Barbara McClintock |
Barbara McClintock (1902–1992) studied the genetics of maize. Before 1960 she determined the mechanisms of inheritance: chromosomes are key, and genes can move between chromosomes. Challenging existing theories of genetics and coming before scientists understood the chemical nature of DNA, McClintock’s ideas were widely rejected. But by the late 1970s, more advanced molecular techniques confirmed her theory. In 1983 McClintock became the first American woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize—the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
National Academy of Sciences’ Biographical Memoir http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/mcclintock-barbara.pdf < previous next > |