National Center for Genome Resources was founded
In 1994, National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) founded with support from Senator Pete Domenici as an independent…
Stanford Medicine researchers discovered ‘off-switch’ for genetic reproduction in bacteria
On Oct. 22, 1990, scientists from Stanford University led by Arthur Kornberg announced they had discovered a chemical…
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Geneticist Mary-Claire King discovered BRCA1, the first gene for a hereditary form of breast cancer.
In 1990, Geneticist Mary-Claire King and her colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley discovered BRCA1, the first…
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U.S. Congress established the Human Genome Project
On Aug. 15, 1988, a program advisory committee on the human genome was established to advise the National…
Scientists at University of Georgia found 10 times more genetic diversity than has ever been recorded in a single species of soil bacterium
In 1988, scientists at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory find 10 times more genetic diversity…
Iowa State was the first university to field-test a genetically engineered tree (poplar implanted with a pest-resistance gene from a potato)
In 1987, Dr. Robert Thornburg at Iowa State University (ISU) prepared transgenic tobacco plants expressing a gene that…
Eli Lilly introduced Humulin insulin identical to that produced by the human body
In 1987, Eli Lilly and Company introduced Humulin insulin identical to that produced by the human body. Humulin…
Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene was discovered
In 1987, Boston Children’s Hospital researcher Lous Kunkel and his colleagues discovered the gene that causes Duchenne muscular…
Federal courts ruled private companies don’t need NIH permission to field test genetically engineered organisms
In 1985, Federal courts ruled that private companies don’t need National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) permission for field…
Stanford Medicine researchers Isolated a gene coding for part of the T-cell receptor
On Mar. 8, 1984, two articles describing the cloning of the T-Cell Receptor (TCR) by Tak Wah Mak…
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The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology located Centres India and Italy
In 1984, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) bowed…
EPA announced that outdoor genetically engineer release must get environmental approval
In 1984, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that if you genetically engineer any microbe intended for…
Pat Mooney’s Law of the Seed was released
In 1983, Pat Mooney’s Law of the Seed was released, published by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, which is…
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Barbara McClintock
In 1983, Barbara McClintock was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of mobile…
Dr. Tak Wah Mak co-discovered the T-cell receptor and the gene that produces it
In 1983, Dr. Tak Wah Mak co-discovered the T-cell receptor and the gene that produces it. Dr. Mak…
The first biotech drug, human insulin produced in genetically modified bacteria, was approved by FDA
On Oct. 28, 1982, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Humulin, Eli Lily’s recombinant insulin made…
The first major DNA sequence databases were established in the U.S. (GenBank) and Germany
In 1982, the first major DNA sequence databases were established in the U.S. (GenBank) and Germany. GenBank ®…
UC Berkeley’s Steven Lindow was the first to ask permission to deliberately release genetically engineered microbes into the environment
In 1982, Steven Lindow from the University of California, Berkeley, was the first to ask permission to deliberately…
Alumnus Baruj Benacerraf was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology
On Oct. 10, 1980, The Nobel Foundation announced they had awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology…
Dr. Jack Costello first identified a genetic disorder, now known as Costello syndrome
In 1977, Dr. Jack Costello, a geneticist in New Zealand, first identified a genetic disorder, now known as…
The National Plant Genetic Resources Board was formed
In 1975, The National Plant Genetic Resources Board (NPGRB) was established by the secretary of agriculture in 1975,…
Bioversity International established as the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources
In 1974, Bioversity International was established as the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) to coordinate an…
Victor McKusick published “Mendelian Inheritance in Man”
In 1969, Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying the genetic…
Nature published Watson and Crick’s manuscript describing double helical structure of DNA
On Apr. 25, 1953, Nature published James Watson’s and Francis Crick’s 900-word manuscript describing the double helical structure…
Thomas Hunt Morgan awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity
In 1933, Thomas Hunt Morgan was was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome…
Clarence Cook Little founded a cancer research center in Bar Harbor (The Jackson Laboratory)
On May 4, 1929, Clarence Cook Little founded The Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine,…
William Bateson coined the term genetics
On Apr. 18, 1905, William Bateson suggested the term “genetics” (Greek genno, “to give birth”) to describe the…
British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species” which explained the theory of evolution
On Nov. 24, 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species’ which explained the theory…
An Arab chieftain first used artificial insemination to produce superior horses
In 1322, an Arab chieftain first used artificial insemination to produce superior horses.