Maclyn McCarty facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maclyn McCarty
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Maclyn McCarty with Francis Crick and James D Watson
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| Born | June 9, 1911 |
| Died | January 2, 2005 (aged 93) |
| Known for | Role in the discovery that DNA is the carrier of genes |
| Awards | Eli Lilly and Company-Elanco Research Award 1946 Robert Koch Prize (Gold, 1981) Wolf Prize for Medicine (1990) |
Maclyn McCarty (born June 9, 1911 – died January 2, 2005) was an American geneticist. He was a research scientist who made a huge discovery in the 1940s. His team was the first to show that genes are made of DNA. This changed what doctors and scientists believed at the time.
McCarty worked at Rockefeller University for over 60 years. He spent his life studying germs that cause diseases. He is most famous for proving that DNA, not protein, carries our genetic information. This big discovery helped scientists study how traits are passed down. It opened up new ways to understand heredity through chemistry, not just genetics. This important work is known as the Avery–MacLeod–McCarty experiment.
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Maclyn McCarty's Early Life
Maclyn McCarty was born in South Bend, Indiana. He was the second of four sons in his family. His father managed a branch for the Studebaker Corporation. At that time, Studebaker still made horse-drawn carriages.
He went to Stanford University for college. There, he started studying biochemistry, which was a new field. He worked with James Murray Luck on how proteins change in the liver. He finished his degree in biochemistry in 1933. Later, he earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1937. After four more years of study, he moved to Rockefeller University. There, he met the scientists he would work with on his famous discovery.
Discovering DNA's Role in Genes
When McCarty joined Rockefeller University, his team had already made good progress. They had solved many difficult technical problems. This prepared the way for McCarty's important work. Their discoveries over the next three years are described in McCarty's book, The Transforming Principle. He wrote this book in the early 1980s.
A big step forward happened when McCarty arrived at Rockefeller. They developed a new test to link DNA directly to biological activity. In 1944, they published their findings in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. This paper showed that genes were made of DNA.
It took some time for other scientists to accept this idea. Many researchers in New York were doubtful or ignored the findings. It was also hard to get other scientists to join this research. Few people had the right skills or tools. For example, they needed to use mice to confirm their results. However, by 1953, most scientists fully accepted the 1944 paper. This was largely because of Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helix shape of DNA.
Later Career and Research
In 1946, Maclyn McCarty was asked to lead a special lab. This lab was first set up in 1922. It was also the scientific home of Rebecca Lancefield. She created a major system for classifying bacteria. McCarty's work with hers showed that joint and heart problems could follow infections weeks later. The exact reasons for this link are still being studied. McCarty worked on this problem by studying both bacteria and patients at Rockefeller Hospital. These patients had acute rheumatic fever.
Over the next 20 years, McCarty and his team greatly improved our understanding of bacteria. They studied how bacteria's cell walls are built and what they are made of. His work helped isolate the streptococcal cell wall. This allowed scientists to examine it closely using an electron microscope. They also identified specific parts of the cell wall. These parts included the group A–specific polysaccharide and the peptidoglycan.
McCarty also studied patients with rheumatic fever at Rockefeller Hospital. He looked at samples from soldiers who got the disease during World War II. He and his team found that people with rheumatic fever had higher levels of antibodies. These antibodies were against several streptococcal antigens. This was not true for antibodies against other things, like diphtheria toxoid. He also found that streptococci produced a lot of DNase. He developed a test to find antibodies made in response to this. This led to the discovery that streptococci could make different types of DNase.
He also purified a protein called C-reactive protein. He made a very specific test for it. He found that C-reactive protein levels changed quickly and reliably. This made it a great way to measure inflammation. Today, measuring C-reactive protein is a common test in medicine.
In his later years, McCarty became a leader in biomedical science. He served for 14 years as the main doctor at Rockefeller University Hospital. He was also a trusted advisor and vice president of the university. Outside the university, he advised many important groups. These included the New York City Health Research Council and the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation. He was also a founding member of the Institute of Medicine. For over 40 years, he was an editor for the Journal of Experimental Medicine. He was a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He was also part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
Maclyn McCarty's Personal Life
Maclyn McCarty had a rich personal life, just like his scientific one. With his second wife, Marjorie, he had many close friends. These friends were in the United States and other countries. They valued his kindness, calm nature, humor, and wide-ranging intelligence. He loved English literature, theater, and classical music.
He enjoyed exploring the streets and museums of big cities. Paris, New York, and London were some of his favorites. He often traveled overseas after he retired. He also stayed close to his family. His four brothers lived in different parts of the country. They always met for annual family reunions.
See also
In Spanish: Maclyn McCarty para niños
