Discovering Transposons: The Work of Dr. Barbara McClintock

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

This chapter explores the groundbreaking work of Dr. Barbara McClintock in discovering transposons, sequences in DNA that can move around an organism's genome. It highlights her achievements, the initial skepticism from her peers, and the later recognition she received, including the 1983 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine.

Green, yellow, striped, red, shiny, russet. Tart, sweet, sour, crunchy. Big, small, wild, heirloom, cultivated. How will you like them apples? Very much, once you hear all about the fascinating backstory of how an apple got into your lunch with one of the world’s finest pomologists and geneticists, the incredibly knowledgeable and charming Dr. Susan K. Brown, a professor at Cornell University's AgriTech division. Fill your baskets with apple picking tips, genetic mash ups, taste test requirements, DNA trivia, compost treasures, maggot babies, the animal dung that changed history, how to have your own orchard, the sweet taste of science redemption, the loudest apple crunch on record, and what you’re actually tasting when you enjoy this feat of breeding. You’ll forever appreciate this everyday fruit.

View Dr. Susan K. Brown’s publications on ResearchGate

Visit websites for apples developed by Dr. Brown: RubyFrost and SnapDragon

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook

A charity will be linked soon