Ob-session

everyone wants a piece of those individuals in the public eye is taken to its literal extremes where improvements in photographic reproduction have permitted the transfer of famous faces onto cereal boxes, badges, stamps, bottles, bags, T-shirts, watches, jigsaw puzzles, and other such unlikely contexts. Fame after Photography is not the same as fame before it. In the 19th century, fame came before the photograph. In today’s image-conscious society, fame comes as a result of the photograph: those who photograph well become stars, like Naomi, Cindy, and Kate, whom we know so well. The slightly sinister extension of this notion—not dealt with in the exhibition—is the way in which the increasingly advanced technology of photographic media are making the person behind the image obselete. The Elite modelling agency is already rumoured to have a couple of “virtual” supermodels on their books. It is ironic that the more access we seem to have to the famous via the medium of photography, the more we realise that perhaps we like that otherworldliness—that we don’t really want to know them anyway. Catherine Wood 153 Grove Lane, London SE5 8NG, UK

The Nobel Chronicles arl W Sutherland was awarded the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and demonstration of its role as a “second messenger”. He was born in Berlingame, Kansas, USA. When he was in high school, he was deeply inspired by Paul de Kruif’s Microbe Hunters (Harcourt Brace, 1926). After obtaining his MD from

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THE LANCET • Vol 354 • September 11, 1999

Ob-session

Remasiri Boralessa

Washington University, St epinephrine and glucagon Louis, Sutherland served in action. They named the the US Army for 2 years chemical “adenine ribonubefore rejoining his alma cleotide”, subsequently mater as a lecturer in pharidentified as 3',5' adenomacology. In 1953, he sine monophosphate (or moved to Case Western cAMP). Sutherland disReserve University in covered that, apart from 1971: Earl Wilbur Cleveland. the liver, the compound Sutherland, Jr. Carl and Gerty Cori’s was abundant in cell debris (1915–74) laboratory at Washington from the heart, skeletal University was an ideal muscle, and the brain. In place for enzyme research. There, 1962, he isolated adenyl cyclase, an Sutherland explored the biochemistry enzyme associated with cell memof epinephrine action. Using liver branes, which converted ATP into slices, he showed that epinephrine and cAMP. glucagon initiated glycogen breakThe discovery of cAMP was a major down by activating liver phosphorystep in the understanding of the molelase, a glycolytic enzyme discovered by cular basis of hormone functions and the Coris (Nobel laureates 1947; drug actions on the immune system, Lancet 1999; 354: 1108). With his colbrain, heart, and the smooth muscle. league Ted Rall, Sutherland then A superb clinician and a man of excepestablished that epinephrine and tional vision, Sutherland referred to glucagon helped maintain a critical hormones as the “first messengers” balance between activation and deactistimulating the formation of cAMP, vation of phosphorylase, and hence the which he called the “second messenamount of glucose breakdown from ger”. Sadly, within 3 years of receiving the liver. the Nobel Prize, he died of a massive Sutherland and co-workers used oesophageal haemorrhage. debris from liver-cell homogenates Tonse N K Raju after centrifugation, and found a heatUniversity of Chicago, Illinois, IL, USA stable, dialysable factor involved in

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