| The Details:
Timeline: 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 ] Copyright 1998 by team 24355 and Kayotic Development. |
