Virtually everyone working in cancer research is familiar with the “Warburg effect”, i.e., anaerobic glycolysis in the presence of oxygen in tumor cells. However, few people nowadays are aware of what lead Otto Warburg to the discovery of this observation and how his other scientific contributions are seminal to our present knowledge of metabolic and energetic processes in cells. Since science is a human endeavor, and a scientist is imbedded in a network of social and academic contacts, it is worth taking a glimpse into the biography of Otto Warburg to illustrate some of these influences and the historical landmarks in his life. His creative and innovative thinking and his experimental virtuosity set the framework for his scientific achievements, which were pioneering not only for cancer research. Here, I shall allude to the prestigious family background in imperial Germany; his relationships to Einstein, Meyerhof, Krebs, and other Nobel and notable scientists; his innovative technical developments and their applications in the advancement of biomedical sciences, including the manometer, tissue slicing, and cell cultivation. The latter were experimental prerequisites for the first metabolic measurements with tumor cells in the 1920s. In the 1930s–1940s, he improved spectrophotometry for chemical analysis and developed the optical tests for measuring activities of glycolytic enzymes. Warburg’s reputation brought him invitations to the USA and contacts with the Rockefeller Foundation; he received the Nobel Prize in 1931. World politics and world wars heavily affected Warburg’s scientific survival in Berlin. But, after his second postwar recovery, Warburg’s drive for unraveling the energetic processes of life, both in plants and in tumor cells, continued until his death in 1970. The legacy of Otto Warburg is not only the Warburg effect, but also the identification of the “respiratory ferment” and hydrogen-transferring cofactors and the isolation of glycolytic enzymes. His hypothesis of respiratory damage being the cause of cancer remains to be a provocative scientific issue, along with its implications for cancer treatment and prevention. Warburg is therefore still stimulating our thinking, as documented in a soaring increase in publications citing his name in the context of tumor metabolism.

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Warburg 效应——Otto Warburg 的传记草图及其对肿瘤代谢的影响

几乎所有从事癌症研究的人都熟悉“Warburg 效应”，即肿瘤细胞中存在氧气时的无氧糖酵解。然而，如今很少有人知道是什么导致 Otto Warburg 发现了这一观察结果，以及他的其他科学贡献如何对我们目前对细胞代谢和能量过程的了解具有开创性意义。由于科学是人类的事业，而科学家是嵌入社会和学术联系网络中的，因此值得一看奥托·瓦尔堡的传记，以说明其中的一些影响和他生命中的历史里程碑。他的创造性和创新思维以及他的实验精湛技艺为他的科学成就奠定了框架，这些成就不仅在癌症研究方面具有开创性。这里，我将提到德意志帝国的显赫家庭背景；他与爱因斯坦、迈尔霍夫、克雷布斯和其他诺贝尔奖和著名科学家的关系；他的创新技术发展及其在生物医学科学进步中的应用，包括压力计、组织切片和细胞培养。后者是 1920 年代首次对肿瘤细胞进行代谢测量的实验先决条件。在 1930 年代至 1940 年代，他改进了用于化学分析的分光光度法，并开发了用于测量糖酵解酶活性的光学测试。Warburg 的名声使他受邀前往美国并与洛克菲勒基金会取得联系；他于 1931 年获得诺贝尔奖。世界政治和世界大战严重影响了瓦尔堡在柏林的科学生存。但是，在他第二次战后康复之后，Warburg 致力于解开植物和肿瘤细胞中生命的能量过程，一直持续到他于 1970 年去世。 Otto Warburg 的遗产不仅是 Warburg 效应，还有“呼吸发酵”和氢-转移辅因子和糖酵解酶的分离。他关于呼吸损伤是癌症原因的假设仍然是一个具有挑战性的科学问题，以及它对癌症治疗和预防的影响。因此，Warburg 仍在激发我们的思考，正如在肿瘤代谢背景下引用他名字的出版物激增所证明的那样。以及“呼吸发酵”和氢转移辅因子的鉴定以及糖酵解酶的分离。他关于呼吸损伤是癌症原因的假设仍然是一个具有挑战性的科学问题，以及它对癌症治疗和预防的影响。因此，Warburg 仍在激发我们的思考，正如在肿瘤代谢背景下引用他名字的出版物激增所证明的那样。以及“呼吸发酵”和氢转移辅因子的鉴定以及糖酵解酶的分离。他关于呼吸损伤是癌症原因的假设仍然是一个具有挑战性的科学问题，以及它对癌症治疗和预防的影响。因此，Warburg 仍在激发我们的思考，正如在肿瘤代谢背景下引用他名字的出版物激增所证明的那样。