Hans Spemann
Walter
Sutton
Oswald
Avery
Francis
Crick
James
Watson
Paul Berg
Stanley
Cohen
Herbert
Boyer
Kary
B. Mullis
Steen Willadsen
Ian
Wilmut
Keith Campbell
Richard
Seed
Molecular biologist who in 1972 created the first recombinant DNA molecules, and, in doing so, created the field of genetic engineering.
Berg, born in Brooklyn, New York, attended Case Western Reserve University, and in 1952, obtained a Ph. D. in biochemistry. He became a Stanford professor in 1959.
Berg, in 1972, combined DNA from the cancer-causing monkey virus SV40 with that of the virus lambda to create the first recombinant DNA molecules. However, upon realizing the dangers of his experiment, terminated it before it could be taken any further. He immediately, in what is now called the "Berg Letter," proposed a one year moratorium on recombinant DNA research, in order for safety concerns to be worked out. Berg later continued his recombinant DNA research, and was awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
In 1991, Berg accepted a position as the head of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Human Genome Project.
Web Link:
Biography
of Paul Berg
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