John H. Edwards facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John H. Edwards
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| Born | 26 March 1928  |
| Died | 11 October 2007 (aged 79) |
John Hilton Edwards (born March 26, 1928 – died October 11, 2007) was an important British scientist who studied genetics. Genetics is the study of how traits are passed down from parents to children. He is famous for being the first to describe a condition called Edwards syndrome, also known as trisomy 18. This syndrome happens when a baby has an extra chromosome.
Discovering Edwards Syndrome
John H. Edwards was the first to describe a specific group of congenital malformations. These are problems that babies are born with. He found that these problems were linked to having an extra chromosome.
Chromosomes are tiny structures inside our cells that carry our genes. Humans usually have 23 pairs of chromosomes, making 46 in total. Edwards discovered that babies with this syndrome had an extra chromosome in the "E group." This group includes chromosomes 16, 17, and 18. Later, it was confirmed that the extra chromosome was number 18. This is why the condition is now called trisomy 18 (tri means three, so it's three copies of chromosome 18 instead of two).
His Life and Work
In 1979, John H. Edwards was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected group of scientists in the United Kingdom. Being a Fellow means you are recognized for your excellent scientific work.
He also worked at Oxford University, which is a famous university in England. He was a Fellow at Keble College, Oxford. From 1979 to 1995, he was a Professor of Genetics at Oxford. This means he taught and did research on genetics there for many years.
A Family of Scientists
John H. Edwards came from a family of scientists. His father, Harold C. Edwards, was a surgeon. A surgeon is a doctor who performs operations. John's brother, A.W.F. Edwards, is also a geneticist and a statistician. A statistician uses math to understand data.
Early in his career, John H. Edwards worked with another famous scientist named Lancelot Hogben. Sometimes, people would call John H. Edwards "Hogben's Edwards" to tell him apart from his brother.
