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Barbara McClintock: Pioneering Geneticist (Unlocking the Secrets of Science) (Unlocking the Secrets of Science)
Barbara McClintock Pioneering Geneticist - Unlocking the Secrets of Science Author:Kathleen Tracy Working in near obscurity for forty years, pursuing her own scientific theories and beliefs, Barbara McClintock toiled with no recognition whatsoever. In fact, her theories were often met with ridicule and disbelief. Like so many scientists before her, her theories and discoveries were so advanced, no one else could believe them. From all her... more » experiments with maize (Indian corn), Barbara discovered that there were movable elements inside each gene, which she called "transposable elements." Because her revolutionary ideas challenged a cemented belief among mainstream geneticists that genes were fixed in place, her research was rejected. She was deeply stunned and bitterly disappointed at the close-mindedness of the scientific community. But, rather than stop her research, she merely stopped telling anyone about it. She became a forgotten figure for nearly two decades. It would be nearly twenty years later that her theories were verified when molecular biologists isolated transposable elements in bacteria and discovered that they were used by cells to control genes-the same discovery she made two decades earlier! All of a sudden, Barbara, now in her 70s, became a genius. In the scientific community, where women have been given lower class status throughout time, Barbara McClintock is one of the few women who was eventually recognized. As a tribute to hundreds of women scientists who have been ignored through time, this book tells the story of one of the few credited milestones in female scientific achievements.« less