Her Stem Space

Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902-September 2, 1992) grew up with a passion for science. Her father, a renowned physician, instilled the values of knowledge throughout her childhood. Therefore, McClintock’s educational history included attending Cornell University as a biology major. She received a bachelor in science (B.S.) degree, a masters degree, and eventually a PhD.

Her career started during her years in graduate school. There began her most notable discovery as a cytogeneticist. A cytogeneticist is a geneticist that studies chromosomes and the structure and functions of a cell. They study genetic conditions, including cancer and similar diseases.

While using corn, she studied how characteristics, such as color, were passed down through a variety of generations. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, she discovered that genetic elements are not immobilized. This state of being also causes nearby genes to be either active or inactive.

Her colleagues, on the other hand, disregarded her discoveries. They were deemed “too radical.” Years later, other scientists began to confirm her findings. Then, over time, she received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute provided McClintock with her Nobel Prize due to her astounding discovery of mobile genetic elements. MGEs are defined as genetic material that move inside a genome. Barbara McClintock was the first woman to earn this award on her own.