• Question: what scientist do you think has contrabited most to genetics?

    Asked by kaynul to Richard, Prateek, Liz, Jim, Amelia on 18 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Richard Badge

      Richard Badge answered on 18 Jun 2011:

      My vote has to go to Gregor Mendel, the man who discovered the main principles of genetics without knowing anything about DNA or how genes worked. He was a bright determined and very focussed scientist who applied the scientifc method rigourously.

      For more information: http://712educators.about.com/cs/biographies/p/mendel.htm

    • Photo: Jim Caryl

      Jim Caryl answered on 18 Jun 2011:

      Wow, that’s a hard one, there are so many scientists who have made some great contributions.

      I think I would go for Stanley N. Cohen (although to be honest, it wouldn’t be fair to mention him without another scientist with whom Stanley collaborated, Herbert Boyer). I’ve met Stanley Cohen a few times, and he’s a nice guy.

      So why do I choose these scientists, well, they basically invented genetic engineering inn 1973. A few years prior to this, these guys recognised each others talents. Cohen worked with rings of DNA (called ‘plasmids’) that are found in bacteria and exist separately to the chromosome (the main DNA) in the bacteria, plasmids are autonomous, meaning they basically take care of producing more of themselves. Boyer worked with enzymes called restriction enzymes, which act like little DNA scissors to cut DNA in very precise ways. Together they figured out that you cut use the ‘DNA scissors’ to cut a gene out of the DNA of one organism, and then insert the gene into the plasmid, which could then be put back into a bacterium, such as E. coli. This is the basics of cloning that we still use to this day, and is the means by which I run my Gene Gym: /genesj11-zone/2011/06/what-do-you-mean-by-fitness-gym

      One of the early uses for the technique was the cloning of the human gene that makes insulin, which is necessary for the regulation of blood sugar levels, and is lacking in people with type I diabetes; these people need to inject insulin. The insulin gene was snipped out of some human DNA and inserted (cloned) into the plasmid, and then the plasmid was put back into E. coli. Because bacteria replicate so quickly, and each cell could produce insulin, the bacteria were able to produce lots of the protein insulin. Prior to this time, the only way diabetics could get insulin is by extraction of the protein from pigs, not very efficient (or nice). So this revolutionised the way that many similar medicines could be mass produced.

      More info about Cohen and Boyer here: http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/resources/timeline/1973_Boyer.php

    • Photo: Amelia Markey

      Amelia Markey answered on 18 Jun 2011:

      I agree with Richard, the biggest contribution is probably Mendel.

      However I have to mention a more modern contribution which is Kary Mullis. This is the man that invented PCR (polymerase chain reaction). I use PCR every week as a way to copy a particular bit of DNA like a gene. Without PCR a lot of the genetic tests that are used on a daily basis today in clinics to diagnose diseases and infections wouldn’t be possible.

      This one technique has given a huuuuuge contribution to all of science and medicine!

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