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First Kidney Transplant
The first kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph Murray on the Herrick twins, Richard and Ronald. The receiving twin would go on to live for 8 years after the transplant. -
Discovery of DNA Polymerase
Arthur Kornberg and his team of biochemists isolate and purify the enzyme that synthesizes DNA. Kornberg names this enzyme DNA polymerase. He goes on to synthesize DNA from various sources using the enzyme within a month of its discovery. -
Codons Deciphered
Marshall Nirenberg and J. Heinrich Matthaei use a free-cell system to translate UUU and determine that it codes for the protein phenylalanine, marking the first deciphering of an RNA codon. -
First Successful Recombinant DNA Experiment
Dr. Stanley Cohen and Dr. Herbert Boyer introduce recombinant DNA plasmids into E. coli bacteria treated with calcium chloride, spread the bacteria on a culture with tetracycline, and find that only bacteria with rDNA plasmids survive. -
Human Insulin Genetically Engineered
David Goeddel and the scientists of Genentech synthesize recombinant DNA human insulin from two amino acid chains found in E. Coli. -
Genetic Fingerprinting Discovered
At the University of Leicester, Dr. Alec Jeffreys develops the technique of genetic fingerprinting, which identifies people based on DNA nucleotide sequences. -
Invention of the Automatic DNA Sequencer
Lloyd M. Smith and Applied Biosystems introduce the first automatic DNA sequencing machine, which uses methods developed by Laureate Frederick Sanger. -
First Baboon-to-Human Bone Marrow Transplant
At 38 years old, AIDS patient and activist Jeff Getty becomes the first human to receive a bone marrow transplant from a baboon at San Francisco General Hospital. Getty goes on to live for 11 years after the transplant. -
Development of the GeneChip
Affymetrix and scientists at Stanford University develop the HIV genotyping glass/silica microchip known as the GeneChip for simultaneous analysis of thousands of genes. -
Completion of Human Genome Project
After 13 years, the Human Genome Project's goal of mapping all genes of the human genome is accomplished. -
Conversion of Human Skin Cells into Embryonic Stem Cells
The biologist who first discovered the human embryonic stem cell figures out how to create them using human skin cells. -
Syn 3.0
6 years after his first transplant of a self-replicating synthetic genome into a bacterial cell, Dr. Craig Venter announces his creation of a synthetic genome called Syn 3.0. Syn 3.0 has only 473 genes, making it the freely living organism with the fewest genes.