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Overview"This biographical study illuminates one of the most important yet misunderstood figures in the history of science. Barbara McClintock (1902-1992), a geneticist who integrated classical genetics with microscopic observations of the behavior of chromosomes, was regarded as a genius and as an unorthodox, nearly incomprehensible thinker. In 1946, she discovered mobile genetic elements, which she called ""controlling elements."" Thirty-seven years later, she won a Nobel Prize for this work, becoming the third woman to receive an unshared Nobel in science. Since then, McClintock has become an emblem of feminine scientific thinking and the tragedy of narrow-mindedness and bias in science. Using McClintock's research notes, newly available correspondence, and dozens of interviews with McClintock and others, Comfort argues that McClintock's work was neither ignored in the 1950s nor wholly accepted two decades later. Nor was McClintock marginalized by scientists; throughout the decades of her alleged rejection, she remained a distinguished figure in her field. Comfort replaces the ""McClintock myth"" with a new story, rich with implications for our understanding of women in science and scientific creativity." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Nathaniel C. ComfortPublisher: Harvard University Press Imprint: Harvard University Press Edition: New edition Dimensions: Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.513kg ISBN: 9780674011083ISBN 10: 0674011082 Pages: 368 Publication Date: 30 April 2003 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock  The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1 Myth 2 Freedom 3 Integration 4 Pattern 5 Control 6 Complexity 7 Reception 8 Response 9 Renaissance 10 Synthesis Appendix: A Molecular Epilogue Notes Interviews Index Photographs follow page 68.ReviewsThis readable biography of one of the twentieth century's most important geneticists interweaves fact and insight about McClintock as both person and scientist. Her discovery of mobile genetic elements in corn and her efforts to resolve fundamental problems in biology...make her...a rare visionary. - Natural History An important contribution to the history of genetics...[McClintock's] life has served as a role model for women in science and as an example of the success that can come from unconventional thought and an independent approach. By...revealing the very human scientist, Comfort has given us a more accessible role model. - Susan Wessler, Science Author InformationNATHANIEL C. COMFORT is Deputy Director, Center for History of Recent Science, George Washington University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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