Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902 – September 2, 1992) was a groundbreaking American scientist and cytogeneticist renowned for her pioneering work in maize genetics. She received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her discovery of genetic transposition.
McClintock earned her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927, where she began her seminal research on maize chromosomes. Her work involved developing techniques for visualizing maize chromosomes, which led to her fundamental discoveries about genetic recombination during meiosis, the formation of the first genetic map for maize, and the roles of telomeres and centromeres in chromosome stability and genetic information conservation.
In the 1940s and 1950s, McClintock discovered transposons—mobile genetic elements that can change their position within the genome. This discovery revolutionized our understanding of genetic regulation and how genes can be turned on and off. Despite her groundbreaking findings, McClintock faced skepticism and chose to stop publishing her data in 1953 due to resistance from the scientific community.
Her later research involved studying maize races from South America, further enriching the field of cytogenetics. It wasn't until the 1960s and 1970s that McClintock’s work gained widespread recognition, as other scientists confirmed her findings. She was honored with numerous awards, culminating in the Nobel Prize in 1983. As of 2023, she remains the only woman to have received an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
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