John G. White (biologist) facts for kids

John Graham White, born in 1943, is a very important scientist. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This means he retired but still holds a special title. His main work involves studying a tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans and using special laser microscopy tools.

Education and Early Career

John White studied at Brunel University and earned a degree in Physics in 1969. Later, he went to the University of Cambridge for his PhD. He finished his PhD in 1975. His research there focused on using computers to map the nervous system of the Caenorhabditis elegans worm. His supervisor was a famous scientist named Sydney Brenner.

Amazing Discoveries with Tiny Worms

After working at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, John White moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1993. His research looks into how cells divide in the Caenorhabditis elegans worm. This tiny worm is a model organism, which means scientists study it to learn about biology in general.

Mapping the Worm's Brain

John White worked with other scientists like Sydney Brenner and John Sulston. Together, they helped create a special type of microscope called confocal microscopy. This microscope lets scientists see very tiny things in great detail. They used it to map the entire nervous system of the Caenorhabditis elegans worm. This nervous system has 302 neurons (nerve cells) and over 7,000 synapses (connections between nerve cells).

Their detailed map was published in 1986. This work was a big step in a new field called connectomes. A connectome is like a complete wiring diagram of a brain.

Understanding Cell Division

John White also studied how cells interact with each other. He found the first gene that helps decide how nerve cells connect. His work helped other scientists understand how cells develop.

More recently, he and his team confirmed some of their earlier ideas about cytokinesis. This is the process where a cell divides into two new cells. They found genes that control this process. They even discovered features that were once thought to be only in plant cell division.

Developing New Tools

John White saw how useful laser-scanning confocal microscopy could be. He built an early version of this microscope. Working with Brad Amos, he helped turn this prototype into a microscope that is now used all over the world. Many of his students, like Richard Durbin, Julie Ahringer, and Tony Hyman, have also become important scientists.

Awards and Recognition

John White has received several important awards for his work:

• He won the Mullard Award in 1994.
• He became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 1994.
• He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2005. Being a Fellow of the Royal Society is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a special seminar series named after John White. Important scientists like Martin Chalfie and Cornelia Bargmann have given talks there.

Later Life

John White became a professor emeritus in 2008, which means he retired from his full-time teaching duties.