Hans Ussing

Hans Ussing ( Leuven , 1967)

Hans Henriksen Ussing (born December 30, 1911 in Sorø Akademi , † December 22, 2000 in Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen ) was a Danish zoologist . He became known through the invention of the Ussing Chamber . In the early 1950s he was the first to describe the transport of ions through the skin of amphibians .

His father Henrik Ussing, a leading folklorist, was a lecturer and historian at Sorø Akademi , and his mother Jutta, née Hansen, was also a teacher. In 1929 he graduated from the Academy with distinction.

He studied biology and geography at the University of Copenhagen. He also attended lectures in physical chemistry with JN Brønsted . In 1934 he also made his master's degree with distinction.

At the beginning of his career, Ussing studied the zooplankton in East Greenland on Lauge Koch's expedition. Using this material, he wrote his doctoral thesis in 1938 . From 1935 he worked at the institute of his doctoral supervisor August Krogh .

At the same time, August Krogh, George de Hevesy, and Niels Bohr were exploring ways of using artificial radioisotopes to explore metabolic transport in living organisms. Ussing was able to demonstrate the active transport of sodium ions through the cell membrane against the osmotic pressure . This made further advances in the examination of the intestines , kidneys and respiration by biologists and medical professionals.

In 1967 Ussing was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , in 1980 to the National Academy of Sciences . In 1970 he was awarded the Amory Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 1940 he married Annemarie Fuchs, with whom he had two children.

swell

• Physiologic Instruments Inc.
• Royal Society biography (PDF; 1.1 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter U. (PDF; 58 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved March 25, 2018 .