Martin Lüscher (zoologist)

Martin Lüscher (born June 4, 1917 in Basel , † August 9, 1979 in Murzelen ) was a Swiss zoologist .

life and work

The son of the painter Johann Jakob Lüscher studied at the University of Basel , where he wrote his dissertation on the subject of experimental investigations on the larval and imaginal determination in the egg clothes moth (Tineola biselliella Hum.) And received his doctorate in 1944. After working at the universities of Bern , Cambridge and Paris , he completed his habilitation in Basel in 1948. After working at the Swiss Tropical Institute , he became Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Zoophysiology at the Zoological Institute of the University of Bern in 1954 . In 1965 he was appointed full professor and head of the Zoological Institute. In 1970 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

His research focus was on the study of termites .

Together with Peter Karlson , he defined the term pheromone in 1959 :

" Substances that are released to the outside by an individual and trigger specific reactions in another individual of the same species "

- Peter Karlson, Martin Lüscher, 1959.

literature

Lüscher, Martin. In: German Biographical Encyclopedia . 2nd edition. Vol. 5, p. 613 ( online ).

Individual evidence

↑ Martin Lüscher, Antonio Springhetti: Investigations on the importance of the corpora allata for the differentiation of the castes in the termite Kalotermes flavicollis F. In: Journal of Insect Physiology . Vol. 5, H. 3/4 (December 1960), pp. 190-212, doi: 10.1016 / 0022-1910 (60) 90004-4 .
↑ Peter Karlson, Martin Lüscher, Hans Hummel: Extraction and biological evaluation of the trace pheromone of the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. In: Journal of Insect Physiology. Vol. 14, H. 12 (December 1968), pp. 1763-1771, doi: 10.1016 / 0022-1910 (68) 90207-2 .
^ Peter Karlson, Martin Lüscher: "Pheromones": A new term for a class of biologically active substances. In: Nature . Vol. 183, p. 55 f. (January 3, 1959), doi: 10.1038 / 183055a0 .

personal data
SURNAME	Lüscher, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss zoologist
DATE OF BIRTH	June 4, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH	Basel
DATE OF DEATH	August 9, 1979
Place of death	Murzelen

[1] Martin Lüscher, Antonio Springhetti: Investigations on the importance of the corpora allata for the differentiation of the castes in the termite Kalotermes flavicollis F. In: Journal of Insect Physiology . Vol. 5, H. 3/4 (December 1960), pp. 190-212, doi: 10.1016 / 0022-1910 (60) 90004-4 .

[2] Peter Karlson, Martin Lüscher, Hans Hummel: Extraction and biological evaluation of the trace pheromone of the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. In: Journal of Insect Physiology. Vol. 14, H. 12 (December 1968), pp. 1763-1771, doi: 10.1016 / 0022-1910 (68) 90207-2 .

[3] Peter Karlson, Martin Lüscher: "Pheromones": A new term for a class of biologically active substances. In: Nature . Vol. 183, p. 55 f. (January 3, 1959), doi: 10.1038 / 183055a0 .