Elli Kohen, 77, Turkey, U.S., professor, Dec. 9

Elli Kohen, 77, who moved from Turkey to the U.S., wrote a history of Turkish Jews and was a professor emeritus at University of Miami, died Dec. 9, 2007, of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Kohen’s other books covered his varied areas of interest and expertise, including oncology and myths about cats.

Seymour Benzer, 86, U.S., biologist, Nov. 30

Seymour Benzer, 86, a biologist whose research with fruit flies helped create the basis for modern neuroscience, died Nov. 30, 2007.
Benzer, the child of Jewish immigrants to Brooklyn from a Polish shtetl, was “one of the great scientists of our era,” Caltech Biology Department Chairman Elliot Meyerowitz said in a statement. “He was an amazing [...]