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DNA First Isolated
http://www.genome.gov/25520232 Friedrich Miescher, a swiss scientist, was the first person to isolate DNA. He discovered a substance in the cells that contained an abundance of phosphorus and named it nuclein. -
Mitosis first observed
Walter Flemming, one of the first cytologists. He observed cell division in salamander embryos, which had set times for the division of cells. Ultimately, he published a book about his observation of the process of mitosis. -
Chromosome Theory of Heredity
A graduate student named Walter Sutton, observed that in the process of cell division (meiosis) each sperm or egg receives only
one chromosome of each type. This is the idea that genes are physical in nature and found in the chromosome. -
The Word Gene Coined
Wilhelm Johannsen, a danish botanist, first coined the word gene to describe the Mandelian units of heridity. Also, he discovered the distinction between the appearance of an individual on the outside (phenotype) and its genetic traits (genotype). -
Fruit Flies Illuminate the Chromosome Theory
Thomas Hunt Morgan and his group at Columbia University used fruit flies as a model organism to show that genes are the units of heredity. Morgan received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 for helping establish the chromosome theory of inheritance. -
X-ray Diffraction of DNA
A british scientist named William Astbury obtained the first X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA. He obtained the first X-ray DNA diffraction pattern. -
Jumping Genes
Barbara McClintock discovered that genes are able to jump around on chromosomes. This shows that the genome is more dynamic than previously thought. -
DNA Double Helix
Together, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase showed that in order for a bacterium to get infected, only the DNA of a virus needs to enter it. They had an idea that genes are made of DNA and their experiment proved this with strong evidence. -
DNA Copying Enzyme
Arthur Kornberg and his colleagues isolated DNA polymerase from E. coli bacteria making it able to synthesize new strands of DNA. The enzyme they had isolated was one of three forms of DNA polymerase in E. coli. -
46 Human chromosomes
The exact number of human chromosomes was found to be 46 by Joe Hin Tjio after many attempts of ecperimenting. He prepared metaphase spreads that showed the chromosome arrays particularly neatly. He found that all unbroken cells had 46 chromosomes. -
First Screen for Metabolic Defect in Newborns
Robert Guthrie discovered a way to see ifnewborn babies have phenylketonuria (PKU), which is an inability to digest the amino acid phenylalanine. He looked for the presence of excess phenylalanine in the blood using blood tests. -
First Restriction Enzymes Described
Numerous groups of researchers characterized the first restriction nucleases, enzymes that revolutionized the ability for molecular biologists to manipulate DNA. -
First Animal Gene Cloned
Both Stanford and UCSF researchers put together a segment of DNA containing genes from the African clawed frog Xenopus with DNA from E. coli and placed the final DNA back into an E. coli cell. There, the frog DNA was duplicated and the gene it contained directed the production of a specific frog protein. This was the first time an animal gene was cloned. -
1975-77: DNA Sequencing
Sanger and his colleagues, and Maxam and Gilbert together developed rapid DNA sequencing methods, but they had different protocals. -
GenBank Database Formed
GenBankis the NIH’s publicly availible genetic sequence database. It was formed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Many scientists input different DNA sequence data from a wide range of organisms into GenBank. -
First Time Gene Positionally Cloned
The method of finding a gene without any knowledge of the protein it encodes is known as positionally cloning. The first human disease gene identified by positional cloning was one for chronic granulomatous disease. -
Research on BACs
In 1990, researchers statr to study how to produce stable carriers of large DNA inserts in bacteria. They found that many copies of the human insert are made when the bacteria multiply. -
Microbial Genome Project
In 1994, the DOE began a brogram to sequence the genomes in some bacterias. This program really helps to better understand the bountiful microbial resources on our planet. -
Human DNA Seuquence Begins
The National Human Genome Research Institute funded project to find efficient techniques to completely sequence the human genome. -
E. coli Genome Sequenced
The complete genome sequence of Escherichia coli was publihed. scientist believed this would help them better understand the bacterium. -
Chromosome 22
HGP completed the first full-length sequence of a human chromosome. This demonstrated that HGPs method of clone-by-clone sequencing was highly accurate. -
Chromosome 21
HGP completed seuquencing the second human chromosome to be fully seuquenced, chromosome 21. -
Researchers Identify Gene Linked to Bipolar Disorder
Rsearchers discovered that wo different single-nucleotide polymorphisms were linked to the disorder. -
The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Project Started
The National Cancer Institute created the Cancer Genome Atlas Pilot Project. With a starting budget of 100 million dollars, they will map out the genomic changes amongst brain, ovarian and lung cancer -
stablish the Genetic and Environmental Causes of Common Diseases Launched
These iniatives provided laboratories for study and research for the analysis of genetic variation among the population. This to help better understand specific diseases and better yet how to control them. -
Full-scale Human Genome Sequencing
Full-scale human genome sequencing began a year and a half before originally anticipated due to the increase oh HGP's goals of sequencing 90% of the human genome to 2000
