Emil Paleček

Emil Paleček (3 October 1930 – 30 October 2018) was a Czech biochemist, who researched how DNA can be used to diagnose genetic diseases. Paleček discovered that nucleic acids could be analysed by electrochemical research, contradicting previous assumptions from the 1950s that DNA molecules were too large to be affected by electrochemistry.

Personal life Paleček was brought up by his mother, as his father died in a Nazi concentration camp. Aged 13, he went to work as an apprentice at the Bank of Slavia. During the 1960s, Paleček worked at the Biophysical Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Brno. His first work there was investigating DNA damage caused by radiation. Paleček later worked with the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, part of Masaryk University. It took the scientific world 30 years to understand the importance of his findings, In 2003, Paleček was the speaker for one of the Mendel Lectures. In 2009, the Emil Paleček award, was set up by the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In 2017, he was one of seven Czech scientists awarded the Cenu Neuron (Neuron Prize) for their contributions to science.

Death Paleček became ill after having a stroke whilst swimming. He died two days later on 30 October 2018. His death was announced by fellow scientist Eduard Kejnovsky, who worked as Paleček's public relations officer.