PARIS: French biologist Francois Jacob, who won the 1965 Nobel prize for medicine for his research into enzymes, has died at the age of 92, a relative told AFP on Sunday.
Jacob, a member of the prestigious “Ordre de la Liberation”, awarded to those who performed heroic deeds during the liberation of France in World War II, died on Friday, the relative said.
He won the Nobel prize jointly with compatriots Andre Lwoff and Jacques Monod “for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis.”
His work dealt mainly with the genetic mechanisms in bacteria and he held several prestigious fellowships and received a raft of honorary degrees from around the world.
Jacob was expected to be commemorated at a military ceremony on Wednesday at Paris's Les Invalides military monument.
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