From Chromosomes to Mobile Genetic Elements: The Life and Work of Nobel Laureate Barbara McClintock

This biography of Nobel Laureate Barbara McClintock (1902–1992) places her life and work in its social, scientific, and personal context. The author examines the development of Barbara McClintock’s scientific work and her influence upon individuals and upon the fields of cytogenetics and evolutionary biology in the period from 1902 to the present. The history documents years of McClintock’s notable and lauded scientific work long before she discovered and named transposable elements in the mid‑1940s for which she ultimately received the Nobel Prize. The biography employs documented evidence to expose, demystify, and provide clarity for legends and misinterpretations of McClintock’s life and work.

Key Features

• Exposes and demystifies myths and legends told about McClintock’s time in Missouri

• Clarifies the changing language of genes and genetics

• Places in perspective the history of McClintock’s research

• Documents McClintock’s family and early life before college

• Provides documented details of McClintock’s time in Nazi Germany