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Alaska Life Science History

The following includes select facts from life science history, both global and Alaska state specific, that help explain the origins of the state's life science industry. Please note that these facts are part of a much larger state-specific history database that will be launched in the near future. In the meantime, we encourage you to learn about the scientists behind the discoveries, the entrepreneurs, philanthropists, political leaders, and significant events, institutions and companies that are the foundation of the life science industry in the state of Alaska.

If you are aware of a notable event, person, organization/company or accomplishment that we should include, please e-mail us at: Suggestions@InfoResource.org


1848 -- American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded.

American Association for the Advancement of Science American Association for the Advancement of Science, founded in 1848, marked the emergence of a national scientific community in the United States, and was the first organization established to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of all its disciplines. Today, the AAAS serves nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the peer-reviewed general science journal Science.


1859 -- Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species."

Charles Darwin, 1855 In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" in which he postulated his theory of evolution that explained how the diverse of species on Earth evolved from a simple, singled-celled ancestor.

Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. Darwin's theory of evolution remains the foundation of modern biology.


1865 -- Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, presented his laws of heredity.

Gregor Mendel Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian considered the father of modern genetics, conducted crossbreeding experiments with pea plants between 1856 and 1863. Through this work, he established many of the rules of heredity.

"In 1859 I obtained a very fertile descendant with large, tasty seeds from a first generation hybrid. Since in the following year, its progeny retained the desirable characteristics and were uniform, the variety was cultivated in our vegetable garden, and many plants were raised every year up to 1865. (Gregor Mendel to Carl Nägeli, April 1867).


1887 -- Marine Hospital Service Hygienic Laboratory (National Institutes of Health) was founded.

Joseph Kinyoun The National Institutes of Health (NIH) traces its roots to 1887, when a one-room laboratory was created within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS), predecessor agency to the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The MHS was established in 1798 to provide for the medical care of merchant seamen -- charged by Congress with examining passengers on arriving ships for clinical signs of infectious diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, to prevent epidemics.

During the 1870s and 1880s, scientists in Europe presented compelling evidence that microscopic organisms were the causes of several infectious diseases, and MHS officials closely followed these developments. In 1887, Joseph Kinyoun, a MHS physician trained in the new bacteriological methods, set up a one-room laboratory in the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, Staten Island, New York. Kinyoun called this facility a "laboratory of hygiene" in imitation of German facilities, and within a few months, he identified the cholera bacillus and used his Zeiss microscope to demonstrate it to his colleagues as confirmation of their clinical diagnoses (Photo: courtesy of the NIH Almanac).


1902 -- The Biologics Control Act was established.

Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun, NIH The Biologics Control Act, established in 1902, had major consequences for the Hygienic Laboratory. It charged the laboratory with regulating the production of vaccines and antitoxins, making it a regulatory agency four years before passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. The danger posed by biological products that had emerged from bacteriologic discoveries resulted from their production in animals and their administration by injection. In 1901, thirteen children in St. Louis died after receiving diphtheria antitoxin contaminated with tetanus spores. This tragedy spurred Congress to pass the Biologics Control Act, and between 1903-1907 standards were established and licenses issued to pharmaceutical firms for making smallpox and rabies vaccines, diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, and various other antibacterial antisera. (In 1972, responsibility for regulation of biologics was transferred to the Food and Drug Administration).

Marine Hospital Service seal The Marine Hospital Service (MHS), established in 1798, was reorganized in 1912 and renamed the Public Health Service (PHS). The PHS was authorized to conduct research into noncontagious diseases and into the pollution of streams and lakes in the U.S. During World War I, the PHS attended primarily to sanitation of areas around military bases in the U.S., and when the 1918 influenza pandemic struck Washington, physicians from the laboratory were pressed into service treating patients in the District of Columbia because so many local doctors had fallen ill.


1918 -- Spanish Influenza Pandemic.

Influenza virus It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans --civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I, II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.

The U.S. Public Health Service did not require states to report influenza before Sept. 27, 1918. Because Alaska was not yet a state, territorial officials were not required to report to the Public Health Service. The territorial governor, Thomas Riggs Jr., imposed a maritime quarantine in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease. Despite these precautions, influenza spread rapidly throughout the region in the late fall. Half of Nome’s white population fell ill. Influenza slowly declined in Alaska during the late spring of 1919.

Additional information about the Spanish influenza pandemic, including audio interviews, photographs, teacher guides and more can be found through the The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919: A Digital Encyclopedia, PBS's The American Experience, and Centers for Disease Control, National Vaccine Program Office.


1922 -- Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines founded.

The Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, founded in 1922, grew quickly, and in 1935 became the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. By the time Alaska became a state in 1959, students could earn Ph.D.s at the university, and UAF remains the only campus in the state that awards doctoral degrees.

UAF is home to the Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection (AFTC) founded in 1991 as a regional archive for biological samples containing samples from over 60,000 animals. In addtion to the AFTC, the University has more than a dozen research centers and institutes that focus on the Arctic. UAF researchers are experts in their fields and receive funding from a wide variety of local, state and federal sources.


1925 -- Iditarod Trail used to transport diphtheria serum to Nome.

Balto In 1925, a life-or-death race to save the children of Nome from a diphtheria epidemic made an international hero of one sled dog, and eventually led to the creation of Alaska's Iditarod sled dog race. The diphtheria epidemic threatened remotely located Nome, and air transportation was not available to transport the nearest serum located in Anchorage nearly a thousand miles away. The solution was a relay of dog teams that transported the serum on the Iditarod Trail from Nenana to Nome, and every village along the route provided its best team and driver for the next leg continually moving the serum toward Nome. The critical leg across the Norton Sound ice from Shaktoolik to Golovin was competed by Leonhard Seppala, the territory's leading musher, and his lead dog Togo. Gunnar Kaasen drove the final two legs into Nome behind his lead dog Balto through a blizzard with 80 mph winds.

The serum arrived in time and prevented the epidemic and save hundreds of lives. The 20 mushers had covered nearly 700 miles in slightly more than 127 hours in temperatures of 40° Fahrenheit below zero (-40 c.) and strong winds. The serum run received worldwide press coverage and the mushers received special gold medals. In 1926, a statue of Balto, the heroic lead dog, was erected in New York's Central Park.


1933 -- Thomas Hunt Morgan was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity.

Thomas Hunt Morgan Thomas Hunt Morgan pioneered the new science of genetics through experimental research with the fruit fly (Drosophila), laying the foundations for the future of biology. On the basis of fly-breeding experiments he demonstrated that genes are linked in a series on chromosomes and that they determine indentifiable, hereditary traits.

In 1928, Thomas Hunt Morgan transferred to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to organize work in biology, and five years later he was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his chromosome theory of heredity. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)


1947 -- Transistor invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.

John Bardeen William Shockley Walter Brattain The transistor, the invention that marked the dawn of the information age, was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Bardeen, Shockley and Brattain were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the transistor effect.

Transistors have become an invisible technology that is part of almost every electronic device. Every major information age innovation was made possible by the transistor and its application can be found all around us. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)


1947 -- Transistor was invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.

John Bardeen William Shockley Walter Brattain The transistor, the invention that marked the dawn of the information age, was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Bardeen, Shockley and Brattain were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the transistor effect.

Transistors have become an invisible technology that is part of almost every electronic device. Every major information age innovation was made possible by the transistor and its application can be found all around us.

Brattain received his B.S. degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA and a M.A. degree from the University of Oregon. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)


1953 -- Double helix structure of DNA was revealed.

James D. Watson Francis Crick Maurice Wilkins The double helix structure of DNA, the hereditary molecule is revealed by two scientists, James D. Watson and Francis Crick. This is one of the key discoveries of the century. Watson and Crick shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Maurice Wilkins for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nuclear acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.

Rosalind Franklin, whose work contributed to the discovery, died before this date and the rules do not allow a Nobel Prize to be awarded posthumously. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation)


1958 -- Integrated circuit was invented.

Photo of Jack Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit. Jack Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments shows only a transistor and other components on a slice of germanium. This invention (7/16-by-1/16-inches in size), called an integrated circuit, revolutionized the electronics industry. Kilby was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the integrated circuit. (Photo: Jack Kilby courtesy of Texas Instruments)

Jack Kilby went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial applications of microchip technology. He headed teams that built both the first military system and the first computer incorporating integrated circuits. He later co-invented both the hand-held calculator and the thermal printer that was used in portable data terminals. Mr. Kilby officially retired from TI in 1983, but he maintained a significant involvement with the company throughout his life.


1961 -- President John F. Kennedy expanded the U.S. Space Program

President John F. Kennedy expands U.S. Space Program Listen to President John F. Kennedy's speech in his historic message to a joint session of the Congress, on May 25, 1961 declared, "...I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." This goal was achieved when astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the Moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969. Shown in the background are, (left) Vice President Lyndon Johnson, and (right) Speaker of the House Sam T. Rayburn. The expansion of the U.S. Space Program resulted in the development of a wide range of technology with enormous benefit to human and animal kind. (Photo: courtesy National Aeronautics & Space Administration)


1968 - 2009 -- Federal revenues flow into Alaska under the political leadership of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens.

Ted Stevens Ted Stevens was Alaska's senior Senator, and his tenure in the Senate which began in 1968 made him the most senior member among his colleagues, and first among Republicans. Stevens held the position of Senate President Pro Tempore, and was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has oversight of the Departments of Commerce and Transportation, and was past Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, 1997-2004.

Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute located in Juneau and named for the Senator, serves as a critical addition to National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service facilities in Alaska. This new $51 million facility allows NMFS to increase its capability to conduct critical and scientific research programs in Alaska. (Photos: Ted Stevens courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)


1969 -- Man walked on the moon.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, American astronauts, made history by becoming the first men to walk on the moon. Listen to Neil Armstrong's first words as he steps onto the lunar surface (66 kb .wav file). Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)

An important benefit of the Apollo Lunar Program and other NASA programs is the ever-growing pipeline of technology that improves human and veterinary healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.


1969 -- Victor McKusick published "Mendelian Inheritance in Man".

Victor McKusick Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying the genetic basis of diseases and disorders with the belief that such an understanding could lead to new methods of diagnosis and treatment. He studied, identified, and mapped genes responsible for inherited conditions such as Marfan syndrome and dwarfism (specifically in Amish communities). In 1969, he proposed the idea of mapping the human genome, over 30 years before the Human Genome Project was established.

McKusick, a graduate of Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1946), spent his entire career there and founded the Division of Medical Genetics in 1957, the first research center and clinic of its kind. In 1969 he published the 1st edition of his book "Mendelian Inheritance of Man", one of the most comprehensive collections of inherited disease genes. In 2002, McKusick received the highest scientific honor in the U.S., the National Medal of Science.


1971 -- President Nixon declared war on cancer creating the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute.

On Dec. 23, 1971, the National Cancer Act of 1971, enacted by President Richard Nixon as part of the nation’s war on cancer, established the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute. The National Cancer Act, "The War on Cancer," gave the NCI unique autonomy at NIH with special budgetary authority. The annual budget of NCI, called the bypass budget, be submitted directly to the president, bypassing traditional approval by the NIH or the Department of HHS required of other NIH institutes.


1973 -- Recombinant DNA was perfected.

Stanley Cohen The modern era of biotechnology begins when Stanley Cohen of Stanford University and Herbert Boyer of the University of California at San Francisco successfully recombined ends of bacterial DNA after splicing a toad gene in between. They called their accomplishment recombinant DNA, but the media preferred the term genetic engineering. (Photo: Courtesy Stanley Cohen)

Boyer and Cohen's achievement was an advancement upon the techniques developed by Paul Berg, in 1972, for inserting viral DNA into bacterial DNA. Cohen's research at Stanford was with plasmids—the nonchromosomal, circular units of DNA found in, and exchanged by, bacteria, while Boyer's was restriction enzymes produced by bacteria to counter invasion by bacteriophages.


1974 -- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was enacted.

Jacob Javits Pete Williams John N. Erlenborn, the ranking Republican on the House Committee, was responsible for bringing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to a floor vote, and is one of the ERISA’s "Founding Fathers." Together with Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), Senator Pete Williams (D-NJ) and Congressman John Dent (D-PA), Erlenborn crafted provisions and participated in negotiations that were instrumental to the enactment of ERISA which was - and remains - the single most important legislation governing employee benefit plans in the United States creating a growing source of new capital. (Photos: Jacob Javits and Pete Williams courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office).


1975 -- Monoclonal antibodies were produced.

Niels Jerne Georges Köhler César Milstein In 1975, Georges Köhler and César Milstein, showed how monoclonal antibodies can be generated by isolating individual fused myeloma cells.

The 1984 Nobel Laureate in Medicine was awarded jointly to: Niels Jerne, Georges Köhler and César Milstein for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies. (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation).


1976 -- Genentech was founded.

Genentech Genentech was founded by venture capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. In the early 1970s, Boyer and geneticist Stanley Cohen at Stanford University pioneered recombinant DNA technology.

Within a few short years Swanson and Boyer invented a new industry - biotechnology. In 1980, Genentech issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raised $35 million with an offering that jumped from $35 a share to a high of $88 after less than an hour on the market. This event was one of the largest stock run-ups ever, and that event set the stage for future biotechnolgy industry offerings.


1977 -- First human gene was cloned.

Walter Gilbert Frederick Sanger Walter Gilbert induced bacteria to synthesize insulin and interferon, and Frederick Sanger published the complete sequence of phage FX174. The 1980 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Frederick Sanger and Walter Gilbert for "for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids, and to Paul Berg for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA.

Gilbert and Sanger independently developed different methods to determine the exact sequence of the nucleotide building blocks in DNA. The investigations of Berg, Gilbert and Sanger have given us a detailed insight into the chemical basis of the genetic machinery in living organisms (Photos: © The Nobel Foundation).


1980 -- U.S. Supreme Court ruled man-made organism patentable.

Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty. Diamond v. Chakrabarty, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds five-to-four the patentability of genetically altered organisms, opening the door to greater patent protection for any modified life forms.

In 1972, Mohan Chakrabarty, a microbiologist, filed a patent application, assigned to the General Electric Co. for a human-made genetically engineered bacterium capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil. Because of this property, which is possessed by no naturally occurring bacteria, Chakrabarty's invention was believed to have significant value for the treatment of oil spills. The application asserted 36 claims related to Chakrabarty's invention of "a bacterium from the genus Pseudomonas containing therein at least two stable energy-generating plasmids, each of said plasmids providing a separate hydrocarbon degradative pathway.

Opinions: Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court, in which justices Potter Stewart, Harry Blackmun, William Rehnquist, and John Paul Stevens joined. William Brennan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis Powell joined.


1980 -- Bayh-Dole Act provided for university technology transfer.

Birch Bayh, Senator, Indiana Robert Dole, Senator, Kansas H.R.6933, Public Law: 96-517, December 12, 1980. A bill to amend title 35 of the United States Code. This Act known as the Bayh-Dole Act provided for the legal transfer of research and technology originating from U.S. universities and federal laboratories to private companies for commercialization. Technology transfer offices are now common in universities and federal laboratories and are the technology foundation for numerous biotechnology and medical device companies. (Photos: Birch Bayh and Robert Dole courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)


1983 -- Orphan Drug Act was created.

U.S. FDA The Orphan Drug Act encouraged the research and development of drugs for rare or "orphan" diseases defined as a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans.

The Orphan Drug Act provided for financial incentives to help companies recover the cost of developing much needed therapies for small patient populations. The FDA estimates that more than 11 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world, have benefited from this legislation.


1984 -- Alec Jeffreys and technician Vicky Wilson discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting.

Sir Alec Jeffreys In 1984, geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys, and technician Vicky Wilson at the University of Leicester in England discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting. The new technology was first used in 1985 to resolve a disputed immigration case that confirmed the identity of a British boy whose family was from Ghana.

In 1988, Colin Pitchfork was convicted of murdering two girls in 1983 and 1986 in Narborough, Leicestershire, England after his DNA samples matched semen samples taken from the two dead girls. Jeffreys' work in this case convicted the killer, but also exonerated Richard Buckland, a suspect who otherwise might have spent his life in prison. In 1994, Jeffreys' was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to genetics.


1990 -- Human Genome Project was established.

Human Genome Project Logo The U.S. Human Genome Project was established -- a 13-year effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The main goals of the Human Genome Project were to provide a complete and accurate sequence of the 3 billion DNA base pairs that make up the human genome and to find all of the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 human genes. The project, originally planned to last 15 years, was expected to be completed by 2003 due to rapid technological advances.


1991 -- Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection Founded.

In 1991, the Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection (AFTC), was founded as a regional archive for biological samples containing samples from over 60,000 animals. Over 200 species of mammals and 900 species of birds are represented, as are fishes, invertebrates, and tissues from frozen mammals recovered from permafrost areas. DNA is extracted from samples for studies of evolutionary relationships and wildlife genetics. AFTC is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the North Slope Borough, and the National Park Service.


1993 -- Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) was founded.

Biotechnology Industry Organization Biotechnology Industry Organization is the world's largest organization to serve and represent the biotechnology industry. BIO's leadership and service-oriented guidance have helped advance the industry and bring the benefits of biotechnology to people everywhere.


1993 -- Kary B. Mullis was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Kary B. Mullis Kary B. Mullis of La Jolla, CA and a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D.) was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for contributions to the developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry, specifically for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. (Photo: © The Nobel Foundation)

PCR allows scientists to quickly replicate small strands of DNA, greatly simplifying the sequencing and cloning of genes. First presented in 1985, PCR has become one of the most widespread methods of analyzing DNA. Notably, PCR requires the heat-stable enzyme Taq (Thermus Aquaticus) which originated from hot springs located in Yellowstone National Park.


2001 -- Human Genome Project draft sequence was published.

Human Genome Project Logo The February 16 issue of Science and February 15 issue of Nature contained the working draft of the human genome sequence (U.S. Human Genome Project). Nature papers included initial analysis of the descriptions of the sequence generated by the publicly sponsored Human Genome Project, while Science publications focused on the draft sequence reported by the private company, Celera Genomics.


2007 -- The National Institutes of Health established the Human Microbiome Project.

Human Microbiome Project

On Dec. 19, 2007, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), a $150 million initiative, was established by the National Institutes of Health with the mission of generating resources that would enable the comprehensive characterization of the human microbiome and analysis of its role in human health and disease.

The HMP is the collection of all the microorganisms living in association with the human body, including eukaryotes, archaea, bacteria and viruses. Bacteria in an average human body number ten times more than human cells, for a total of about 1000 more genes than are present in the human genome.



Other State & Province Life Science History Resources:

Plus the provinces of:

  • Alberta
  • British Columbia


Other Life Science History Resources

  • Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Chemical Heritage Foundation
  • Food & Drug Administration
  • Gotham Prize for Cancer Research
  • International Balzan Foundation
  • International Museum of Surgical Science
  • Lasker Foundation
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • National Health Museum
  • National Institutes of Health History, Office of
  • National Medal of Science
  • Prix Galien USA
  • The Nobel Foundation
  • The World Food Prize


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please e-mail: BioHistory@InfoResource.org


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