Barbara McClintock: Champion of the Jumping Genes
How a woman scientist challenged assumptions and revolutionized the field of genetics
Although marriage was the primary goal for most women in 1919, American geneticist Barbara McClintock, PhD bucked expectations and enrolled in Cornell’s College of Agriculture instead. It was fortuitous that she did—Dr. McClintock would go on to earn the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983. Still, it wasn’t an achievement that came easily.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1923, Dr. McClintock stayed at Cornell to pursue a doctorate degree in botany before ultimately becoming an instructor and researcher at the school. Almost immediately, she became captivated by the idea that heredity determined the characteristics of plants, especially corn (or maize, as it’s referred to in much of her research). In 1941, she was given a full-time research position at the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Genetics at Cold Spring Harbor. It was here that she’d make a groundbreaking discovery.
For most of the 20th century, scientists and researchers held firm to the belief that genes were arranged in a fixed, linear pattern on chromosomes—until Dr. McClintock found otherwise. Known to be shy, Dr. McClintock mostly kept to her lab where she developed staining techniques to identify and observe all 10 maize chromosomes. This led to her discovery of gene transposition—the ability of genes to change position on chromosomes. This revelation (that genes could, in effect, “jump”) not only upended a paradigm, but would ultimately help researchers link genetic information to chromosomal behavior.
“The Origin and Behavior of Mutable Loci in Maize”
By 1939, Dr. McClintock had published over nine articles on maize chromosomes. In 1950, she presented her findings in an article for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS); it was titled, “The Origin and Behavior of Mutable Loci in Maize.” While her work was eventually accepted by her fellow maize geneticists, Dr. McClintock initially received skepticism. She remarked: “I was startled when I found they didn’t understand it; didn’t take it seriously.”
The larger science community expressed “puzzlement and even hostility,” but Dr. McClintock refused to let it deter her, saying “It didn’t bother me, I just knew I was right. Anybody who had had that evidence thrown at them with such abandon couldn’t help but come to the conclusions I did about it…” Still, it would take decades for her work to become more widely recognized.
Well-Earned Accolades
Later in her career, Dr. McClintock was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1944) and served as the first woman president of the Genetics Society of America (1945). She also received numerous awards, such as the National Medal of Science (1970). But without doubt, her most impressive achievement was being the sole recipient of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In a Nobel-related press statement, Dr. McClintock said, “It might seem unfair to reward a person for having so much pleasure, over the years, asking the maize plant to solve specific problems and then watching its responses.”
A Life Lived on Her Own Terms
Dr. McClintock retained her love of science beyond her official retirement in 1967. She remained a Distinguished Service Member of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (now called the Carnegie Institution for Science) and attended the annual Cold Spring Harbor Symposia until her death at the age of 90. Perhaps Dr. McClintock’s own words best sum up a life well lived:
“I just have been so interested in what I was doing and it’s been such a pleasure, such a deep pleasure, that I never thought of stopping… I’ve had a very, very, satisfying and interesting life.”
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