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Robert Hooke & Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
Robert Hooke came up with the term "cells" and Anton Van Leeuwenhoek observed the first microorganisms. -
Discovery of Genes
Gregor Mendel discovered simple laws of inhertitance of traits -
Pasteurization
Louis Pasteur described the scientific basis for fermentation and claimed that microorganisms were responsible for infectious disease -
First touch of DNA
Johann Miescher found nucleic acid in the white blood cells in pus in a bandage. -
Genes and Chromosomes
By studying fruit flies, Thomas Hunt Morgan discovered that genes were on chromosomes. -
Genetics and bacteria
Fred Griffith discovered that genetic material could be moved from one bacteria strain to another. -
Discovery of Penicillin
Sir Alexander Fleming isolated penicillin from a fungus. -
Parts of DNA
Chargraff showed that in DNA the Adenine and Thymine were equal, while cytosince and guanine were equal. -
One Gene produces one enzyme
Beadle & Tatum proposed and Avery, McCarty & McLeod established that DNA was the hereditary material that was transferred. -
DNA Structure
Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA -
Viruses and DNA
Hershey and Chase proved that viruses use DNA to replicate and confirmed DNA as hereditary material -
The Double Helix
Franklin and Wilkins established that DNA was indeed a double helix. -
Plasmid DNA
Hayes discovred plasma DNA (circular pieces of DNA found in bacteria) -
RNA
Gilbert discovered mechanism of gene expression through his study of RNA -
Restriction Enzymes
Arber, Nathans, and Smith discovered restriction enzymes that cut DNA -
Codons for Amino Acids
Khorana and Nirenberg discoverd the 64 codons that code for amino acids to make protien -
Isolation and Purification
Vinograd isolated and purified DNA plasmids -
Escherichia coli
Madel and Higa were responsible for the first transformation of E.coli -
Cloning
Boyer and Cohen started cloning experiments -
Genentech
Genentech was founded as the world's first GE company -
rDNA organization
140 scientists, with Paul Berg as leader, met to draw up guidelines for work with rDNA -
Sequence DNA
Sanger and Gilbert found a way to sequence DNA -
Work with E.Coli
Boyer inserted a synthetic insulin gene into E.Coli -
DNA Fingerprint
Botstein found that people could be identified by DNA; this DNA fingerprint was called a Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) -
In Vitro
First baby of in vitro fertilization was born -
Patents for GE lifeforms
Supreme court ruled that gentetically altered life forms could be patented; resulted in huge jumpstart of biotech companies. -
First Transgenic Animals
Ohio University scientists made the first transgenic animals. -
Insulin inside bacteria
Eli Lilly placed a human insulin gene inside bacteria -
Gene transfer
Schell, Chilton, Van Montagu, Fraley, and Horsch transformed plants with Agrobacterium-meditated gene transfer. -
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Kary Mullis invented PCR to amplify DNA in the lab -
Crime doesn't pay anymore
Jeffries applied the DNA fingerprint in the study of criminal cases -
Fluorescence sequencer
Fluorescences sequencer was invented, speeding up the process. -
The Gene Gun
Genes were moved into an organism using a gene gun. -
Revised safety guidelines
NIH revised safety guidelines to include plants grown in greenhouses and animals raised in barns. -
C.elegans
Fire and Mello discovered RNA interference in the worm, C.elegans. -
MAb technology
Kohler, Milstein, and Jerne used monoclonal antibody technology -
YAC's
Olson and colleague at Washington University invented "yeast artificial chromosomes" which are expression vectors for large proteins. -
Dolly the sheep
Ian Wilmut cloned Dolly the sheep from an adult ewe at the Roslin Institute -
DNA Chip
DNA chip technology was developed. -
Faster DNA Sequencer
Dabiri and Garner invented an automated DNA sequencer that worked about 5-30 times faster that existing sequencers. -
Riboswitch
Ron Breaker coined the term riboswitch for part of an mRNA molecule that can regulate its own activity -
Human Genome Project
Human Genome project was completed; project provided ability to find genes and gave rise to sequencing of other genomes.
