Obituary of Bruce Nathan Ames
Bruce Nathan Ames, a renowned biochemist and the architect of a groundbreaking method for identifying potential carcinogens, passed away on October 5 in Berkeley, California. He was 95 years old. His wife, Giovanna Ferro-Luzzi Ames, reported that he succumbed to complications following a fall that led to his hospitalization.
The innovative Ames Test, which he developed in the 1970s, continues to be a vital tool for drug manufacturers and pesticide companies in assessing the safety of their products. This test involves exposing a mutant strain of salmonella bacteria, which Dr. Ames meticulously created, to various chemicals. The bacteria’s reactions to these substances allow scientists to infer whether they cause DNA damage, indicating a potential risk of cancer in humans.
In a time when America was becoming increasingly aware of the dangers posed by pollution and industrial chemicals, the Ames Test emerged as a quick and cost-effective alternative to traditional animal testing. The latter was often prohibitively expensive, limiting regulators’ ability to evaluate only a fraction of the chemicals available in the market. According to Angela Creager, a science historian at Princeton University currently writing a book about the Ames Test, “It changed the regulatory sphere. It showed that it was actually possible to get toxicity information on every chemical if we wanted to.”
Following the widespread attention garnered by the national press, Dr. Ames remained in the public eye as he utilized the Ames Test to reveal the toxicity of numerous everyday chemicals, contributing significantly to public health and regulatory practices.
