Genetics & biotechnology

An editorial selection for comparing processes, events, and lives. The interval and counts describe selected records, not the historical boundaries or importance of the subject.

Canonical records: 25
Events: 24
People: 0
Processes and periods: 1

Compare in the atlas Selection criteria and limits

Topics represented

Genética y biotecnología (25) · ADN (5) · Ética (4) · Herencia (4) · Historia de las ideas (3) · ADN recombinante (2) · Bacterias (2) · Bioseguridad (2) · CRISPR (2) · Cromosomas (2) · Edición genética (2) · Eugenesia (2)

View distribution by region and period

Canonical records by regional label and start date. These are numerical analysis bins, not universal historical periods. A multi-region record appears in multiple rows; do not add rows as a unique-record total.
Region	1800–1899	1900–1999	Since 2000
Africa	0	0	0
Americas	0	9	2
Asia	0	0	1
Europe	5	7	1
Oceania	0	0	0
Global / no specific region	0	1	1

Records and sources

Ordered by start date. Long lives and processes may begin before the period you want to study.

1859
Natural selection and the unresolved problem of heredity
In *On the Origin of Species*, Darwin proposed natural selection but did not provide a mechanism of inheritance that resolved how variation was retained. This entry marks a theoretical problem that prompted later research; it does not credit Darwin with Mendelian genetics, which did not yet exist.
1865–1866
Mendel’s pea experiments and publication of his results
Mendel presented in 1865 and published in 1866 pea-crossing experiments that quantified the transmission of traits across successive generations. His ratios depended on the characters and conditions studied; the work’s later importance does not turn its results into a complete explanation of all inheritance or an instantly recognised discovery.
1869
Galton and statistical claims about “hereditary genius”
Francis Galton published *Hereditary Genius* in 1869, using genealogies of British elites to argue that ability was inherited. The book helped link measurement, social hierarchy, and heredity in public debate, but its samples and assumptions did not reliably separate privilege, access, education, and kinship. It is recorded as a historical claim and intervention, not as valid evidence for human hierarchies.
1883
Galton coins the term “eugenics”
In 1883, Galton used the term “eugenics” for a programme of population improvement based on supposed hereditary qualities. Coining the term did not by itself create an institution or explain all later programmes; this entry distinguishes an intellectual formulation from coercive policies later organised in particular contexts.
1892
August Weismann’s germ-plasm theory
Weismann developed a theory separating reproductive cells from body cells and challenged inheritance of acquired characters as it was then debated. It was an influential proposal about hereditary continuity, not a demonstration of genes, DNA, or an absolute barrier between environment and development.
1900
Rediscovery and circulation of Mendelian results
In 1900, Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and Erich von Tschermak published work relating their hybridisation results to Mendel’s paper. The episode circulated the work through new scientific networks, but the authors’ attributions, readings, and disagreements were more complex than a single automatic “rediscovery.”
1902
Chromosome theory of inheritance
Sutton and Boveri linked chromosome behaviour to Mendelian transmission. It was an integrating hypothesis, not direct observation of individual genes or the end of disputes about heredity.
1910
Morgan and sex-linked inheritance
Thomas Hunt Morgan’s fruit-fly experiments linked a visible trait to the X chromosome. The result strengthened chromosome genetics, but concerned a particular experimental system and did not explain every human trait.
1928
Griffith’s bacterial transformation
Griffith observed that material from dead bacteria could alter traits in living bacteria. He identified transformation, not yet proof that DNA was the hereditary material.
1941
“One gene, one enzyme” hypothesis
Beadle and Tatum used Neurospora mutants to connect genes and metabolic steps. The formula was a useful historical approximation, later revised as RNA, protein subunits, and gene regulation became known.
1944
Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty identify DNA in transformation
By separating pneumococcal components, the team showed that DNA could transmit the transforming principle. The conclusion changed molecular research, although initial reception was uneven and later evidence remained necessary.
1952
Hershey–Chase bacteriophage experiment
Radioactive labelling of DNA and protein in bacteriophages provided evidence that DNA enters the bacterium during infection. The evidence concerns that viral-bacterial system; its importance does not make one experiment a complete explanation of heredity.
1953
DNA double-helix model
Watson and Crick proposed a double-helix model drawing, among other work, on Rosalind Franklin’s and Maurice Wilkins’s X-ray diffraction data. This entry recognises a network of evidence and contested credit, not an isolated two-person discovery.
1956
Human chromosome count established as 46
Tjio and Levan published a count of 46 chromosomes in human cells, correcting a number accepted for decades. The improvement depended on cell-preparation techniques and showed how instruments shape what cytogenetics can see.
1961
Early deciphering of the genetic code
Nirenberg and Matthaei’s experiments showed how an artificial RNA sequence could direct protein synthesis. Deciphering the code advanced across several laboratories and is not equivalent to knowing how all gene expression is regulated in living organisms.
1973
Early recombinant-DNA experiments
Cohen, Boyer, and colleagues showed that DNA fragments could be joined and introduced into bacteria. It opened molecular-cloning techniques but also debates about biosafety, ownership, and uses that technical capacity alone cannot resolve.
1975
Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA
Researchers meeting at Asilomar proposed containment guidelines for recombinant-DNA research. It was an important moment of scientific self-regulation, not a final solution or representation of every community affected by biotechnology.
1977
Sanger DNA-sequencing method
The chain-termination method made DNA sequences readable in a reproducible and, for its time, scalable way. It was a foundational technical platform, although coverage, cost, automation, and access remained decisive constraints.
1983
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
PCR enabled specific DNA segments to be amplified from small amounts of sample. It transformed diagnostics and research, but its sensitivity also requires controls against contamination, over-interpretation, and context-free forensic use.
1990
Human Genome Project launched
The Human Genome Project began an international collaboration to generate a human sequence reference. A reference does not equally represent human genetic diversity or by itself determine traits, health, or identity.
1996
Dolly born through nuclear transfer
Dolly was announced as the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. The experiment demonstrated a possibility for cellular reprogramming in sheep, not the safety, desirability, or general availability of human reproductive cloning.
2003
Human Genome Project reference completion announced
In 2003 the Human Genome Project announced completion according to its reference goals. Gaps, underrepresented populations, and later revisions show that a project “completion” is not a complete and final description of all human genomes.
2012
CRISPR-Cas9 as a genome-editing tool
Doudna, Charpentier, and colleagues described a programmable way to use CRISPR-Cas9 to cut DNA. The tool accelerated research and potential applications, but precision, delivery, consent, patents, and access justice remain separate questions.
2018
Announcement of heritable genome editing in human embryos
The announcement of births after CRISPR editing of human embryos prompted international scientific and regulatory condemnation. This entry records an ethical and governance breach, not proof of a safe or justified clinical intervention.
2023
First approval of a CRISPR-based treatment
Regulators authorised a CRISPR-based treatment for sickle-cell disease in 2023, editing a patient’s own cells. The authorisation applies to specific indications and health systems; it does not make genome editing accessible, appropriate, or equivalent for every disease.