H. J. Muller
H.J. Muller was born Dec. 21, 1890 in New York. He died on April 5, 1967. He was an American geneticist best remembered for his demonstration that mutations and hereditary changes can be caused by X rays striking the genes and chromosomes of living cells. His discovery of artificially induced mutations in genes had far-reaching consequences, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1946.
Education Muller attended Columbia University from 1907 to 1909.His interest in genetics was originally influenced by E.B. Wilson, the founder of the cellular approach to heredity, and later by T.H. Morgan, who had just introduced the fruit fly Drosophila as a tool in experimental genetics. The initial motive in Muller's scientific work and social attitudes was the possibility of consciously guiding the evolution of man. His early experience at Columbia convinced him that the first necessary prerequisite was a better understanding of the processes of heredity and variation.
Research A laboratory assistantship in zoology in 1912 allowed him to spend part of his time doing research on Drosophila at Columbia. He produced a series of papers, now classic, on the mechanism of crossing-over of genes, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1916. His dissertation established the principle of the linear linkage of genes in heredity. The work of the Drosophila group, headed by Morgan, was summarized in 1915 in the book The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity. This book is a cornerstone of classical genetics.
Achievements Muller became a professor at the University of Texas. He spent 12 years in Austin which turned out to be the most scientifically productive years of his life.His studies of the processes and frequencies of mutations enabled Muller to form a picture of the arrangements and recombinations of genes and later led to his experimental induction of genetic mutations through the use of X rays in 1926. Due to this unique discovery his status as a geneticist became internationally recognised.This resulted in him being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1946.One significant advantage of winning the Nobel Prize for Muller was the ability to publicize one of his major concerns--the dangers posed by accumulating spontaneous mutations in the human gene pool as a result of industrial processes and radiation. He was foremost in promoting public awareness of the dangers of radiation to future generations. He also became more actively involved in discussions on the relaxed processes of natural selection operating in modern society, and he made a controversial suggestion that the sperm of gifted men be frozen and preserved as part of a purposeful program of eugenics for future generations.
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