Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
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| Born | 20 October 1942 Magdeburg, Germany
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| Alma mater | Goethe University Frankfurt University of Tübingen (PhD) |
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| Thesis | Zur spezifischen Protein-Nukleinsäure-Wechselwirkung : die Bindung von RNS-Polymerase aus Escherichia coli an die Replikative-Form-DNS des Bakteriophagen fd und die Charakterisierung der Bindungsstellen (1974) |
| Doctoral advisor | Heinz Schaller |
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (born 20 October 1942) is a German scientist. She studies how living things develop from a single cell. In 1995, she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She is the only German woman to win a science Nobel Prize.
Nüsslein-Volhard earned her PhD in 1974. She studied how proteins and DNA work together. In 1995, she shared the Nobel Prize with Eric F. Wieschaus and Edward B. Lewis. They won for their amazing discoveries about how genes control the early development of an embryo.
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Early Life and Education
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard was born in Magdeburg, Germany, on October 20, 1942. She was the second of five children. Her father, Rolf Volhard, was an architect. Her mother, Brigitte Haas Volhard, was a nursery school teacher. Christiane grew up in south Frankfurt. She learned to pay close attention to details, which helped her in science.
After finishing high school in 1962, she thought about becoming a doctor. But after a month of nursing, she decided it wasn't for her. Instead, she chose to study biology at Goethe University Frankfurt. In 1964, she moved to the University of Tübingen. There, she started a new course in biochemistry. She wanted to study the most modern science topics.
She received her biochemistry diploma in 1969. In 1974, she earned her PhD. Her research focused on how proteins and DNA interact.
A Career in Science
In 1975, Nüsslein-Volhard became a researcher in Switzerland. She worked at the Biozentrum University of Basel. She became an expert in the development of Drosophila melanogaster, also known as the fruit fly.
In 1978, she started her own lab in Heidelberg. She worked with Eric Wieschaus. Together, they studied about 20,000 different fruit fly families. They looked for flies with changes in their body patterns. They found about 600 such flies. From these, they discovered that only about 120 genes were key for early development. In 1980, they published their findings. They identified 15 genes that control the body segments of the fruit fly larva.
In 1981, Nüsslein-Volhard moved to Tübingen, Germany. From 1984 until she retired in 2014, she was a director. She led the genetics department at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology. After 1984, she began studying how vertebrates develop. She used the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as her main research animal.
In 2004, she started the Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Foundation. This foundation helps young German women scientists who have children. It provides support for childcare. This allows them to continue their important research.
Understanding Development
In the late 1970s, scientists didn't know much about how a single cell grows into a complex living thing. Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus changed that. They used a method called "genetic screens." They created small, random changes, called mutations, in fruit flies. Some of these changes affected how the embryo developed.
They looked closely at the fruit fly larvae. These larvae have body segments and tiny tooth-like structures called denticles. By studying the changes in these patterns, they figured out which genes were important. They even gave these genes fun names. Some were called hedgehog, gurken (German for "cucumbers"), and Krüppel ("cripple").
Their work showed how body segments develop step-by-step. These experiments were huge and took a lot of effort. But their discoveries were important for all living things, not just fruit flies.
Their findings also helped us understand evolution better. For example, they showed that many different animals might have come from a common ancestor. This ancestor likely had a more complex body plan than thought before. Their research also greatly improved our knowledge of how genes are controlled. It also showed how cells decide what they will become during development.
Nüsslein-Volhard is also linked to the discovery of the Toll gene. This discovery led to finding "toll-like receptors." These are important parts of our immune system.
Personal Life
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard lives in Bebenhausen, Germany. She enjoys singing and playing the flute. She also likes to play chamber music. In 2006, she even published a cookbook! She does not have any children.
Awards and Honors
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard has received many important awards.
- 1986: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
- 1991: Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
- 1992: Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine
- 1995: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 2005: Grand Merit Cross with Star and Sash of the Federal Republic of Germany
She has also received many honorary degrees from top universities. These include Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford.
She is a member of many important scientific groups. These include the Royal Society in London and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington.
See also
