Barbara McClintock
Sciences & Discovery • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 10 views

Barbara McClintock 🇺🇸

Barbara McClintock (Known as "Discoverer of Transposons (Jumping Genes)")
Cytogeneticist, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Nobel Laureate
Born 16 June 1902 🇺🇸 Hartford (Connecticut), United States
Passed Away 2 September 1992 Huntington (New York), United States
Lifespan 90 years old
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Notice / Correction
"If you know you are on the right track, if you have this inner knowledge, then nobody can turn you off... no matter what they say."

Archival Overview

American cytogeneticist whose discovery of mobile genetic elements (transposons or 'jumping genes') proved that genomes are dynamic, mutable systems, winning an unshared Nobel Prize in 1983.

Biographical Record

Barbara McClintock (1902–1992) studied botany and cytology at Cornell University. Working at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on maize (corn) cytogenetics, McClintock developed techniques for visualizing chromosomes under the microscope.

During the 1940s and 1950s, through meticulous breeding experiments, McClintock discovered transposable elements (transposons)—segments of DNA that can move to different positions within the genome, switching genes on or off. Challenging the dogma of a static genome, her discovery was vindicated decades later in bacteria, plants, and humans. In 1983, McClintock received an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Key Life Milestones

June 1950 CE

Discovery of Transposable Elements in Maize

Published 'The Origin and Behavior of Mutable Loci in Maize', revealing mobile genetic elements that regulate gene expression.

10 December 1983 CE

Unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Awarded the unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of mobile genetic elements.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Huntington Rural Cemetery (Tomb of Barbara McClintock)
Huntington (New York), United States
GPS: 40.8583, -73.4189
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