BIO SCIENTISTS – CONTRIBUTIONS – DISCOVERIES - EVENTS

Name of the
Sl. Year /
Institution / Contribution / Event Other information
no Period
scientist/s
1 1951 - ‘Family planning’
Central Drug
Saheli a new oral
2 --- Research Insti Lucknow, UP
contraceptive pill
tute (CDRI)
Government of India legalised
3 1971 ---
MTP to avoid its misuse.
1856- Conducted hybridization
4 Gregor Mendel for 7 years
1863 experiments on garden pea
Principles / Laws of Mendel published his
Inheritance: Law of work on inheritance of
Dominance (First Law) and the characters in 1865 but
5 1865 Gregor Mendel
Law of Segregation (Second for several reasons, it
Law), Law of Independent remain unrecognised
Assortment (third law) till 1900.
Hugo de Vries,
independently rediscovered
6 1900 C. Correns and
Mendel’s laws
von Tschermak
pairing and separation
of a pair of
Sutton and Chromosomal Theory of chromosomes would
7 1902
Boveri Inheritance lead to the segregation
of a pair of factors
they carried
Coined the terms linkage and linkage = physical
recombination association of genes on
Thomas Hunt Experimental verification of a chromosome
Morgan the chromosomal theory of
8 ---
and his inheritance, Worked with the Recombination =
colleagues, tiny fruit flies, Drosophila generation of non-
melanogaster to study genes parental gene
that were sex-linked combinations
Used frequency of
recombination between gene mapped the position
Alfred
9 --- pairs on the same chromosome of genes on the
Sturtevant
as a measure of the chromosomes
distance between genes
It is a graphical repre-
sentation to calculate
Reginald Punnett Square (Checker the probability of all
10 ---
C. Punnett. Board) was developed. possible genotypes of
offspring in a genetic
cross.
 incomplete Dominance
11 --- C. Correns In Snap dragon plant
(= Blending Inheritance)
12 1891 Henking ‘X’ body
additional copy of the
First described the genetic
13 1866 Langdon Down chromosome 21
disorder Down’s Syndrome
(trisomy of 21).
Friedrich
14 1869 He named DNA as ‘Nuclein’
Meischer
Based on the X-ray
diffraction data
Proposed Double Helix model produced by Wilkins &
for the structure of DNA. Rosalind Franklin
James Watson
Base pair rule: the
15 1953 and Francis
Base pair rule based on the ratios between
Crick
observation of Erwin Chargaff Adenine & Thymine
and Guanine &
Cytosine are constant
and equals one
It states that the
Proposed Central dogma in
Francis Crick genetic information
16 --- molecular biology,
flows from DNA
RNA Protein
Nucleosome model for
17 --- R D Kornberg packaging of DNA helix in
eukaryotic cells
Transformation
Frederick
18 1928 experiments with
Griffith
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Determined the biochemical They concluded that
Oswald Avery,
nature of transforming DNA is the hereditary
19 1933-44 MacLeod and
principle based on Griffith’s material, but not RNA
McCarty
experiment and proteins
worked with bacterio-
Hershey & The unequivocal proof that phages, used
20 1952
Chase DNA is the genetic material radioactive
phosphorus & sulfur
They quotes as
follows:
‘‘It has not escaped
our notice that the
proposed a scheme for semi
Watson and specific pairing we
21 1953 conservative method of
Crick have postulated
DNA replication
immediately suggests
a possible copying
mechanism for the
genetic material’’
 Polymerase Chain
22 1985 Kary Mullis Developed PCR technique
Reaction.
Performed the experiments in
E. coli in a cesium chloride 15N is the heavy
Meselson and 15
22 1958 medium containing NH4Cl to isotope of nitrogen
Stahl
prove that DNA replicates
semi conservatively.
Experiments on Vicia faba
Used radioactive
(faba beans) proved that the
Taylor and thymidine
23 1958 DNA in chromosomes
colleagues
(eukaryotes) also replicate
semi conservatively.
Argued that since there are a permutation combina
3
only 4 bases and if they have -tion of 4 (4 × 4 × 4)
George
to code for 20 amino acids, the would generate 64
24 --- Gamow,
code should constitute a triplet codons; (many
a physicist
combination of three more codons than
nucleotide bases. required)
experimental proof that the
Marshall Nirenberg,
codon was a triplet,
Robert Holley and H.
Har Gobind synthesized RNA molecules
25 --- G. Khorana – who
Khorana with defined combinations of
shared noble prize in
bases (homopolymers and
1968
copolymers)
Severo Ochoa enzyme
(polynucleotide
Discovery of Genetic Code.
phosphorylase) was used
Marshall enzymatic synthesis of RNA
26 --- in polymerising RNA
Nirenberg (Cell-free system for protein
with defined sequences
synthesis )
in a template
independent manner.
He postulated that to read the
t-RNA would on one
code and also to link it to the
hand read the code
Francis amino acids, there is a need
27 --- and on other hand
Crick of an adapter molecule ie,
would bind to specific
t-RNA, (OR) soluble RNA
amino acids
(s-RNA)
First to elucidate a
Jacob and transcriptionally regulated
28 ---
Monod system of gene expression ie,
Lac-operon concept
Human Genome Project HGP = sequencing
29 1990 ---
launched human genome
Human Genome Project
30 2003 ---
completed
The sequencing of
31 May 2006
chromosome 1 was completed
 Sequencing the DNA fragments Developed a method
Frederick using automated DNA for determination of
32 -----
Sanger sequencers. amino acid sequences
in proteins.
Sir Alec DNA fingerprinting / DNA
33 ---
Jeffreys profiling
Life comes only from
Biogenesis theory on origin
pre-existing life.
of life by using pre-sterilised
34 --- Louis Pasteur Spontaneous
swan necked flask
generation theory
experiments.
was disproved
Proposed chemical evolution Formation of life was
Oparin of theory of origin of life. preceded by chemical
Russia and First form of life could have evolution, i.e.,
35 ---
Haldane of come from pre-existing non- formation of diverse
England living organic molecules organic molecules from
(like. RNA, protein, etc.) inorganic constituents
They created pre-biotic earth
This experiment gives
conditions in the spark
Stanley Miller a support to the
36 1953 discharge apparatus and
and Heald Urey chemical evolution
succeed in getting biological
theory of Oparin
organic molecules
Concluded that
existing living forms
Natural Selection theory of share similarities to
organic evolution. varying degrees not
Branching descent and only among
37 1859 Charles Darwin
natural selection are the two themselves but also
key concepts of Darwinian with life forms that
Theory of Evolution existed millions of
years ago.

Jointly proposed the

1)Influence of environment
on organisms, 2) Effect of use
39 --- Lamark and disuse of an organ Examples of Giraffes
3) Inheritance of acquired
characters
Thomas Wrote a book “An Essay on This book influenced
40 ---
Malthus populations” Darwin
 Saltation = single
step large mutation.
He studied mutations
Mutation theory and
41 1901 Hugo deVries in the plant enothera
Saltation
lamarkiana (=
evening prime rose =
4 ‘O’ clock plant)
Law of Genetic Equilibrium. proposed this principle
(Allele frequencies in a by calculating the gene
Hardy &
42 1908 population are stable and is frequencies as (p + q)2
Weinberg
constant from generation to = p2 + q2 + 2pq = 1
generation) and always constat.
First cellular forms of life
43 2000 mya
appeared on earth.
44 500 mya Invertebrates were formed
Sea weeds and few plants
45 320 mya
existed
A Coelacanth fish caught in These animals called
South Africa which was lobefins evolved into
46 1938 thought to be extinct. These the first amphibians
were ancestors of modern that lived on both land
day frogs and salamanders and water
47 200 mya fish like reptiles evolved e.g. Ichthyosaurs
Dinosaurs suddenly
48 65 mya
disappeared from the earth
Primates called Dryopithecus
49 15 mya and Ramapithecus were
evolved
Australopithecines probably
50 2 mya
lived in East African grasslands
Homo erectus lived with brain Fossils discovered in
51 1.5 mya
capacities 900cc. Java in 1891
between
Neanderthal man with a
1,00,000-
52 brain size of 1400cc lived in
40,000
near east and central Asia
years back
between 75,000-
53 modern Homo sapiens arose ice age
10,000 years ago
18,000 Pre-historic cave art
54
years ago developed
around
Agriculture practices Cultural & psychological
55 10,000
developed human settlement development of man
years back
56