In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 1938
- Died
- 2025
- Birthplace
- New York, NY, USA
- Country
- United States
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- Discovery of RNA-directed DNA synthesis and analysis of viral genetic systems
Why this life matters
Both mattered, but neither implies that viruses with similar copying strategies necessarily cause similar diseases.
Timeline
Key moments
Birth
Born in New York, NY, USA.
Nobel recognition
Received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Learning to ask enzymatic questions
David Baltimore was born in New York in 1938. In his Nobel autobiography he traced his interest in research to a high-school summer at the Jackson Laboratory. Study at Swarthmore, Cold Spring Harbor and Rockefeller brought him into molecular biology and animal virology. He also trained with Jerard Hurwitz to develop his enzymological skills. These moves help explain a distinctive research approach: use the reactions carried by a virus to understand how its genetic material is copied and expressed.
A DNA product from an RNA template
Baltimore independently discovered RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity in 1970, at the same time that Howard Temin and Satoshi Mizutani identified the activity in their own work. The enzyme became known as reverse transcriptase. It supplied biochemical evidence for a route from viral RNA to DNA. His 1975 lecture places the discovery within a wider comparison of viral genetic systems, each of which must produce a message that the host's protein-making machinery can use.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about David Baltimore
- What is David Baltimore known for?
- Discovery of RNA-directed DNA synthesis and analysis of viral genetic systems.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Howard Temin
Compare the related experimental question and research career.
- Marshall Nirenberg
Compare the related experimental question and research career.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Nobel Prize OutreachDavid Baltimore โ Facts
Source scope: Birth/death and award metadata; short official work summary.
- 2. Nobel FoundationDavid Baltimore โ Biographical
Source scope: Selected historical passages, as recorded in the research evidence ledger; not a full-document reading claim.
- 3. Nobel FoundationDavid Baltimore โ Nobel lecture
Source scope: Selected historical passages, as recorded in the research evidence ledger; not a full-document reading claim.
