Scientist Profile:
Oswald Avery
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| 1944: Avery locates a cell's genetic
information. |
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Scientist Profile: |
In 1944, Oswald Avery determined that a cell's genetic information was carried
in the nucleic
acid DNA,
and not the proteins of the cell, as was widely
speculated at the time. Avery's discovery came while
investigating the process of transformation in bacteria, a phenomenon,
unexplained at the time, where tiny capsules form in
bacterium that previously had none after the bacterium
was exposed to a substance from bacteria containing
similar capsules. Avery noticed that the change in the
bacteria was heritable, and determined that the substance
that came into contact with the bacteria contained the genes causing the development of
capsules. He later determined this substance to be DNA.
Avery's research led to future extensive studies of DNA. [ Home ] [ The Details ] [ Reactions ] [ Interactions ] [ About Site ] [ Bibliography ] |