Moore, Carl Richard

▪ American zoologist

born Dec. 5, 1892, Brighton, near Springfield, Mo., U.S.

died Oct. 16, 1955, Chicago

      American zoologist noted for his research on animal reproductive organs and internal secretions.

      Reared in a rural community in the Ozark Plateau of southern Missouri, he attended Drury College at nearby Springfield, where he earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees and served as a teaching fellow. He went to the University of Chicago to pursue his Ph.D. (1916), spending his summers at the Marine Biology Laboratories at Woods Hole, Mass. Moore taught at Chicago after earning his doctorate, eventually becoming professor of zoology (1928) and, later, chairman of the department.

      Moore systematically studied the gonads and associated ducts and glands of vertebrates. Collaborating with T.F. Gallagher and F.C. Koch at the University of Chicago, he became the first to isolate testicular secretion containing the male sex hormones androsterone and testosterone; (testosterone) the former primarily influences the growth and development of the male reproductive system, whereas the latter is responsible for inducing and maintaining secondary male sex characteristics. This discovery (c. 1929) paved the way for research into the chemical makeup of such androgens and their production.

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