Temin, Howard M.

Temin, Howard M. (Martin) (1934–94) virologist; born in Philadelphia. He spent his career at the University of Wisconsin (1960). Working with RNA viruses (1970), he isolated the enzyme reverse transcriptase that transcribes viral RNA into the host cell's DNA. For this achievement, he won one-third the 1975 Nobel Prize in physiology. His later research includes major contributions to studies of tumor viruses, enzyme chemistry, AIDS, and viral evolution.