Miescher, J. Friedrich

[person]

A Swiss physician and biologist (1844 - 1895). An attack of typhoid fever left him partially deaf, and he felt this would be a disadvantage as a doctor, so he decided to pursue physiological chemistry instead. He is remembered for isolating nucleic acids from white blood cells, one of many steps that made possible the discovery that DNA carries genetic material. In addition, Meischer proved that breathing is regulated by carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood.