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Darwin Published On the Origin of Species
Charles Darwin publishes his book on evolution. He concluded that species change by natural selection. -
Mendels, peapod
Gregory Mendel sees that certain traits were passed on from parent to offspring during his work on the hereditary of pea plants. These traits would later become known as genes. -
DNA isolated
Friedrich Miescher isolated DNA for the first time. This led to more discoveries about it. -
Orderly Inheritance of Disease Observed
Archibald Garrod found out that the disease alkaptonuria is inherited. He saw it involved a rare recessive mutation. One of the first disease cause by genetics. -
The Word Gene Coined
Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word "gene". This was a milestone and genes would become nationally known. -
The Chromosome Theory
Thomas Hunt Morgan used fruit flies and the female and male chromosones to understand more about how they fit in with our genes and DNA -
First Recombinant DNA
Recombinant DNA technology is the joining of DNA from different species . -
DNA make up
Phoebus Levene concludes that DNA is made up of nucleotides which consist of a sugar, phosphate group, and a base. -
One Gene, One Enzyme
George Beadle and Edward Tatum through red bread mold showed that genes act by regulating chemical events, the "one gene, one enzyme" hypothesis. -
Genes are Made of DNA
Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase's experiment proved the idea that genes are made of DNA. -
Structure of DNA
James Watson and Francis Crick see the structure of DNA as a double helix consisting of two strands of DNA that are held together by base pairs. -
DNA Copying Enzyme
Arthur Kornberg isolated DNA polymerase from E. coli bacteria. When he added the protein to a tube of salt solution containing DNA molecules and nucleotide building blocks, it was able to synthesize new strands of DNA. -
Chromosome Abnormalities Identified
"Professor Jerome Lejeune and his colleagues discovered that Down syndrome, first classified by J. L. H. Down in 1866, 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." -
Genetic Code Cracked
"Marshall Nirenberg, Har Khorana and Severo Ochoa and their colleagues elucidated the genetic code – showing how nucleic acids with their 4-letter alphabet determine the order of the 20 kinds of amino acids in proteins." -
Genetic codes
Scientists discover 64 combinations of bases within the genetic code. -
First Animal Gene Cloned
Stanford and UCSF researchers fused a segment of DNA containing a gene from a frog with DNA from E. coli and placed the new DNA back into an E. coli cell. -
Introns Discovered
Richard Roberts' and Phil Sharp's labs showed that eukaryotic genes contain many interruptions, called introns. -
Paten Genetically modified organisms
Genetically modified organisms can be patented, according to the US Supreme Court -
Genetically engineered drug
Humulin, a form of insulin produced by bacteria cultures, is the first genetically engineered drug. -
First Human Genetic Map
They found out how to read DNA -
DNA used in court room
Tommie Lee Andrew is the first person in the US to be convicted of a crime based on DNA evidence. -
Cystic Fibrosis
The Cystic Fibrosis gene is discovered by Francis Collins and Lap-Chee Tsui. -
Gene therapy
Gene therapy is successfully used on a patient for the first time. -
Gene in disease
The gene responsible for Huntington's disease is discovered. -
Fruit
Genetically modified tomatoe approved by FDA -
Human Genome Draft
Draft of the human genome is presented. -
Entire Human Genome
The entire human genome is sequenced.