Stevens, Nettie Maria

Stevens, Nettie Maria

▪ American biologist and geneticist
born July 7, 1861, Cavendish, Vt., U.S.
died May 4, 1912, Baltimore, Md.

      American biologist and geneticist who was one of the first scientists to find that sex is determined by a particular configuration of chromosomes (chromosome).

      Stevens's early life is somewhat obscure, although it is known that she taught school and attended the State Normal School (now Westfield State College) in Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1881–83. In 1896 she entered Stanford University, earning a B.A. in 1899 and an M.A. in 1900. She began doctoral studies in biology at Bryn Mawr College, which included a year of study (1901–02) at the Zoological Station in Naples, Italy, and at the Zoological Institute of the University of Würzburg, Germany. She received a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr in 1903 and remained at the college as a research fellow in biology for a year, as reader in experimental morphology for another year, and as associate in experimental morphology from 1905 until her death.

      Stevens's earliest field of research was the morphology and taxonomy of the ciliate protozoa; her first published paper, in 1901, had dealt with such a protozoan. She soon turned to cytology and the regenerative process. One of her major papers in that field was written in 1904 with zoologist and geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan (Morgan, Thomas Hunt), who in 1933 would win the Nobel Prize for his work. Her investigations into regeneration led her to a study of differentiation in embryos and then to a study of chromosomes. In 1905, after experiments with the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), she published a paper in which she announced her finding that a particular combination of the chromosomes known as X and Y was responsible for the determination of the sex of an individual.

      This discovery, also announced independently that year by Edmund Beecher Wilson (Wilson, Edmund Beecher) of Columbia University, not only ended the long-standing debate over whether sex was a matter of heredity or embryonic environmental influence but also was the first firm link between a heritable characteristic and a particular chromosome. Stevens continued her research on the chromosome makeup of various insects, discovering supernumerary chromosomes in certain insects and the paired state of chromosomes in flies and mosquitoes.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nettie Maria Stevens — (* 7. Juli 1861 in Cavendish, Vermont; † 4. Mai 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland) war eine frühe US amerikanische Genetikerin. Zusammen mit Edmund Beecher Wilson beschrieb sie erstmals die chromosomengebundene Vererbung des Geschlechts. Nettie Stevens …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nettie Stevens — Born July 7, 1861 Died …   Wikipedia

  • Nettie Stevens — Nettie Maria Stevens (* 7. Juli 1861 in Cavendish, Vermont; † 4. Mai 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland) war eine frühe US amerikanische Genetikerin. Zeitgleich mit Edmund B. Wilson beschrieb sie erstmals die chromosomengebundene Vererbung des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nettie Stevens — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Stevens. Nettie Maria Stevens Naissance 7 juillet 1861 Cavendish (Vermont) (États Unis) Décès 4 mai 1912 Baltimore (Maryl …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nettie Stevens — 150px Nettie Stevens en 1904 Nacimiento 7 de julio de 1861 Fallecimiento 4 de mayo de 1912 Nacionalidad …   Wikipedia Español

  • Nettie — may refer to: Contents 1 Fictional characters 2 Literature 3 Medicine 4 Music 5 People …   Wikipedia

  • Calvin Blackman Bridges — (* 11. Januar 1889 in Schuyler Falls, New York; † 27. Dezember 1938, in Los Angeles, Kalifornien ) war ein US amerikanischer Genetiker. Zusammen mit Alfred Sturtevant und Hermann J. Muller gehörte er zur Morgan Gruppe, die gemeinsam im legendären …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Стивенс, Нетти — Нетти Стивенс Nettie Stevens …   Википедия

  • List of biologists — This is a list of notable biologists. It includes zoologists, botanists, ornithologists, malacologists, naturalists and other specialities. See also: *List of botanists by author abbreviation *List of zoologists by author abbreviation. *List of… …   Wikipedia

  • Calvin Bridges — Calvin Blackman Bridges (* 11. Januar 1889 in Schuyler Falls, New York; † 27. Dezember 1938, in Los Angeles, Kalifornien ) war ein US amerikanischer Genetiker. Zusammen mit Alfred Sturtevant und Hermann J. Muller gehörte er zur Morgan Gruppe, die …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”