1930
U.S. Congress passes the Plant Patent Act, enabling
the products of plant breeding to be patented.
1933
Hybrid corn, developed by Henry Wallace in the 1920s, is
commercialized. Growing hybrid corn eliminates the option
of saving seeds. The remarkable yields outweigh the
increased costs of annual seed purchases, and by 1945,
hybrid corn accounts for 78 percent of U.S.-grown corn.
1938
The term molecular biology is coined.
1941
The term genetic engineering is first used, by Danish
microbiologist A. Jost in a lecture on reproduction in
yeast at the technical institute in Lwow, Poland.
1942
The electron microscope is used to identify and characterize
a bacteriophage—a virus that infects bacteria.
Penicillin mass-produced in microbes.
1944
DNA is proven to carry genetic information—Avery et al.
Waksman isolates streptomycin, an effective antibiotic
for tuberculosis.
U.S. Congress passes the Plant Patent Act, enabling
the products of plant breeding to be patented.
1933
Hybrid corn, developed by Henry Wallace in the 1920s, is
commercialized. Growing hybrid corn eliminates the option
of saving seeds. The remarkable yields outweigh the
increased costs of annual seed purchases, and by 1945,
hybrid corn accounts for 78 percent of U.S.-grown corn.
1938
The term molecular biology is coined.
1941
The term genetic engineering is first used, by Danish
microbiologist A. Jost in a lecture on reproduction in
yeast at the technical institute in Lwow, Poland.
1942
The electron microscope is used to identify and characterize
a bacteriophage—a virus that infects bacteria.
Penicillin mass-produced in microbes.
1944
DNA is proven to carry genetic information—Avery et al.
Waksman isolates streptomycin, an effective antibiotic
for tuberculosis.