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Jun 12, 2024 · Barbara McClintock (born June 16, 1902, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.—died September 2, 1992, Huntington, New York) was an American scientist whose discovery in the 1940s and ’50s of mobile genetic elements, or “ jumping genes,” won her the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Throughout her career, Barbara McClintock studied the cytogenetics of maize, making discoveries so far beyond the understanding of the time that other scientists essentially ignored her work for more than a decade. But she persisted, trusting herself and the evidence under her microscope.
Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902 – September 2, 1992) was an American scientist and cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983 was awarded to Barbara McClintock "for her discovery of mobile genetic elements"
- Jumping Genes
- Mobile/Controlling Elements
- Her Machines Came from Too Far Away
- Slowly Moving Forward
- Major Official Recognition
- Some Personal Details and The End
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Beginning in 1944 McClintock studied the relationship between color patterns on corn plants and the look of their chromosomes. One of the colors she was most interested in was purple. She wanted to understand the genetic reasons for purple-spotted corn. The corn plants from one generation to the next were self-pollinated. Comparing offspring with p...
McClintock produced a theory that the Dissociators (Ds) and Activators (Ac) were in fact gene controllers – she called them controlling elements. They controlled the genes on a chromosome – they could inhibit or modify their behavior. This explained why an individual living thing, such as a person, can produce all sorts of different cells even thou...
McClintock presented her work in 1951 to an audience of key players from America’s universities at Cold Spring Harbor’s annual summer symposium. She focused on her theory of controlling elements as gene regulators. She was dismayed by the reaction. Other scientists could not follow her line of thought. Although she had won plenty of recognition for...
In 1960 Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod started to publish their work describing genetic regulation in bacteria. Realizing the similarities between their work and hers, McClintock responded in 1961 with a paper: Some Parallels Between Gene Control Systems in Maize and in Bacteria. Slowly, her theory of transposable elements and gene control began ...
In May 1971 McClintock received the National Medal of Science from President Richard Nixon. A large number of other awards and honorary degrees followed, culminating in the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for her discovery of mobile genetic elements.” She was, by this time, 81 years old.
Although she abandoned her life as a loner when she started college, McClintock never made close friends. She regarded herself as a free spirit; coming too close to anyone might have robbed her of some of that precious freedom. She enjoyed her privacy. She did not marry and had no children. Barbara McClintock died age 90of natural causes in Hunting...
Learn about the life and achievements of Barbara McClintock, a pioneer of plant and animal genetics. She discovered chromosomal crossover, transposition and gene regulation, and won the Nobel Prize at age 81.
Learn how McClintock used maize as a model organism to study cytogenetics and discover transposable elements, or "jumping genes," that can alter the genome. Explore her pioneering experiments, observations, and Nobel Prize recognition.
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Sep 2, 1992 · The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983. Born: 16 June 1902, Hartford, CT, USA. Died: 2 September 1992, Huntington, NY, USA. Affiliation at the time of the award: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA. Prize motivation: “for her discovery of mobile genetic elements”. Prize share: 1/1.
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