Barbara McClintock - Definition and Overview

Barbara McClintock

Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902–September 2, 1992) was an American geneticist who discovered transposons while seeking to explain the coloring patterns of maize (corn) seeds. Her work was overlooked for many years, because it did not fit the then-accepted models of genetics.

McClintock was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1923, her Master of Arts in 1925, and her Ph.D. in 1927, all from Cornell University. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983.

External links

• Barbara McClintock autobiography from the Nobel foundation (http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1983/mcclintock-autobio.html)
• Barbara McClintock biography from Cold Spring Harbor Lab (http://www.cshl.org/public/mcclintock.html)
• Evowiki entry on Barbara McClintock (http://www.evowiki.org/index.php/Barbara_McClintock)

Books

• Evelyn Fox Keller, A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock, W. H. Freeman & Co, 1984