Post on 04-Jan-2016
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THE EARLY YEARS
Born on January 13, 1927
From Germiston, South Africa
Attended the University of the Witwatersrand to study medicine at the age of fifteen
Failed a class in medicine and had to retake it and surgery for his degree
He then went to Oxford University for a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry
Explored into molecular biology at its birth – visited Cambridge to see the Watson and Crick model of DNA
COLLEGE AND BEGINNING RESEARCH
Worked with bacteriophage and did some research with viruses in Berkeley during a trip to America
Stayed in contact with Watson and Crick, from which many of their conversations resulted in exciting ideas
Received a Doctorate of Philosophy from Exeter College
Worked for 25 years at the Medical Research Council Unit in Cambridge
MODEL ORGANISMS
A model organism is an organism that is used to study a specific trait, disease, or phenomenon, usually having a short generation time, having similarities to humans, and are easily accessible for laboratory studies
Brenner had a goal to study the nervous system and searched for an organism that met the previously mentioned requirements
He came across Caenorhabditis elegans and began his research on it because of its simple and short life and reproductive cycles, its transparency, and its availability
Caenorhabditis elegans is a soil nematode common around the world
http://testweb.science.uu.nl/developmentalbiology/elegans_mike.html
C. elegans It is cultivated in large numbers (10,000 worms/petri
dish) Has six pairs of chromosomes (1 pair of sex
chromosomes) Two sexes: hermaphrodites and males Hermaphrodites can produce 300+ offspring self-
fertilizing and more when fertilizing with males These properties allow for easy production of
numerous genotypes and/or phenotypes in genetic research through the different types and large amounts of reproduction
Constantly contains 959 cells These cells’ positions are constant and each one was
mapped Makes it easy to track traits and mutations within a
specific cell
Its genome is about 100,000,000 base pairs Completely sequenced in 1998 (first multicellular
organism with a completely sequenced genome)http://www.easternct.edu/~adams/ModelOrganismHomePage.html
C. elegans Significance
Introduced a need for a new branch of biological research
Demonstrated why developmental biology and molecular biology are important
Helps one understand diseases and find differentiation
It created a better genetic understanding of humans As a multicellular organism, its processes were much more like a human’s than
of the bacteria previously studied
The C. elegans genome matches 40% of the human genome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans
APOPTOSIS
Programmed cell death
Brenner noticed that the number of cells remained at 959 although it gained 131 more cells during adulthood
Identified genes in C. elegans that controlled it These genes are also in humans and carry out the same task
Apoptosis was just starting to be discovered at this point in the 70s
NOBEL PRIZE
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2002
It was jointly awarded and he shared it with H. Robert Horvitz and Sir John Sulston
Awarded for discoveries in genetic regulation of organ development and PCD
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2002/brenner-photo.html
CAREER ACCOLADES
Fellow of the Royal Society (1965)
Albert Lasker Medical Research Award (1971)
Kyoto Prize (1990)
Gairdner Foundation International Award (1991)
Albert Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science (2000)
Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (2002)
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2002/brenner-photo.html
INTERESTING FACTS
He is currently a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA
In a recent interview, he stated that “the thing is to have no discipline at all. Biology got its main success by the importation of physicists that came into the field not knowing any biology and I think today that’s very important”
Developed a genome project for Fugu rubripes, the Japanese puffer fish, after C. elegans
Established the Molecular Science Institution in Berkeley, CA to process information gathered from various new genome sequencing projects
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/103823
SOURCES
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2002/brenner-bio.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/891288/Sydney-Brenner
http://wormclassroom.org/short-history-c-elegans-research
http://hobertlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Ankeny_2001.pdf
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/Apoptosis.html
http://kingsreview.co.uk/magazine/blog/2014/02/24/how-academia-and-publishing-are-destroying-scientific-innovation-a-conversation-with-sydney-brenner/
http://www.dnalc.org/view/16491-Biography-21-Sydney-Brenner-1927-.html
http://www.salk.edu/faculty/brenner.html