Barbara McClintock was a one time student at Cornell University under the auspices of one C. B. Hutchison, who was lecturing in genetics during the fall in 1921. Genetics had not become a widely accepted course during the time, and students used to study it as a preamble to becoming plant breeders. Having been born in Hartford Connecticut in 1902, she earned her first degree in 1923, her Masters in 1925 and a Doctorate in Philosophy in 1927. Her steady rise as a geneticist was inspired by C. B. Hutchison. She studied the genetic characteristics of maize concentrating on aspects such as the color of corn kernel, and through her work was able to prove that some genes can jump from one chromosomal locus to another; the phenomenon known as jumping genes. Her work was ground breaking because initially it was only known that chromosomes would carry genes, and that the genes’ loci were immutable. Barbara made it known that a single gene does not always have to be on only one locus of a single chromosome, but can at times be found in other loci of other chromosomes, contrary to conventional knowledge. For that reason she was awarded, and rightly so, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983..
Albert Claude was born in Longlier, Belgium in August 24, 1898. However, there seems to be a discrepancy in the date of his birth from the source of the information concerning this biotechnological giant, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1974 along with two other people of his ilk: Christian de Duve, and George E. Palade. Together, they studied the cell components also known as organelles using the electron microscopy method, and he was able to obtain high resolution images, which previously using the light microscope could not be fathomed. He is also known for having developed a certain method of separating the organelles using a centrifuge, based on the molecular weights of the cell components, making them easier to study than when they are in an entire cell, hence his trailblazing contribution to biotechnology. It should also be added that for each of those structural cellular features, there is a specific physiological role that they play, hence the contribution of Albert Claude was both in the anatomy and physiology of cells. Without this breakthrough study, cytology would still be using light microscopy, which does not give as good resolution as electron microscopy. Hence Albert did deserve the Nobel Prize for his discovery.
May-Britt Moser was born in 1963, on the fourth of January at a place called Fosnavag in Norway. Born and bred in an island, she had a curiosity that set the stage for her scientific career, and being a tomboy at youth, she found no difficulty working along with male colleagues in her latter years. She is known for her original work through which she discovered that the brain has cells which are useful for the correct positioning of the brain. Accordingly, the brain that lacks these cells can either be positioned in the opposite direction or any other direction about the axis of the brain stem. Moser did not obtain the prize alone, but it was split among two other people; John O'Keefe, and Edvard I. Moser. These scientists argued that it is imperative for any animal or human being to know where they are located at any given time, and to find their way about the location in which they are, and this is primarily the function of the brain. Therefore, the scientists studied the brain of the rat and were able to determine that there is a type of cell that is located near the hippocampus that is the brain’s equivalent of a global positioning system. This came about when such a rat was placed in a hexagonal grid, and upon passing some points in the grid, this area of the brain cells became activated. The scientists were also keen to note that there was not only coordination among these cells but there was also cooperation as well. No one else had made such a discovery of locator cells as May-Britt, making her the rightful sole recipient of the Nobel Prize for such outstanding work.
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi was born in Paris, France in 1947. Her scientific career started at a very tender age because she would spend hours on end interacting with the natural environment around her, feeding her mind with the wonders that nature had to offer the studious individual. In her own words she acknowledges that even insects could be objects of her rapt attention. Along with Harald zur Hausen and Luc Montagnier, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi contributed to the fields of virology, disease transmission and immunology through their discovery of the virus that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). They were, therefore, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008 for this reason, and for their contribution towards making such a crucial discovery that made it easier to make radical improvements in the treatment methods available to people suffering from AIDS. The HIV is a retrovirus that attacks immune cells in the human body, making a person defenseless when they are attacked by other disease causing organisms like bacteria and fungi.
Elizabeth H. Blackburn was born at a place called Hobart found in the Tasmanian region of Australia. She was born in 1948 in the month of November. Elizabeth H. Blackburn went for her undergraduate studies in the University of California at San Francisco in California, USA. Along with Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak, Elizabeth H. Blackburn contributed to the field of genetics by discovering the role of telomeres in the protection of chromosomes, as well as the function of the enzyme called telomerase. The three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009. A telomere can be likened to a cap that protects the chromosome so that when the cell is dividing and the chromosome needs to be copied, the copying is done in its entirety and the integrity of the chromosome is not compromised. Elizabeth H. Blackburn made the discovery that even these telomeres are coded for by particular genes found in specific DNAs. This took place in 1980. Two years later, while working with Jack W. Szostak, she was able to show how the break down of chromosomes is prevented by this DNA, and in 1984 while working with Carol W. Greider, she showed that the DNA is produced by an enzyme known as telomerase. Elizabeth has through the years shown an unending love for learning new ideas and putting them to the test through research, and this makes her the rightful recipient of the Nobel Prize she obtained.
James Dewey Watson was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was born in the month of April 1928. While studying at the Harvard University, he together with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, was able to contribute to the fields of molecular biology and genetics by their discovery of the molecular structures of ribonucleic and deoxyribose nucleic acids, and how it is that these structures are relevant to the transfer of genetic information from one organism to its progeny. The nucleic acids determine the genotype and the phenotype an organism acquires from its parents, and likewise the characters it will pass along to its progeny during reproduction. The structure of DNA is known now to be a double helical structure courtesy of the works of these three scientists. Furthermore, it is made up of bases, which function as the genetic code. The bases can be combined in many ways since they are four in number, and they have myriad permutations that make each species of animals and/or plants bear semblance to species of their kind but be essentially different from all other species. DNA and RNA structure gives a splendid explanation of how copying of the code takes place through supplementation of bases. Without Watson and his colleagues, it would have been many more years before the structure of DNA could have been deciphered, so he rightfully deserved the Nobel Prize for being a pioneer in the field of genetics.
References
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