Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902 – September 2, 1992) was an American scientist. She dedicated her entire career to the study of corn and the cytogenetics of maize.
Portrait of scientist Barbara McClintock.
She developed techniques and conducted research on genetics in corn, illuminating the roles and functions of critical chromosomal regions in preserving genetic information. Barbara was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983.
Barbara McClintock was born on June 16, 1902, in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. She inherited her love for science from her father, a physician, and displayed an independent spirit and personality from a young age.
Young Barbara McClintock.
After completing high school, she enrolled in a biology program at Cornell University in 1919, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1923. She then continued her studies and research to obtain a master’s degree in 1925 and a doctorate in 1927 in cytology, genetics, and zoology.
Barbara began her lifelong career focusing on the analysis of corn chromosomes. Throughout her career, she concentrated on researching cytogenetics and ethnobotany of corn varieties and made many valuable discoveries.
Many characteristics of organisms are determined by genetics—that is, by their genes—and are stored in the chromosomes within the cell nucleus. Barbara McClintock studied the genetic traits of corn, such as the color of corn kernels, linking these traits to changes in the plant’s chromosomes.
Her microscope with displayed corn samples at the National Museum of Natural History, USA.
In 1931, she and her colleague, Harriet Creighton, published a research paper titled “The Relationship Between Cell Crossovers and Genetics in Corn”, demonstrating that chromosomes are the basis of heredity.
Scientist Barbara McClintock speaking at the Nobel Prize ceremony in 1983.
During the 1940s and 1950s, she continued to demonstrate that genetic elements could sometimes change position on chromosomes, causing neighboring genes to become inactivated. This idea contradicted the prevailing views of the time, and despite being a groundbreaking discovery, her research was often met with opposition or indifference from other scientists.
Barbara with a corn cob resulting from her research.
It wasn’t until the late 1960s and 1970s, when biologists established that genetic material is DNA, that her early discoveries received recognition and acclaim.
The greatest award of Barbara’s career was the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983, which she received at the age of 80.
Barbara McClintock Hall at Cornell University – where she studied and earned her bachelor’s degree.
Her discovery of “jumping genes” was ahead of its time by more than 30 years, making her the only woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine without sharing it with others.
Barbara McClintock passed away in New York, USA, in 1992, at the age of 90.
