BARBARA MCCLINTOCK, WON NOBEL FOR 'JUMPING GENES' DISCOVERY
Author: Associated Press
Date: Friday, September 4, 1992
Page: 59
Section: OBITUARY
HUNTINGTON, N.Y. -- Pioneering geneticist Barbara McClintock, winner of
the 1983 Nobel Prize for discovering "jumping genes," has died of natural
causes at age 90.
She died Wednesday night at Huntington Hospital.
Beginning in 1942, Dr. McClintock performed pioneering research on corn at
the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Early on, she discovered that genes can
move from one area on the chromosomes to another, a finding that now helps
molecular biologists identify, locate and study genes.
Dr. McClintock won a Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the
phenomenon of "jumping genes" in corn, more than 32 years after publishing her
discovery.
When she won the Nobel Prize she said, "It may seem unfair . . . to reward
a person for having so much pleasure, over the years, asking the maize plant
to solve specific problems and then watching its responses."
Dr. James Watson, director of the Long Island laboratory and codiscoverer
of the structure of DNA, called Dr. McClintock one of the three most important
figures in the field of genetics.
And laboratory spokeswoman Lisa Gentry said, "Her discovery was 30 years
ahead of its time."
"No one knew at the time exactly what a gene was, let alone that they
could move," Gentry said.
Dr. McClintock observed gene behavior by watching the patterns of
coloration in maize kernels over generations of carefully controlled crosses.
The scientist received many other coveted honors, including the Lasker
Award for medical research. She was named a fellow of the MacArthur
Foundation, which provided her with $60,000 a year for life.
Dr. McClintock earned her science degrees at Cornell University in 1923
and in 1927.
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