| Hommage
à Franz Halberg
ìAlles geben die
G–tter, die unendlichen, 
Ihren Lieblingen ganz,
Alle Freuden, die unendlichen,
Alle Schmerzen, die unendlichen, ganz.î
Goethe
On behalf of the Neuroendocrinology
Letters and myself, I would like to express my most cordial
congratulations on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Professor
Franz Halberg, M.D., Director of the Chronobiology Laboratories
at the University of Minnnesota, the “Father of Chronobiology,”
one of the greatest and most appreciated scientists of our time,
on July 5, 1999.
Franz Halberg and I have not met
in person yet, but our intensive exchange of ideas, scientific
visions and personal views during the recent year brought about
an incredible “human touch.” It gave me the feeling
of knowing Franz closely for years and essentially deepened
my great admiration for his scientific efforts during the last
fifty years.
We are very pleased and
proud to have Franz with us “on board” at the Neuroendocrinology
Letters. In this issue we publish a series of papers by him
and his coworkers, which give a very representative and broad
overlook over the main principles in the science of Chronobiology
as developed by Franz. There are many common issues in the basic
philosophy between Franz’s concepts and those of the Neuroendocrinology
Letters such as of the indivisible continuity of life, the multi-inter-
and transdisciplinary approaches and the stress on prevention
rather than treatment of already existing disease or impairment
(his concept of Pre-habilitation) and, last but not least, the
knowledge that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Franz Halberg placed time as the
undisputed fourth dimension in biology and thus created one
of the fundamental laws within the bio-medical sciences, a new
dimension without which life could not exist. “Chronome,”
derived from chronos (time), nomos (rule, law) and in the case
of biological chronomes, chromosomes, describes features in
time, just as cells characterize the spatial organization of
life.
Franz Halberg has dedicated
almost 50 years of his life to chronobiological research. His
studies represent a new original Minnesotan branch of science
based upon resolving the chronome and its mapping “womb
to tomb.” His research has had a great impact on many medical
specialties beside general medicine, such as neuroendocrinology,
immunology, oncology, psychiatry, obstetrics & gynecology,
pediatrics and, not least, gerontology by help of chronobiology
to develop new markers of biological aging.
His current, much broader, perspective
of chronomes may help us when we venture into space for preventive
health maintenance, while the same system could also help us
discern where we are coming from. Professor Halberg has been
associated with NASA from its inception, championing acceptance
of Chronobiology in space biology, as a science in its own right.
He seeks to achieve for astrobiology what he has already done
for chronobiology.
Franz Halberg not only coined the terms “circadian”
and “chronobiology,” but he amassed much of the evidence
for the importance of these rhythms from the circadians of RNA
and DNA syntheses to those of the body as a whole and its responses
to a variety of stimuli.
Changes
in body rhythms can make the difference between life and death
and have been exploited for chronotherapy. Franz Halberg understood
the farreaching implications of biological rhythms. He uncovered
their rules of behavior and mapped a whole spectrum of interacting
rhythms, thus laying the basis for a new science, Chronobiology.
By adding to the existing body of knowledge a key element, time,
chronobiology applies to all of biology and medicine.
The international scientific
community has honored Franz Halberg for his outstanding contributions
to science and technology with many awards. His achievements
have not only been influenced by his inquisitivenes, fantasy,
visions, intellectual mobility, outstanding intelligence, fun
in work, and high working power, but also by his universal education
shaped by humanism and by his outstanding character. Franz Halberg
is the author and co-author of more than 2,000 scientific papers
and even in recent years has been coordinating work of more
than 100 scientists worldwide. At 80 years-old he is still working
seven days a week, with more than 12 hours every day. And he
still finds the time for his family and friends, for playing
tennis and for skiing.
On his birthday,
the mayor of Roseville, Minnnesota, where Franz resides, declared
his birthday, the July 5 “Franz Halberg Day” in Roseville.
Franz is greatly appreciated and loved by his colleagues and
friends around the world and by his closest coworkers, some
of them who have been with him for decades. In spite of his
working timetable, his office door is always open, with priority
given to any student eager to learn about chronobiology. He
is an excellent teacher and his perfect knowledge of several
lanquagues, including his classical language education, is fascinating.
His languages, both literary and scientific, are as striking
as is his knowledge in both ancient Roman and Greek as well
as European and American literature. He is an extraordinary
human being who is characterized by a great portion of humility,
charm, love, concern, caring and a deep unselfishness, kindness,
warmth and personal dedication to the truth.
Writing this hommage gives me a great confidence for the coming
millennium concerning the rise of the “human touch”
in sciences and in mankind, where we still need Franz and people
whom he has influenced by his wonderful personality. Throughout
his life, both scientific and personal, TRUTH and CREATIVITY
have been common denominators. I would like to close my hommage
again by quoting Goethe:
ìWas fruchtbar ist allein
ist wahr.î
Peter G. Fedor-Freybergh
Editor-in-Chief
Neuroendocrinology Letters
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