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Isolated DNA from the nuclei of white blood cells.
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Herman Muller showed that exposing fruit flies to X-rays increased the mutation by about 1,500 times.
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George Beadle and Edward Tatum presented the "one gene, one enzyme" hypothesis: Each gene is translated into an enzyme to perform tasks within an organism
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Oswald Avery theorized that DNA, not protein, was Griffiths' "transforming principle."
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Max Delbruck and Salvador Luria organized a course at Cold Spring Harbor Labs, located on New Yorks Long Island, to study a type of bacterial virus that consists of a protein coat containing DNA
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Erwin Chargaff determined there is always a ratio of 1:1 adenine to thymine in DNA of many different creatures.
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Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase performed the famous "blender experiment" using phages.
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James Watson and Francis Crick examined several clues to determine the structure of DNA
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Francis Crick and George Gamow worked out the "central dogma" explaining how DNA functions to make protein.
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Marshall Nirenberg and Severo Ochoa discovered that specific nucleotide sequences in groups of three determine each of 20 amino acids
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Paul Berg cut sections of viral DNA and bacterial DNA with the same restriction enzyme
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Created a plasmid with dual antibiotic resistance by patching together two DNA fragments with different specific antibiotic resistance.
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The first practical application of genetic engineering was the expression of the gene for the human hormone somatostatin in reproducing bacterial cells.
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Havard researchers used genetic engineering techniques to reproduce rat insulin. Genentech, a biotechnology company, produced human insulin.
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Genentech produced human growth hormones and two kinds of interferon.
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The U.S. Supreme Court decided that man-made microbes could be patented
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The first discussion of initiating a Human Genome Project
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The first living mammal was patented. Harvard University received the patent on a line of genetically engineered laboratory mice used in cancer study
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Francis Collins and La-Chee Tsui identify the Cystic Fibrosis gene
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The first successful gene therapy, performed on a girl with an inherited immune deficiency disorder
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The first genetically engineered food is approved by the FDA
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Dolly the Sheep is the first mammal to be cloned
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The joint announcement of a completed "working draft" DNA sequence of the human genome by the public project and the private company, Celera
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Announcement of the final completion of the human genome sequence
