Curt Stern facts for kids
Curt Stern (born August 30, 1902 – died October 23, 1981) was a German-born American geneticist. He made important discoveries about how traits are passed down through generations.
Quick facts for kids
Curt Stern
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| Born | 30 August 1902  Hamburg |
| Died | 23 October 1981, 24 October 1981 (aged 79) Sacramento |
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Life Story of Curt Stern
Curt Jacob Stern was born in Hamburg, Germany, on August 30, 1902. His father sold antiques and dental supplies. His mother was a schoolteacher. When Curt was very young, his family moved to a suburb of Berlin.
Early Education and Interests
As a child, Curt loved biology and natural history. He went to the "Hindenburgschule" in Berlin. With support from his teachers and parents, he decided to study zoology. In 1920, at age 18, he started at the University of Berlin.
Doctoral Studies and Early Success
Curt did his Ph.D. studies at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. He studied tiny organisms called protozoa. In 1923, after only three years, he earned his Ph.D. He was the youngest person to get a Ph.D. from that university at the time. This showed how smart and hardworking he was.
Moving to America and Back
Curt read a paper by a famous scientist named Richard Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt was so impressed with Curt's ideas that he offered him a special fellowship. This fellowship allowed Curt to study genetics at Columbia University in New York City. He worked in Thomas Hunt Morgan's lab, known as the "Fly Room." This lab was famous for studying fruit flies, called Drosophila melanogaster, to understand genetics.
Curt lived in New York City from 1924 to 1926. In 1926, his first paper written in English was published. After his fellowship, Curt returned to the University of Berlin. He worked there for six very productive years, from 1926 to 1932. He became a professor in 1928. During this time, he wrote two books and 35 scientific papers. Most of his work was about fruit fly genetics. However, he also wrote about human genetics and the effects of radiation. These topics became very important to him later.
Marriage and Move to the U.S.
On October 29, 1931, Curt Stern married Evelyn Sommerfield. She was an American citizen. They had met at Columbia University in 1925. In 1932, Curt returned to the U.S. for another fellowship. He spent a year at the California Institute of Technology. He worked with many other famous geneticists there.
The year 1933 was very important. Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Hitler's government created a law called the Aryan paragraph. This law limited public service jobs to people who were considered "Aryan." This meant Jewish people like Curt could not work in public service. Evelyn went back to Germany to see if it was safe for Curt to return. They decided it was not safe. So, Curt and Evelyn chose to live in the U.S.
Life in the United States
After a short time at Case Western Reserve University, Curt accepted a job at the University of Rochester in 1933. He became an assistant professor in 1937 and a full professor in 1941. He became an American citizen in 1939. Curt and Evelyn had three daughters: Hildegard, Holly Elizabeth, and Barbara Ellen. Curt also brought his parents to live with his family in Rochester. From 1941 to 1947, he was the head of the Zoology Department.
In 1947, at age 45, he moved to Berkeley. He worked at the University of California until he retired in 1970. He taught many students there. In 1954, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society, a group of important thinkers.
Later Life and Passing
Curt Stern was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1970. This disease affects movement and speech. His last public speech was in 1973. His health declined, and he passed away on October 23, 1981, in Sacramento, California, at age 79.
Curt Stern's Scientific Work
Curt Stern made several key discoveries in genetics.
Discoveries in Chromosomes
In 1931, Stern was the first to show how crossover happens in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). Crossover is when homologous chromosomes (pairs of chromosomes that are similar) exchange parts during cell division. This process helps create genetic diversity. His discovery came just weeks after other scientists showed the same thing in corn.
In 1936, he showed that this "recombination" (mixing of genetic material) can also happen during mitosis. Mitosis is when a cell divides to make two identical cells. This can lead to somatic mosaics. These are organisms that have different types of tissues with different genetic makeups. He also found that the Drosophila Y chromosome has multiple genes. He described how dosage compensation works. This is a process that balances the amount of gene products from sex chromosomes between males and females.
Human Genetics and Social Impact
After World War II began, Stern started focusing on human genetics. He began teaching a seminar in 1939. His work in human genetics was a direct response to harmful ideas like racial hygiene. These ideas were common in Europe and the U.S. at the time. They were based on false beliefs about "pure races" and were used to justify discrimination. These ideas had forced him to leave Germany.
During World War II, he led research for the American government on radiation safety. He built on work he had started in Berlin. His team found that there is no "safe" amount of radiation. Even very low doses can be harmful.
Re-founding Human Genetics
After the war, Stern's research focused even more on human genetics. He became a pioneer in what is now called gene regulation. This is about how genes are turned on and off. Even though he wasn't a doctor, he worked on real-world human genetics cases. In 1943, he started teaching human genetics to medical students.
In 1949, Stern published his important textbook, The Principles of Human Genetics. He wrote it to help pre-medical students learn about the subject. Both his teaching and his book were vital in changing human genetics. They helped make it a field based on science, not on racist ideas. This was a big change from how the subject was often taught before the war.
Stern also signed the 1950 UNESCO statement called The Race Question. This statement was written by leading scientists. It challenged the scientific basis of racial theories and eugenics. These ideas falsely claimed that some races were superior to others.
Notably, Stern translated his human genetics textbook into German. It was published in 1955. This was his first publication in German in 22 years. He continued to review German science books for the journal Science.
Honoring Curt Stern
The American Society of Human Genetics created the Curt Stern Award in 2001. This award recognizes scientists who have made important discoveries in human genetics in the past 10 years.
