Barbara McClintock

 

When she won Nobel Prize in 1983, I was still an elementary school girl in China. Throughout my middle-school and high-school years, her personal story fascinated me. My interest in botany also started at that time. I collect plants and made samples, which covered the walls of my bedroom. I eventually chose genetics as my major in graduate school. 


In 1953, mainstream science did not accept McClintock's Nobel-winning discovery of transposon elements in maize. She stopped publishing articles about this discovery and switched to studying the race of maize. Throughout the following decades, she traveled to central and south America to identify and grow new corn species. Fortunately, French scientists rediscovered transposon elements in bacteria in the 1960s. Barbara got her credit, and she lived long enough to win a Noble Prize in 1983.


Her personal story can easily fit into the category of feminists. Being independent since childhood and interested in botany during high school, she went to Cornell University despite her mother's objection, and she never married. However, I have a different interpretation of her legacy, especially after reading her quote. 


"Over the many years, I truly enjoyed not being required to defend my interpretations. I could just work with the greatest of pleasure. I never felt the need nor the desire to defend my views. If I turned out to be wrong, I just forgot that I ever held such a view. It didn't matter." — Barbara McClintock


I see a woman finding her passion for genetics in her late teens. This passion supported her for 70 years to indulge in her world of research. She never sought to be independent or less feminine as she was born with the characters. The rest happened naturally. There was no fight nor misery. Until Barbara died in 1992, she never left the cornfield. The Nobel prize did not matter. Not having a family did not matter. She loved her cornfield and microscope, and she had fun with her students and co-workers. She was a woman following her heart.


It is enlightening to read about this amazing woman 30 years after her name came to my ears. Few of us can leave a legacy like Barbara McClintock, but we can all learn from her attitude towards life and career.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Falun Gong and Human Rights in China

Image
What is Falun Gong Falun Gong is also known as Falun Dafa. It is a Chinese body and mind practice based on "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance".  "Falun" means universe; "Gong" means energy; "Dafa" means principle. Falun Gong is famous for its health benefits. A 1998 official survey in China indicated that 98% of practitioners reported improved health. Its data stated that 72% of Falun Gong practitioners were female.  Over 100 million people are practicing Falun Gong in over 100 countries.  There is no registration or membership to practice Falun Gong. The Falun Gong teachings are always free of charge because no one should use it for profit according to its principles. All the books, audio, and videos are free to download from websites maintained by volunteers. There are practice sites worldwide where newcomers can learn from other practitioners.  Why Persecution The Chinese Communist Party is afraid of the popularity of any independent thinking.
Read more

What is Political

When I grew up in China, being "political" was dangerous. Once you complain about policies made by the government, you become "political" by challenging the propaganda system. The authority will punish you, your family, and your friends. We all carefully stayed within the line to protect ourselves. Getting used to the freedom of speech in the U.S. took me quite a few years. Then I noticed a similar fear of being political.  For example, sports are apolitical. People cannot wear a T-shirt asking "Where is Peng Shuai" at sports games because it is a political slogan. But it is apolitical for Eileen Gu to say that Peng Shuai is "freely doing what she wants to do." to whitewash the sexual assault that the female tennis player suffered from a former Chinese prime minister. In the same logic, some of my colleagues believe that science is apolitical, so scientists can collaborate with any country without worrying about how the government will use their
Read more

The Chinese Communist Party's Infiltration into the U.S.

Image
  Infiltration into the U.S. Media Most Chinese language media in the U.S. are controlled or influenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ( 1 ) China Global Television Network broadcast in the U.S. via six channels. ( 2 ) Paid insertion "China Watch" carried by mainstream media like Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. ( 3 )( 4 )( 41 ) Beijing has been actively buying or building up financial ties with mainstream English media. ( 22 )( 5 )( 6 ) Internet "Five Dime Party" sponsored by Beijing. ( 7 )( 8 ) Counteract the CCP's Media Infiltration Sept. 2018: DOJ ordered two Chinese state-run media organizations to register as foreign agents: Xinhua News Agency (China's largest news outlet) and China Global Television Network. ( 9 ) Feb. 2020: U.S. State Department identified five Chinese Media as Foreign Missions: Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network, China Radio International, China Daily, People's Daily. ( 10 ) Infil
Read more