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Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist
by Edith Hope Fine
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I loved exploring the life of this genius with genes.
In 1927, a time when few women became scientists, Barbara McClintock earned a Ph.D. in botany, exploring the mysteries of heredity. She worked in the fields, growing her own corn crops. In studying the traits of corn kernels, she made startling discoveries. Few others understood her in-depth research, but McClintock found joy in her work and did not seek the spotlight.
Her experiments with maize-Indian corn-would lay the foundation for modern genetics. Almost four decades after her most famous discovery, "jumping genes," eighty-one-year-old Barbara McClintock became the first woman ever to receive an unshared Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Even as a child, Barbara McClintock knew she was different from the other girls. She had no interest in dolls or tea parties. She loved playing sports and being out in natural world noticing things others missed. In high school she discovered science and went on to earn a Ph.D. in botany at Cornell University.
For years McClintock worked in obscurity, doing experiments with maize-Indian corn. Then she discovered the fact that genes can change their positions on the chromosomes of cells. Read this fascinating portrait of a woman who harnessed her dreams and her intellect to challenge the world's understanding of heredity.
Play a game to learn more about Barbara McClintock.
Visit this site for more information about Barbara McClintock.
 Check out this Barbara McClintock stamp from the American Scientist series.
For Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist, author Edith Hope Fine interviewed colleagues and friends of McClintock's to paint a fascinating portrait of a woman who harnessed her dreams and her intellect to challenge the world's understanding of heredity.
Review
This book is what every good biography should be. . . . Throughout the narrative, McClintock's lively personality and dedication to her work shine through. . . . Readers come away from this biography impressed by this remarkable woman's humility as well as her genius.
-School Library Journal
Order this library-bound book for schools and libraries from Amazon.com
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