Edelman, Gerald Maurice

Edelman, Gerald Maurice

(born July 1, 1929, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. biochemist. He received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Rockefeller University. His work with Rodney Porter (b. 1917—d. 1985) on antibodies won a 1972 Nobel Prize. By modeling an entire antibody molecule, Edelman's team found the molecule had more than 1,300 amino acids in a four-chain structure and identified the locations where antigens bind. Focusing on formation and differentiation of tissues and organs, they discovered cell-adhesion molecules, proteins that attach cells together to make tissues. Edelman's attempt at a general theory of neural development and brain function is discussed in his Neural Darwinism (1987).