Encyclopedia

McClintock, Barbara

McClintock, Barbara, 1902–92, American geneticist. She discovered that certain genetic material, “transposable elements,” shifted its location in the chromosomes from generation to generation. At first ignored, her research was later recognized as a major contribution to DNA research. In 1983 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

More on Barbara McClintock from Fact Monster:

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Genetics and Genetic Engineering: Biographies
© 2000–2008 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster