astronomy

Werner H. Kirsten

Werner H. Kirsten is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Werner H. Kirsten rather than just read about it. In short: Werner H. Kirsten (October 29, 1925 in Leipzig — December 24, 1992 in Hyde Park, Chicago) was a German-American pathologist and cancer researcher, known as the discoverer and namesake of a cancer-causing virus, the Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Virus, and consequently of the KRAS oncogene.

Key takeaways

Werner H. Kirsten belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Werner H. Kirsten to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Werner H. Kirsten from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Werner H. Kirsten (October 29, 1925 in Leipzig — December 24, 1992 in Hyde Park, Chicago) was a German-American pathologist and cancer researcher, known as the discoverer and namesake of a cancer-causing virus, the Kirsten Rat Sarcoma Virus, and consequently of the KRAS oncogene.

Early life and education Werner H. Kirsten was born in Leipzig in 1925. He attended the Universität Frankfurt am Main, graduating summa cum laude with an MD in 1953. He subsequently worked at the Senckenberg Institute of Pathology and the Paul Ehrlich Institute in Frankfurt.

Career In 1955, Kirsten moved to Chicago to pursue an internship and a residency. In 1956, he joined the Pathology Department at the University of Chicago. In 1960, he was granted American citizenship. He became an assistant professor in 1961, and — in the wake of his 1967 discovery of the sarcomavirus — a full professor in 1968. In 1972, he was promoted to head of the department of pathology. In 1986, he left the university and joined the National Cancer Institute as associate director of their facility in Frederick, Maryland. In 1988, he was promoted to director, a position he retained until his death.

Personal life and death Kirsten was married to Inger Nielsen, with whom he had three sons, Christian, Olaf and Thomas. He died age 67 on December 24, 1992, in Hyde Park, Chicago.

Legacy The Werner H. Kirsten Student Internship Program is a one-year internship for high school seniors in which they can immerse themselves into research and administrative management in a health care environment.

Notes

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Werner H. Kirsten

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Werner H. Kirsten claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Werner H. Kirsten before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Werner H. Kirsten ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Werner H. Kirsten

In research: Werner H. Kirsten appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Werner H. Kirsten in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Werner H. Kirsten is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1925 births, 1992 deaths, Cancer researchers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Werner H. Kirsten outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Werner H. Kirsten in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Werner H. Kirsten means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Werner H. Kirsten out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Werner H. Kirsten in simple terms?

Why does Werner H. Kirsten matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Werner H. Kirsten?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Werner H. Kirsten.