~James Watson AND Francis Crick~
James Watson, Francis Crick, and along with colleague Maurice Wilkins, received the 1962 Nobel Prize for discovering the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA. This was widely regarded as one of the most essential scientific breakthrough of the 20th century. It has led the way to the mapping and deciphering of all the genes in the human chromosomes.
~Gregor Darwin~
Gregor Mendel was the first person to trace the characteristics of successive generations of a living thing. Mendel's attraction to research was based on his love of nature. Not only was he interested in plants, but also in meteorology and theories of evolution.
~Charles Drew~
Dr. Drew set up and ran the blood plasma bank in the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, which served as one of the models for the widespread system of blood banks now in operation for the American Red Cross. During his two years at Montreal General Hospital, as an intern and resident doctor, he found it fascinating and decided to give further attention to blood research. Doctor Drew's cause of death was that of a broken neck and complete blockage of the blood flow back to the heart. In the accident, he was half thrown out of the car and actually crushed to death by the car as it rolled over.
~Charles Darwin~
Darwin was the British naturalist who became famous for his theories of evolution and natural selection. During the years of 1831-1836, he went on an expedition around the world. Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival of an organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment, which is where the terms "survival for the fittest" comes from.
~Louis Pasteur~
His discovery that most contagious diseases are caused by germs, known as the "germ theory of disease", is one of the most important in medical history. Each discovery in the body of Pasteur's work represents a tie in a continuous chain, beginning with molecular asymmetry and ending with his rabies prophylaxis, by way of his research in fermentation, silkworm, wine and beer diseases, asepsis and vaccines. His work became the basis of a new science, stereochemistry.
~Carolus Linnaeus~
Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) is often called the Father of Taxonomy, for his system for naming, ranking, and classifying organisms. His ideas on classification have influenced generations of biologists during and after his own lifetime, even those opposed to the philosophical and theological roots of his work.
~Rachel Carson~
After completing her education, Carson joined the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries as the writer of a radio show entitled "Romance Under the Waters," in which she was able to explore life under the seas and bring it to listeners. In 1936, after being the first woman to take and pass the civil service test, the Bureau of Fisheries hired her as a full-time junior biologist, and over the next 15 years, she rose in the ranks until she was the chief editor of all publications for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
~Jane Goodall~
Jane Goodall was determined to travel to Africa and live out her childhood dream of working with wildlife. Jane made the trip to Kenya by boat at the age of 23, when she heard of Dr. Louis Leakey, who decided that Jane Goodall was the unique individual he was looking for to begin a study of wild chimpanzees on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. That is how it all began…
