American biologist
Maxine Frank Singer
(born February 15, 1931) is an American
molecular biologist
and science administrator.
[1]
She is known for her contributions to solving the
genetic code
, her role in the ethical and regulatory debates on
recombinant DNA
techniques (including the organization of the
Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA
), and her leadership of
Carnegie Institution of Washington
.
In 2002,
Discover
magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.
[2]
Life
[
edit
]
Singer was born in New York City.
[3]
After attending
Midwood High School
in
Brooklyn
,
[4]
she majored in chemistry (and minored in biology) at
Swarthmore College
.
[5]
She went on to earn a
Ph.D.
in 1957 at
Yale University
, researching
protein chemistry
under
Joseph Fruton
. Fruton encouraged her to specialize in
nucleic acids
, and in 1956 she joined the Laboratory of Biochemistry of
Leon Heppel
at the
National Institutes of Health
.
[6]
She led various biochemical research groups as the Chief of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Cancer institute between 1980 and 1987.
[7]
In the wake of the 1973 report of the first use of
recombinant DNA
techniques to introduce genes from one species into another, Singer was among the first to call attention to the possible risks of genetic engineering. She was a chairperson of the 1973
Gordon Conference
on Nucleic Acids, where the possible public health risks of the technique were discussed,
[8]
and she helped to organize the 1975
Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA
that resulted in guidelines for dealing with the largely unknown risks of the technique.
[1]
Singer was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1978.
[9]
In 1988, she became president of Carnegie Institution of Washington, a position she held until 2002.
[10]
She was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
in 1990.
[11]
Singer received the
National Medal of Science
in 1992 "for her outstanding scientific accomplishments and her deep concern for the societal responsibility of the scientist"
[12]
and was the first woman to receive the
Vannevar Bush Award
, in 1999.
[13]
In 2007, she was awarded the
Public Welfare Medal
from the
National Academy of Sciences
.
[14]
Research contributions
[
edit
]
Singer has made important contributions to the fields of
biochemistry
and
molecular biology
. Her research with Leon Heppel on the role of enzymes that regulate synthesis of nucleic acids played a part in helping
Marshall Nirenberg
and
Heinrick Matthaei
to decipher the genetic code.
[15]
They studied
polynucleotide phosphorylase
, an enzyme that can join individual nucleotides into random
RNA
sequences. They investigated the base compositions of these polynucleotides using
electrophoresis
and
paper chromatography
, which enabled them to understand how the enzyme catalyzed their synthesis.
[15]
These experiments allowed them to create a library of artificial RNA strands with defined sequences, such as a molecule made of only triplets of
uracil
that would code for
phenylalanine
. These artificial polynucleotides were used by Nirenberg to support the hypothesis that RNA plays a key role in the synthesis of proteins using information from DNA. The RNA sequences that Singer produced were used to match each of the twenty amino acids to a different RNA nucleotide triplet, .
[15]
Singer's research included the study of
chromatin
structure and
genetic recombination
of viruses. During her time as the head of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Cancer Institute in the 1980s, her research focused on LINEs, or
long interspersed nucleotide elements
.
[15]
She focused on LINE-1, a
retrotransposon
found in mammalian genomes that is scattered in thousands of places in the human genome, which she concluded is capable of movement and insertion into new places in the chromosomal DNA.
[16]
She studied the mechanism of how LINE-1 replicates and disperses copies to new locations in the genome, and found that the insertion of these elements could induce mutations in nearby genes, playing a role in genetic disease.
[15]
Besides her scientific research, Singer has been influential in refining science policy. When she was the co-chair of the
Gordon Conference
in 1973, she raised concerns over the potential health effects and risks in the relatively new field of
recombinant DNA technology
.
[7]
She organized the 1975
Asilomar conference
in order to bring together scientists to impose restrictions and draw guidelines on recombinant DNA research, where she recommended resumption of research under cautious safeguards until more was known about the potential biohazards of recombinant DNA technology.
[17]
[18]
Singer is also an advocate for women in science. She wrote an editorial in
Science
arguing that universities should encourage women pursuing science and engineering rather than wasting their skills due to unintentional bias against them.
[19]
Singer also introduced the "First Light" project, a science education program for elementary school students in Washington, D.C. aiming to improve mathematics and science education in schools.
[7]
Singer has written over 100 scientific papers, and has also published several books with co-author Paul Berg intended to help the public have a better understanding of molecular genetics, including
Genes and Genomes
(1991),
Dealing with Genes
(1993), and
George Beadle: An Uncommon Farmer
(2003).
[18]
In 2018 she published
Blossoms: And the Genes that Make Them,
which describes the genetic and evolutionary reasons that flowers bloom.
[20]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Profiles in Science, The Maxine Singer Papers"
. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
- ^
Svitil, Kathy (November 13, 2002).
"The 50 Most Important Women in Science"
.
Discover
. Retrieved
May 1,
2019
.
- ^
"Maxine Singer Papers, 1952?2004 (Biographical Note)"
.
- ^
"Putting Science First"
.
The Washington Post
. February 14, 1989.
- ^
"American Society for Cell Biology Member Profile: Maxine Singer"
(PDF)
.
- ^
"Maxine Singer"
.
Science History Institute
. June 29, 2016.
- ^
a
b
c
"Maxine Singer"
.
www.aacc.org
. Archived from
the original
on October 29, 2019
. Retrieved
November 7,
2017
.
- ^
"Letter from Maxine Singer to participants in the 1973 Gordon Conference on Nucleic Acids"
.
The Paul Berg Papers, U.S. National Library of Medicine
. Archived from
the original
on February 2, 2017.
- ^
"Book of Members, 1780?2010: Chapter S"
(PDF)
. American Academy of Arts and Sciences
. Retrieved
April 7,
2011
.
- ^
"Maxine Singer Named President Of Carnegie"
.
The Scientist
. February 23, 1987.
- ^
"APS Member History"
.
search.amphilsoc.org
. Retrieved
April 19,
2022
.
- ^
"Maxine F. Singer (1931-) | The National Medal of Science 50th Anniversary"
.
www.nsf.gov
.
- ^
"Vannevar Bush Award Recipients"
.
National Science Board
. Archived from
the original
on October 5, 2019.
- ^
"Maxine F. Singer to Receive Public Welfare Medal"
. National Academy of Sciences. January 12, 2007.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"The Maxine Singer Papers: Nucleic Acids, the Genetic Code, and Transposable Genetic Elements: A Life in Research"
.
profiles.nlm.nih.gov
. Retrieved
November 7,
2017
.
- ^
Hohjoh, Hirohiko; Singer, Maxine F. (October 1, 1997).
"Sequence?specific single?strand RNA binding protein encoded by the human LINE?1 retrotransposon"
.
The EMBO Journal
.
16
(19): 6034?6043.
doi
:
10.1093/emboj/16.19.6034
.
ISSN
0261-4189
.
PMC
1170233
.
PMID
9312060
.
- ^
Singer, M.; Berg, P. (July 16, 1976). "Recombinant DNA: NIH Guidelines".
Science
.
193
(4249): 186?188.
Bibcode
:
1976Sci...193..186S
.
doi
:
10.1126/science.11643320
.
ISSN
0036-8075
.
PMID
11643320
.
- ^
a
b
"The Maxine Singer Papers: Biographical Information"
.
profiles.nlm.nih.gov
. Retrieved
October 24,
2017
.
- ^
Singer, Maxine (November 10, 2006). "Beyond Bias and Barriers".
Science
.
314
(5801): 893.
doi
:
10.1126/science.1135744
.
ISSN
0036-8075
.
PMID
17095660
.
- ^
Blossoms: And the Genes That Make Them
. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. June 5, 2018.
ISBN
978-0-19-881113-8
.
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