Altman, Sidney, 1939–, Canadian-American molecular biologist, b. Montreal, Ph.D., Univ. of Colorado, 1967. A professor at Yale Univ. since 1971, he discovered that RNA could function as enzymes; it was previously thought that enzymatic activity was only possible in protein molecules. His discovery has a potential use in fighting viral infections. For this work, Altman shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics with Thomas Cech Cech, Thomas Robert (chĕk), 1947–, American microbiologist, b. Chicago, grad. Univ. of California, Berkeley.
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Altman, Sidney

(born May 7, 1939, Montreal, Que., Can.) Canadian-born U.S. molecular biologist. He studied at MIT and the University of Colorado and has taught at Yale University since 1971. Working independently, Altman and Thomas Cech discovered that RNA, previously believed to be simply a passive carrier of genetic codes between different parts of the living cell, could also initiate and carry out (i.e., catalyze) some reactions, opening up new fields of research and biotechnology. The two shared a 1989 Nobel Prize.

Altman, Sidney (1939– ) biochemist; born in Montreal, Canada. He became affiliated with Yale in 1971 and holds dual citizenship. He showed that the RNA molecule could rearrange itself, thereby altering the material it produces without requiring an enzyme. This was a major breakthrough in our understanding of genetic processes. He and Thomas Cech shared the Nobel Prize for chemistry (1989).