1859: Darwin Published On the Origin of Species, Proposing Continual Evolution of Species:
1. 1859 A.D.
2. Darwin's exploratory survey on the H.M.S. Beagle had brought him into contact with a wide
variety of living organisms and fossils. The adaptations he saw in the finches and tortoises on the
Galapagos Islands struck him particularly acutely. Darwin concluded that species change through
natural selection, or to use Wallace's phrase "the survival of the fittest" in a given environment.
3. Charles Darwin
4. Darwin's book immediately attracted attention and controversy not only from the scientific
community but also from the general public who were ignited by the social and religious
implications of the theory. Darwin eventually produced six editions of this book. In time, a
growing understanding of genetics and of the fact that genes inherited from both parents
remain distinct entities even if the characteristics of parents appear to blend in their children explained how natural selection could work and helped vindicate Darwin's proposal.
5. Galapagos Islands
6. No Known Awards
1869: DNA First Isolated:
7.
8.
9.
10.
1869 A.D.
Friedrich Miescher isolates DNA for the first time.
Friedrich Miescher
Miescher isolated a material rich in phosphorus from the cells and called it nuclein. He found
nuclein in other types of cells as well including salmon sperm. In the early 1900s other scientists
began to describe the chemical properties of DNA in much more detail.
11. University of Tubingen in Southern Germany
1900: Rediscovery of Mendel's Work:
12.
13.
14.
15.
1900 A.D.
Hugo DeVries, Carl Correns, Erich von Tschermak
Rediscovery of Mendel's Work
They helped expand awareness of the Mendelian laws of inheritance in the scientific world. By
1900, cells and chromosomes were sufficiently understood to give Mendel's abstract ideas a
physical context.
16. Europe
1902: Chromosome Theory of Heredity
17.
18.
19.
20.
1902 A.D.
Walter Sutton
Chromosome Theory of Heredity
In many ways, Sutton reiterated the work of Theodor Boveri, a German scientist who in the late
1880s and early 1890s observed that chromosome numbers are cut in half as egg cells mature
and concluded that sperm and egg nuclei have half sets of chromosomes.
21. Columbia University, New York, USA
1941: One Gene, One Enzyme:
22.
23.
24.
25.
1941 A.D.
One Gene One Enzyme Theory
George Beadle and Edward Tatum
By supplying a variety of compounds in the nutrient medium and seeing which allow various
mutant strains to grow and which don't Beadle and Tatum saw that they could deduce the
sequence of biochemical reactions in cells that make necessary compounds like amino acids.
The scientists concluded that the function of a gene is to direct the formation of a particular
enzyme which regulates a chemical event. A mutation can alter a gene so it no longer produces
the normal enzyme, resulting in a physical symptom, like the need for nutritional supplements.
Beadle and Tatum proposed that in general each gene directs the formation of one and only one
enzyme.
26. Caltech
27. 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1944: DNA is Transforming Principle:
28.
29.
30.
31.
1944 A.D.
Transforming Principle
Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, Maclyn McCarty
Bacteriologists suspected the transforming factor was some kind of protein. The transforming
principle could be precipitated with alcohol which showed that it was not a carbohydrate like
the polysaccharide coat itself. But Avery and McCarty observed that proteases enzymes that
degrade proteins did not destroy the transforming principle. Neither did lipases enzymes that
digest lipids. They found that the transforming substance was rich in nucleic acids but
ribonuclease which digests RNA did not inactivate the substance. They also found that the
transforming principle had a high molecular weight. They had isolated DNA, this was the agent
that could produce an enduring heritable change in an organism.
32. USA
1953: DNA Double Helix:
33.
34.
35.
36.
1953 A.D.
DNA Double Helix
Francis Crick, James Watson
Watson and Crick raced to find the structure before anyone else. They were competing with
Linus Pauling, who had earlier discovered the alpha-helical structure of some protein molecules.
While Watson and Crick were still working on their model, Pauling published a paper suggesting
a triple-helical structure for DNA. Others quickly realized that the model was chemically flawed.
Watson and Crick used paper cutouts of the bases and metal scraps from a machine shop to
come up with their own model.
37. USA
38. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine
1959: Chromosome Abnormalities Identified:
39. 1959 A.D.
40. Chromosome Abnormalities Identified
41. Jerome Lejeune
42. Discovered that Down syndrome is caused by trisomy 21 that is having three instead of 2 copies
of chromosome 21. The extra copies of the genes on chromosome 21 affect the development of
the brain and body.
43. France, Europe
1961: First Screen for Metabolic Defect in Newborns:
44.
45.
46.
47.
1961 A.D.
First Screen for Metabolic Defect in Newborns
Robert Guthrie
Today, newborns throughout much of the world are screened not just for PKU, but also for
hypothyroidism and other inborn disorders where an early warning can be used to prevent dire
effects.
48. University of Buffalo, USA
1966: Genetic Code Cracked
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
1966 A.M.
Genetic Code Cracked
Marshall Nirenberg, Har Khorana, Severo Ochoa
Interpreted the genetic code and its protein synthesis.
Europe
1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1973: First Animal Gene Cloned:
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
1973 A.D.
First Animal Gene Cloned
Stanford And UCSF Researchers
It Showed That Objects Could Be Cloned For Later Medical Uses.
United States
1977: Introns Discovered:
60.
61.
62.
63.
1997 A.D.
Introns Discovered
Richard Roberts and Phil Sharp
The discovery of split genes changed the way scientists thought about the architecture of the
genome. Human genes are on average interrupted about 10 times, and the introns typically
contain about 90 percent of the DNA sequence in the whole gene. Most of the non-coding
regions are generally thought of as junk DNA as filler sequences that apparently serve no
purpose.
64. USA
65. 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1982: GenBank Database Formed:
66. 1982 A.D.
67. GenBank Database Formed
68. NIH
69. GenBank NIH's publicly accessible genetic sequence database was formed at Los Alamos
National Laboratory. Scientists submit DNA sequence data from a wide range of organisms to
GenBank researchers routinely retrieve and analyze the data in the archive.
70. USA
1987: First Human Genetic Map:
71.
72.
73.
74.
1987 A.D.
First Human Genetic Map
NIH
The first comprehensive genetic map of human chromosomes was based on 400 restriction
fragment length polymorphisms which are variations in DNA sequence that can be observed by
digesting DNA with restriction enzymes. A genetic map contains landmarks that occur in various
forms. Tracking which variants are inherited in different people can be used to locate genes
responsible for diseases.
75. USA
1990: Launch of the Human Genome Project:
76.
77.
78.
79.
1990 A.D.
The Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project
The goals of the project included mapping the human genome and eventually determining the
sequence of all 3.2 billion letters in it mapping and sequencing the genomes of other organisms
important to the study of biology developing technology for analyzing DNA and studying the
ethical legal and social implications of genome research.
80. USA
1994: Microbial Genome Project:
81.
82.
83.
84.
1994 A.D.
Microbial Genome Program
DOE
The microbes DOE chose do not cause disease but are important for their environmental energy
and commercial roles. The program strives to better understand the bountiful microbial
resources on Earth.
85. USA
1997: E. coli Genome Sequenced:
86.
87.
88.
89.
1997 A.D.
E. coli Genome Sequenced
University of Wisconsin
The strain of E. coli used for the sequencing project is not a pathogen . However, some strains of
E. coli can cause illness such as food poisoning. Comparing the normal strain with pathogenic
strains is expected to help suggest treatments for these illnesses and strategies to prevent
infection.
90. USA
1999: Chromosome 22:
91.
92.
93.
94.
1999 A.D.
Chromosome 22
HGP
In December 1999, the HGP completed the first finished, full-length sequence of a human
chromosome chromosome 22. This accomplishment demonstrated the power of the HGP
method of clone by clone sequencing to obtain large amounts of highly accurate sequence.
95. USA
2005: Chimpanzee Genomes Sequenced:
96.
97.
98.
99.
2005 A.D.
Chimpanzee Genomes Sequenced
National Human Genome Research Institute
As with the human sequence, the chimpanzee sequence data can be freely accessed through
public databases by researchers from around the world and used without restrictions.
100.
USA
2014: First Treatment For RA:
101.
2014 A.D.
102.
First Treatment For RA
103.
Harold Fisher Dvorak
104.
They discovered the first treatment for RA using monoclonal antibodies which are
genetically engineered natural defense molecules. Not only was this a novel treatment but it
was the first demonstration of the efficacy of a biological therapy for a chronic autoimmune
disease and led to the recognition by the pharmaceutical industry that biological drugs are a
viable class of therapeutic agents that can compete with traditional chemical drugs. The
effective results have not only transformed the treatment for patients but have led to other
successful anti TNF treatments and encouraged much further work using antibodies for
treatment.
105.
Europe
106.
CDN Award