Research conducted on the scrapie agent during the mid-1960s provided evidence that the infectious component lacked nucleic acid, challenging the biological consensus regarding how diseases replicate. Tikvah Alper identified that this agent remained active after exposure to radiation, suggesting that it functioned differently than known viruses and helped lay the groundwork for later prion theory developments.
Early Education and Physics Training
Born in 1909 in Cape Town, South Africa, Tikvah Alper demonstrated academic excellence early at Durban Girls' High School. She graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1929 with a distinction in physics. Between 1930 and 1932, she studied in Berlin under the nuclear physicist Lise Meitner, subsequently publishing research on delta rays produced by alpha particles.
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In 1932, she married bacteriologist Max Sterne. Because university policies prohibited the employment of married women, the pair established a private laboratory to continue their work. When their son Jonathan was born deaf in 1935, Alper dedicated a decade to training as a teacher of the deaf, applying her technical physics background to develop methods for making speech articulation visible for children.
Radiation Research in London
Alper and Sterne left South Africa in 1951 due to their opposition to apartheid. She moved to England, joining the MRC Radiobiology Laboratories at Hammersmith Hospital under the direction of Hal Gray. Her research focused on the effects of radiation on cell biology, leading to her appointment as director of the MRC Experimental Radiopathology Unit from 1962 to 1974. She authored the textbook Cellular Radiobiology in 1979.
The Scrapie Agent and Prion Theory
Alper discovered that the infectious agent in scrapie persisted under ultraviolet light and radiation, properties incompatible with DNA-based viruses. While the scientific community eventually adopted the prion theory, Alper maintained skepticism regarding the protein-only model, as her specific ultraviolet findings did not support it. She continued to pursue alternative theories regarding the agent's nature until late in her career.
Fast facts
- Born: 1909, Cape Town, South Africa
- Died: 1995, Salisbury, England
- Education: University of Cape Town
- Key research focus: Radiobiology
- Director, MRC Experimental Radiopathology Unit: 1962–1974
- Publication: Cellular Radiobiology (1979)
- Spouse: Max Sterne
- Children: Jonathan and Michael
Questions readers ask
What was Tikvah Alper's role in scrapie research?
She demonstrated that the scrapie agent was not a typical virus because it survived radiation and ultraviolet light, which typically destroy DNA.
Did Alper accept the prion theory?
She remained skeptical of the protein-mutation theory, citing discrepancies between her ultraviolet radiation data and the protein-only hypothesis.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of the Witwatersrand
- Educated at University of Cape Town
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