malmberg
Children	Cecilia Torudd, Göran Levan
Parents	Emil Levan (father) Amy Gabrielsson (mother)
Scientific career
Fields	Genetics, cytologist
Institutions	University of Lund

Life

Albert Levan was born in Gothenburg in 1905, son of Emil Levan and Amy Gabrielsson. He was educated at the University of Lund, where he received his doctorate in 1935, and became professor of cytology in the same university in 1961. He married Karin Malmberg, a pianist, and was the father of illustrator Cecilia Torudd and Göran Levan, professor of genetics at the University of Gothenburg. He died in Lund in 1998.yes

Research

Albert Levan is best known today for co-authoring the report in 1956 that humans had 46 chromosomes (instead of 48, as previously believed). This epochal discovery was made by Joe Hin Tjio in Levan's laboratory.^[1]

Originally specialising in plant cytology,^[2] Levan later turned to the similarities in the chromosome structure of cancer cells and errors introduced to plant cells via chemical or radioactive elements.^[3][4] These studies later led to examination of chromosomes in animal cells.^[5]

In 1953, a mistake involving mixing HeLa cells with the wrong liquid led Joe Hin Tjio and Albert Levan to develop better techniques for staining and counting chromosomes. It allowed researchers for the first time to see and count each chromosome clearly in the HeLa cells with which they were working. They were the first to show that humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes rather than 24, as was previously believed. This was important for the study of developmental disorders, such as Down syndrome, that involve the number of chromosomes.^[6]

Honours

Levan was elected a member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters in 1961, and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1967.

References

1. Tjio, Joe Hin; Levan, Albert (1956). "The chromosome number of man". Hereditas. 42 (1–2): 1–6. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1956.tb03010.x.
2. Levan, A. (1938). "Cytological phenomena connected with the root swelling caused by growth substances". Hereditas. 25: 87–96.
3. Levan, A.; Tjio, J. H. (1948). "Induction of chromosome fragmentation by phenols". Hereditas. 34: 453–484.
4. Kihlman, B.; Levan, A. (1949). "The cytological effect of caffeine". Hereditas. 35: 109–111.
5. Mitelman, Felix; Mark, Joachim; Levan, Göran; Levan, Albert (1972). "Tumor Etiology and Chromosome Pattern". Science. 176 (4041): 1340–1341. doi:10.1126/science.176.4041.1340.
6. MacDonald, Anna (13 June 2018). "5 Contributions HeLa Cells Have Made to Science". Cell Science from Technology Networks. Retrieved 2020-03-25.