Edwin Southern facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir
Edwin Southern
FRS FRSE
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Sir Edwin in 2012
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| Born |
Edwin Mellor Southern
7 June 1938 Burnley, United Kingdom
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| Education |
University of Manchester (BSc)
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| Known for | Southern blot |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Molecular Biology |
| Institutions |
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| Thesis | Studies on synthetic and naturally occurring enzyme metabolites (1964) |
| Doctoral students | Robin Allshire |
Sir Edwin Mellor Southern is a famous English scientist. He is a molecular biologist who won the Lasker Award. He used to be a professor of biochemistry at the University of Oxford. He is best known for inventing the "Southern blot" in 1975. This is a very important method used in science labs today.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Edwin Southern was born on June 7, 1938, in Burnley, Lancashire, England. He went to Burnley Grammar School when he was younger. He has a brother named John and a sister named Kay.
He studied Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He earned his first degree there in 1958. Later, he continued his studies at the University of Glasgow. He earned his PhD (a higher university degree) in 1962.
Career and Scientific Discoveries
Sir Edwin has done a lot of important work in science. He also started and leads a company called Oxford Gene Technology (OGT). This company helps develop new ways to study genes.
He also started two charities: The Kirkhouse Trust (in 2000) and the Edina Trust. These charities help support science education and research. They get money from his inventions, especially from a technology called microarrays.
The Southern Blot Method
The Southern blot is a special technique used to study DNA. DNA is like the instruction manual for all living things. This method was very important for genetic fingerprinting. It was also used for paternity testing to find out who a person's parents are.
Scientists also use the Southern blot to count how many copies of a gene are in an organism's genome. The ideas behind the Southern blot helped create modern microarray slides. These slides are widely used tools in science experiments. Other similar methods, like the northern blot and western blot, are named after Sir Edwin's invention.
DNA Microarray Technology
In 1995, Sir Edwin started Oxford Gene Technology (OGT). This company focused on developing DNA microarray technology. Microarrays are tiny chips that can test thousands of genes at once.
In 1999, OGT won an important lawsuit against another company called Affymetrix. This lawsuit was about who owned the rights to the microarray technology that Sir Edwin invented.
Awards and Recognition
Sir Edwin Southern has received many important awards for his scientific work.
- In 1990, he won the Gairdner Foundation International Award.
- In 1998, he was given the Royal Medal by the Royal Society of London.
- He received an award for excellence in molecular diagnostics in 1999.
- In 2003, he was made a Knight Bachelor by the Queen. This means he can be called "Sir."
- In 2005, he won the famous Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research. He shared this award with Alec Jeffreys for inventing the Southern blot.
- He also received an award from the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities in 2005.
- In 2012, he became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
His nomination for the Royal Society praised his groundbreaking work. It mentioned how he studied DNA sequences in chromosomes. He was one of the first to figure out the sequence of DNA in a eukaryotic cell. He also showed how repetitive DNA might have developed. His "blot" technique became incredibly useful for identifying specific DNA sequences. He also made important discoveries about how DNA is copied into RNA and how DNA is changed by DNA methylation.
Images for kids
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Sir Edwin in 2012
