Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist (Spotlight Biography)

Barbara McClintock’s most noted discovery, “jumping genes,” changed the world of modern genetics and her name is recognized worldwide. In 1983, at age eighty-one, she became the first woman ever to receive an unshared Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Before then few people, including other scientists, understood the importance of McClintock’s research. For decades she worked on her own in the fields, growing crops of maize—Indian corn—and in her lab, studying the inner workings of generations of corn. With quiet brilliance, she found joy in her detailed experiments, seldom bothering to publish her findings, never seeking the spotlight. Against all odds, this unassuming scientist persisted, bringing focus, big ideas, and gentle humor to her work. Her startling discoveries applied not just to maize, but to all living organisms.

Even as a child, Barbara McClintock had no interest in dolls or tea parties. She loved playing sports and being out in the natural world noticing things others missed. In high school she was drawn to science and went on to earn a Ph.D. in botany from Cornell University, then began her research career, often scrambling for funds to support her work. In the end, McClintock’s groundbreaking discoveries earned her wide respect and numerous distinguished honors.

Read this fascinating portrait of a scientist who harnessed her dreams and her intellect to challenge the world's understanding of heredity. This title is the first in the new Spotlight Biographies ebook series for readers ages nine and up featuring well-researched, in-depth biographies about people who have made a difference.