Barbara McClintock

Barbara McClintock was a great geneticist; she was smart and she was brave. She did many experiments in her time, she made one of the biggest discoveries and yet she was criticized for her work. Ever since McClintock was a child, she had an interest in cells and genetic makeup. Her father was a doctor who encouraged and supported her interest in cells and genetic makeup while her mother was unhappy because she thought that having an interest in cells and genetic makeup were not normal for a young girl, and that McClintock was not developing “appropriate feminine behavior” (Cambridge para 1). McClintock was born on June 16 1902, she went to college at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and did research on chromosomes. Even though, McClintock did research in California, Missouri, Germany, and at Cornell, she still had a hard time finding a job. “When she did get a job at the University of Missouri as an assistant professor, her colleagues never included her and her chances of getting a raise or promotion were low” (Science para 1). Most of her colleagues were male and looked down on her because she was a female. She ended up working at the University of Missouri for five years and quit. Later McClintock found a position at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and that is where she discovered mobile genetic elements in plants or “jumping genes” (science para 1).

Many experiments that McClintock did were from corn because the plant can be self fertilized. She grew her own corn and experimented by staining the corn and looking at them through a microscope. By using the staining technique, McClintock was able to identify ten corn chromosomes and discovered that chromosome number nine was different than the others. “She was able to identify a series of genes on chromosome number nine that determine pigmentation and other characteristics of the endosperm. She found that variegation occurred when a small piece of chromosome nine moved from one place on the other chromosome to another close to a gene coding for a pigment” (Ringertz para 3). With this experiment, McClintock discovered that certain genes have a certain purpose of controlling other genes. Some are able to move onto other chromosomes and control a number of other genes, the key factor was the physical movement of DNA, and this was a huge discovery.
In 1951 McClintock presented her work but many geneticists did not fully understand the jumping gene theory. What they did not understand was that in order for genes to move onto other chromosomes there had to be physical movement of DNA. They did not understand that the DNA molecule stored genetic information in its structure. “Some objected to her approach, calling it mystical or mad” (Science in the Early Twentieth Century para 5). The reaction she received from the geneticists was very disappointing and upsetting to her and she stopped doing her experiments. The discovery that was made by McClintock was ground breaking in the world of science, what she discovered was evolution and would one day help explain the cause of cancer cells and how to detect mutation in cells but at the time, no one seem to realize it except for McClintock.

Finally, after two decades McClintock was credited for her work. It wasn’t until molecular biologists did research on bacteria DNA that confirmed McClintock’s theory was right. “Geneticists claimed later that they did not doubt McClintock’s findings, but they saw transposable element as a characteristic of maize, not necessarily as a fundamental principle to be generalized” (Science in the Early Twentieth Century para 5). At the time when McClintock gave her presentation on the jumping gene theory, the geneticists did not support her or try to understand the concept of the jumping gene theory. McClintock was misunderstood as a person along with her work. After her theory was confirmed, two decades later, the geneticists that were present when McClintock did her presentation never showed any sincerity or appreciation for McClintock’s work.
Barbara McClintock was a unique individual with a lot of passion. She was not the typical women, she never saw herself as being a homemaker but making discoveries that would change the world of science. She started off as a young child with interest in chromosomes and genetic makeup, and she followed her heart and went into science. Although she was the very few female in science, along with the discrimination she had to deal with. She kept her head up high and continued with her experiments, which lead her to prove that the jumping gene theory was true. No matter what obstacles came her way, she never let it get the best of her. She believed in her work and even though she did not have a lot of support from her peers, she kept on going until she got the results that genes do jump onto other chromosomes. From being that curious little girl interested in chromosomes and genes, she now is one of the most amazing geneticists in the world. Her work was recognized and credited; she won the first unshared Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine at the age of 81 in 1983. “Watson described her as one of the three most important figures in the history of genetics” (Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists para 2). Even though it took two decades until McClintock was rewarded for her work, she still had a great attitude. Barbara McClintock said “if you know your right you don’t care. “You know that sooner or later it will come out in the wash” (Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists para 2). I agree, “Barbara McClintock died on September 2, 1992” (autobiography 4). She was very deserving of the Nobel Prize award.


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