Rubert S Anderson


Rubert S. Anderson was an American physiologist and biophysicist active in the mid‑20th century. He held academic and research appointments at major institutions including Princeton University, Memorial Hospital in New York, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of North Dakota. Later in his career, he was affiliated with the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His research spanned enzymology, physiology, bioluminescence, and the biological effects of radiation.

Early life and education

Anderson completed his Bachelor of Science at the University of Washington in 1921, his Master of Arts at Columbia in 1922 and his Doctor of Philosophy also at Columbia in 1925. His doctoral dissertation was entitled The Influence of the Mutameric Forms of Glucose and of Fructose on Invertase Action.

Career

From 1931 to 1938, Anderson was a Research Associate at Princeton University. He then worked as a biophysicist at Memorial Hospital in New York. He joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and later taught physiology at the University of North Dakota. In the early 1970s, Anderson was listed as an Independent Library Reader at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts,

Research

Anderson’s early work focused on carbohydrate chemistry and enzyme kinetics, particularly invertase action on glucose and fructose. He later published in leading journals such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry. In 1935, he published on the chemistry of bioluminescence, describing the partial purification of Cypridina luciferin in the Journal of General Physiology. By the mid‑20th century, his research was indexed in government abstracting services such as Nuclear Science Abstracts, Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, and Radioisotopes in Medicine and Human Physiology, reflecting his contributions to radiation biology.

Selected publications

  • Anderson, R.S.. The Influence of the Mutameric Forms of Glucose and of Fructose on Invertase Action. Columbia University.
  • Anderson, R.S.. "Studies on Bioluminescence: II. The Partial Purification of Cypridina Luciferin." Journal of General Physiology. 19 : 301–305. doi:10.1085/jgp.19.2.301.
  • Anderson, R.S.. "The effect of mutarotation on invertase activity." Journal of Biological Chemistry. Vol. XXX, p. 443.
  • Anderson, Rubert S. and Turkowitz, H. "The Experimental Modification of the Sensitivity of Yeast to Roentgen Rays."The American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy 1941-10: Vol 46 Issue 4
  • Anderson, R.S.. "The use of radioactive phosphorus for determining circulating erythrocyte volumes." American Journal of Physiology. 137 : 539–543. doi:10.1152/ajplegacy.1942.137.3.539.
  • Friedewald, William F. and Anderson, Rubert S.. "Findings with Virus-Induced Rabbit Papillomas and Fibromas".
  • Pickels, Epwarp G., and ANDERSON, RUBERT S.. "Molecular association of hemocyanin produced by x-rays as observed in the ultracentrifuge." In: Teh Journal of GEneral Physionlogy, Volume 30, Page 83
  • Anderson, R.S.. "Radioisotopes in Medicine and Human Physiology." In: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission technical reports, p. 77.
  • Anderson, R.S.. "Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation." U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Technical Information, p. 298.