Father of Genetic Engineering Overview
Paul Berg began genetic engineering in 1972. He incorporated the SV-40 viral gene into the bacteria using the lambda phage. Berg is sometimes nicknamed the "Father of Genetic Engineering". He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980.
What is Genetic engineering?
Genetic engineering is also known as "genetic modification" or "genetic manipulation." This is a fundamental change in an organism's genes using biotechnology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the movement of genes inside and beyond species boundaries, in order to generate better or unique creatures.
Note: In medicine, genetic engineering is utilized to mass-produce insulin, Follistim, monoclonal antibodies, human albumin, antihemophilic causes, and many other drugs. Cells are genetically changed in research to determine the functions of certain genes.
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Who is the Father of Genetic Engineering?
Paul Berg (born June 30, 1926) is an American scientist and retired Stanford University professor. In 1980, he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger. Berg studied biochemistry at Penn State University throughout his undergraduate studies. In 1952, he got his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University. Berg taught at the Washington University School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine, as well as serving as the head of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. Berg was also awarded the National Medal of Science in 1983 and the National Library of Medicine Medal in 1986, in addition to the Nobel Prize. Berg is a member of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Board of Sponsors.
The following table shows the details about Paul Berg-
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Particulars |
Details |
|
Name |
Paul Berg |
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Birth Date |
June 30, 1926 |
|
Age |
96 years old |
|
Place of Birth |
Brooklyn, New York |
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Known For |
Recombinant DNA |
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Alma Mater |
Pennsylvania State University (BS) Case Western Reserve University (Ph.D.) |
|
Spouse Name |
Mildred Levy ​(m. 1947) |
|
Children |
1 |
|
Award |
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1980) AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility (1982) National Medal of Science (1983) Max Delbrück Medal (1999) |
Father of Genetic Engineering Early Life and Education
Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Russian Jewish immigrant couple, Sarah Brodsky, a housewife, and Harry Berg, a garment manufacturer. Berg graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1943 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Penn State University in 1948, followed by a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1952. He is a member of the fraternity Beta Sigma Rho.
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Father of Genetic Engineering Research and Career
Academic Posts
Berg worked as a postdoctoral fellow with the American Cancer Society for two years (1952-1954), working at the Institute of Cytophysiology in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Washington University School of Medicine, and also as a Scholar in Cancer Research with the Department of Microbiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in 1954. While at Washington University, he collaborated with Arthur Kornberg. Berg was also a research fellow at Clare Hall in Cambridge. From 1955 until 1959, he was a professor at the Washington University School of Medicine. Berg relocated to Stanford University in 1959, where he taught biochemistry from 1959 to 2000 and directed the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine from 1985 to 2000. He retired from managerial and teaching positions in 2000 but remained engaged in research.
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Research Interests
Berg's postgraduate research focused on the use of radioactive tracers to investigate intermediate metabolism. He was also among the first to show that folic acid and B12 cofactors had roles in the aforementioned processes. Berg is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking work on recombinant DNA gene splicing. Berg was the first scientist to introduce DNA from another species into a molecule to generate a molecule with DNA from two distinct species. This gene-splicing method was a critical milestone in the evolution of contemporary genetic engineering. Berg used the approach in his investigations of viral chromosomes after creating it.
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Father of Genetic Engineering Awards and Honors
Nobel Prize
Berg received one-half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980, with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger sharing the other half. Berg was acknowledged for "his foundational studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with special relevance to recombinant DNA," while Sanger and Gilbert were awarded for "their contributions involving the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids."
Other Awards and Honors
In 1966, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the United States National Academy of Sciences. Ronald Reagan awarded Berg the National Medal of Science in 1983. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society the same year. In 1989, he earned the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award. In 1992, he was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS). The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation honored him with the Biotechnology Heritage Award in 2005. In 2006, he was awarded the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization by Wonderfest.
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