Matthew Meselson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Matthew Meselson
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Matthew Stanley Meselson
May 24, 1930 Denver, Colorado, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Chicago (Ph.B., 1951) California Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1957) |
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| Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship, MacArthur Fellows Program Genius Award, Genetics Society of America - Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for lifetime contributions, Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science |
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| Thesis | I. Equilibrium sedimentation of macromolecules in density gradients with application to the study of deoxyribonucleic acid. II. The crystal structure of N,N-dimethyl malonamide (1957) |
| Doctoral advisor | Linus Pauling |
| Notable students | Mark Ptashne, Susan Lindquist, Richard I. Morimoto, Sidney Altman, Nancy Kleckner, Steven Henikoff |
Matthew Stanley Meselson (born May 24, 1930) is a famous American geneticist and molecular biologist. He works at Harvard University. He is best known for showing how DNA copies itself. He did this with his partner, Franklin Stahl, in a famous experiment.
Meselson also helped discover messenger RNA, which carries instructions from DNA. He also found restriction enzymes, which are like tiny scissors that cut DNA. Besides science, he has worked hard to stop the use of chemical and biological weapons around the world. He helped create important international agreements, like the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972.
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Early life and education
Matthew Meselson was born in Denver, Colorado, on May 24, 1930. He grew up in Los Angeles, California. As a child, he loved chemistry and physics. He often did science experiments at home.
During World War II, he went to summer school. This helped him finish high school early. But he needed more physical education to get his diploma. So, at age 16, he went to the University of Chicago in 1946. He planned to study chemistry there.
University studies
At the University of Chicago, Meselson studied many subjects. He learned about history and classic books. After his studies, he traveled in Europe in 1949. He saw how the war had affected the continent. He also saw the start of the Cold War tensions.
Later, he went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He loved a chemistry class taught by Linus Pauling. Pauling was a very famous scientist. Meselson even worked on a project for Pauling about hemoglobin (a part of blood).
In 1953, Pauling invited Meselson to join his research team at Caltech. Meselson became Pauling's graduate student in chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in 1957. His research involved new ways to study large molecules like DNA. After finishing his studies, he became a professor at Harvard University in 1960. He has worked there ever since.
Key scientific discoveries
Matthew Meselson has made several big discoveries in biology. These discoveries helped us understand how living things work.
How DNA copies itself
In 1957, Meselson and Franklin Stahl showed how DNA copies itself. This is called "semi-conservative replication." Imagine DNA as a ladder twisted into a spiral. When it copies, the ladder splits down the middle. Each half then builds a new matching half. So, each new DNA molecule has one old strand and one new strand.
To prove this, they used special types of nitrogen, called isotopes. They grew bacteria in heavy nitrogen, then switched them to light nitrogen. They watched how the DNA changed. Their experiment proved that DNA copies itself exactly as James Watson and Francis Crick had suggested years earlier.
Messenger RNA and restriction enzymes
In 1961, Meselson, along with Sydney Brenner and François Jacob, discovered messenger RNA (mRNA). Think of DNA as a master cookbook in a library. Messenger RNA is like a copy of a single recipe that can be taken out of the library to the kitchen (the cell's protein-making factories). This discovery was very important for understanding how genes work.
Meselson also helped discover restriction enzymes. These are special proteins that act like tiny scissors. They can cut DNA at very specific spots. This ability is super useful in genetic engineering. It allows scientists to cut and paste DNA pieces.
His current research looks at why living things have sexual reproduction. He and his team have found new things about how some tiny animals, called rotifers, reproduce.
Working for peace and safety
Since 1963, Matthew Meselson has also worked on preventing chemical and biological weapons. He advises the U.S. government on these issues. He believes these weapons are very dangerous and should not exist.
Stopping biological weapons
Meselson helped convince President Richard Nixon to stop making biological weapons. He also helped create the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972. This is an international agreement that bans countries from developing, producing, or storing biological weapons. He also helped with the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993.
Investigating dangerous events
Meselson has investigated several serious events related to these weapons:
- In the 1970s, he studied the effects of herbicides used in Vietnam. He found harmful chemicals in the environment.
- In the 1980s, he investigated claims of "yellow rain" in Laos. Some thought it was a Soviet toxin weapon. Meselson showed it was likely just bee droppings.
- In 1992, he investigated a deadly anthrax outbreak in Russia. The Soviet government said it was from bad meat. Meselson's team proved it was from a secret biological weapons lab.
Meselson is a member of many important science groups. He has received many awards for his scientific work and his efforts for peace. He continues to work to make the world safer from dangerous weapons.
Awards and honors
Matthew Meselson has received many important awards for his scientific work and his efforts to promote peace. Some of these include:
- 1963 Prize for Molecular Biology from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
- 1966 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1984 MacArthur Fellows Program Fellowship (often called a "Genius Grant")
- 1995 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal for his lifetime contributions to genetics
- 2004 Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science
- 2019 Future of Life Award for helping ban biological weapons
Honorary degrees
He has also received honorary doctoral degrees from many universities, including:
- 1971 Columbia University
- 1975 University of Chicago
- 1987 Yale University
- 1988 Princeton University
- 2013 McGill University
Personal life
Matthew Meselson has been married three times. He has two daughters, Amy and Zoe, from his second marriage. His third marriage was to Jeanne Guillemin.
See also
In Spanish: Matthew Meselson para niños
