George Paul Hess (November 18, 1922 – September 15, 2015) was a research biochemist who specialized in studying acetylcholine receptors.
He spent his summers in the lake region of Salzkammergut,[1][3] After Germany annexed Austria 1938 Hess and his father had to flee because they were Jewish.
His first wife was Jean Ray, with whom he had one daughter[1] his second Betsey Williams, with whom he had four sons, and his third Susan Coombs,[1] with whom he remained for the last 35 years of his life.
He received postdoctoral organic chemistry training as a fellow for the National Foundation of Infantile Paralysis at MIT.
[1] While working at Cornell, Hess conducted research on a variety of subjects and is named as an author on hundreds of articles.
He studied the mechanisms of these receptors, their response to flux, cocaine, phencyclidine, other inhibitors, and their changes in rate and equilibrium.
In his paper “Acetylcholine-Receptor-Mediated Ion Flux in Electroplax Membrane Microsacs (Vesicles): Change in Mechanism Produced by Asymmetrical Distribution of Sodium and Potassium Ions,”[8] published two years later, Hess explored the biphasic flux and desensitization of the acetylcholine receptor in connection with microsac function.
[9] In his 1981 articles “Acetylcholine-Induced Cation Translocation Across Cell Membranes and Inactivation of the Acetylcholine Receptor: Chemical Kinetic Measurements in the Millisecond Time Region”[10] and “Comparison of Acetylcholine Receptor-Controlled Cation Flux in Membrane Vesicles from Torpedo californica and Electrophorus electricus: Chemical Kinetic Measurements in the Millisecond Region,”[5] Hess discussed his findings on the rate and equilibrium changes of the acetylcholine receptor in the active versus inactive states.
[5][10] Using this quench flow technique, Hess then investigated the effects of cocaine and phencyclidine (commonly known as PCP) on the flux of the acetylcholine receptor.
Hess summarized his methods and findings in the publication: “Identification of Chemical Synapses in the Pharynx: Caenorhabditis elegans.”[17] In his article “How Fast Does the γ-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Channel Open?
His article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in 1999: “Analysis of Hepatitis G Virus (HGV) RNA, Antibody to HGV Envelope Protein, and Risk Factors for Blood Donors Coinfected with HGV and Hepatitis C Virus”[19] details how he and his colleagues studied coinfections of GBC with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C virus (HCV), ultimately concluding that coinfection of GBC with HCV did not worsen the symptoms of HCV infection.