Seymour Benzer
Encyclopedia
Seymour Benzer was an American
physicist
, molecular biologist and behavioral geneticist. His career began during the molecular biology revolution of the 1950s, and he eventually rose to prominence in the fields of molecular and behavioral genetics. He led a productive genetics research lab both at Purdue University and as the James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology
.
, to Meyer B. and Eva Naidorf (from Poland
). He had two older sisters, and his parents favored him as the only boy. One of Benzer's earliest scientific experiences was dissecting frogs he had caught as a boy. In an interview at Caltech, Benzer also remembered receiving a microscope for his 13th birthday, “and that opened up the whole world.” The book "Arrowsmith
" by Sinclair Lewis
heavily influenced the young Benzer, and he even imitated the handwriting of Max Gottlieb, a scientist character in the novel. Benzer graduated from high school at 15 years old.
In 1938 he enrolled at Brooklyn College
where he majored in physics. Benzer then moved on to Purdue University
to earn his Ph.D. in solid state physics. While there he was recruited for a secret military project to develop improved radar. He performed research that led to the development of stable germanium
rectifiers and discovered a germanium crystal able to be used at high voltages, among the scientific work that led to the first transistor
.
, as a sixteen-year-old freshman, Benzer met Dorothy Vlosky (nicknamed Dotty), a twenty-one-year-old nurse. He later married her in New York City
in 1942. They had two daughters, Barbie (Barbara) and Martha Jane.
Benzer died of a stroke at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California
.
book What Is Life?
, in which the physicist pondered the physical nature of the gene and a “code” of life. This catalyzed Benzer's shift in interest to biology, and he moved into the area of bacteriophage
genetics., spending two years as a postdoctoral fellow in Max Delbruck
's laboratory at California Institute of Technology,and then returning to Purdue. At Purdue University, Benzer developed the T4 rII system
, a new genetic technique involving recombination
in T4 bacteriophage rII mutants. After observing that a particular rII mutant, a mutation that caused the bacteriophage to eliminate bacteria more rapidly than usual, was not exhibiting the expected phenotype, it occurred to Benzer that this strain might have come from a cross between two different rII mutants (each having part of the rII gene intact) wherein a recombination
event resulted in a normal rII sequence. Benzer realized that by generating many r mutants and recording the recombination frequency between different r strains, one could create a detailed map of the gene, much as Alfred Sturtevant
had done for chromosomes. Taking advantage of the enormous number of recombinants that could be analyzed in the rII mutant system, Benzer was eventually able to map over 2400 rII mutations. The data he collected provided the first evidence that the gene is not an indivisible entity, as previously believed, and that genes were linear. Benzer also proved that mutation
s were distributed in many different parts of a single gene, and the resolving power of his system allowed him to discern mutants that differ at the level of a single nucleotide
. Based on his rII data, Benzer also proposed distinct classes of mutations including deletions, point mutations, missense mutations, and nonsense mutations.
Benzer's work influenced many other celebrated scientists of his time. In his molecular biology period, Benzer dissected the fine structure of a single gene, laying down the ground work for decades of mutation analysis and genetic engineering, and setting up a paradigm using the rII phage that would later be used by Francis Crick
and Sidney Brenner to establish the triplet code of DNA
. In addition, Benzer's mapping technique was taken up by Richard Feynman
.
IN 1967, Benzer left the field of phage genetics and returned to the California Institute of Technology to work in behavioral genetics.
that profoundly influenced the field of behavioral genetics. Hirsch artificially selected for behaviors of interest over many generations, while Benzer primarily used forward genetic
mutagenesis screens to isolate mutants for a particular behavior. Benzer and Hirsch's competing philosophies served to provide necessary scientific tension in order to accelerate and enhance developments in behavioral genetics, helping it gain traction as a legitimate area of study in the scientific community.
, circadian rhythms, and learning by inducing mutations in a Drosophila population and then screening individuals for altered phenotypes of interest. To better identify mutants, Benzer developed novel apparatuses such as the countercurrent device, which was designed to separate flies according to the magnitude and direction of their phototactic response. Benzer identified mutants for a wide variety of characteristics: vision (nonphototactic, negative phototactic, and eyes absent), locomotion (sluggish, uncoordinated), stress sensitivity (Shaker
, freaked-out), sexual function (savoir-faire, fruitless
), nerve and muscle function (photoreceptor degeneration, drop-dead), and learning and memory (rutabaga
, dunce).
Benzer and student Ron Konopka
discovered the first circadian rhythm mutants. Three distinct mutant types—arrhythmic, shortened period, and lengthened period—were identified. These mutations all involved the same functional gene on the X chromosome and influenced the eclosion rhythm of the population as well as rhythms in individual flies' locomotor activity. To monitor Drosophila locomotor activity, Benzer and postdoctoral researcher, Yoshiki Hotta, designed a system using infrared light and solar cells. All three mutations were mapped to the X chromosome, zero centimorgans away from each other, indicating that the mutant phenotypes corresponded to alleles of the same gene, which Konopka named period
. This was the first of several seminal studies of single genes affecting behavior, studies that have been replicated in other animal models and are now the basis for the growing field of molecular biology of behavior. In 1992 Benzer, working with Michael Rosbash, furthered this work by showing that the PER protein, which period
codes for, is predominantly located in the nucleus. The work with Period mutants was catalytic in the study of circadian rhythms and served to propel the field forward.
Benzer was at the forefront of the study of neurodegeneration in fruit flies, modeling human diseases and attempting to suppress them. He also contributed to the field of aging biology, looking for mutants with altered longevity and trying to dissect the mechanisms by which an organism can escape the inevitable functional downfall and its associated diseases. In 1998, Benzer and his colleagues Yi-Jyun Lin and Laurent Seroude published findings of a long-life mutant in Drosophila, then named Methuselah. The mutant gene coded for a previously unknown member of the GPCR family. By testing against temperature stress, it is thought that these mutants have an increased ability to respond to stress and thus to live longer. One of Benzer’s final research projects was on dietary restriction and longevity research. A paper was published, in ''Cell'', on the longevity effect of 4E-BP, a translational repressor, following dietary restriction. Although the research was done before his death, the paper was published afterwards and dedicated to his memory.
was diagnosed with cancer. Consequently, Seymour Benzer took interest in cancer biology and attended several conferences on breast cancer.
Benzer later remarried with Carol Miller, a neuropathologist
. Together, in the early 1980s, they used antibody staining
techniques to find nearly identical genes
between flies and humans.
He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences
, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society
and the Royal Society
.
Jonathan Weiner
, and Reconceiving the Gene: Seymour Benzer's Adventures in Phage Genetics by Lawrence Holmes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, molecular biologist and behavioral geneticist. His career began during the molecular biology revolution of the 1950s, and he eventually rose to prominence in the fields of molecular and behavioral genetics. He led a productive genetics research lab both at Purdue University and as the James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
.
Early life and education
Benzer was born in Bensonhurst, BrooklynBensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
, to Meyer B. and Eva Naidorf (from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). He had two older sisters, and his parents favored him as the only boy. One of Benzer's earliest scientific experiences was dissecting frogs he had caught as a boy. In an interview at Caltech, Benzer also remembered receiving a microscope for his 13th birthday, “and that opened up the whole world.” The book "Arrowsmith
Arrowsmith
Arrowsmith may refer to:* A person who makes arrows * Arrowsmith , by Sinclair Lewis** Arrowsmith , 1931 adaptation of the novel* Arrowsmith...
" by Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
heavily influenced the young Benzer, and he even imitated the handwriting of Max Gottlieb, a scientist character in the novel. Benzer graduated from high school at 15 years old.
In 1938 he enrolled at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
where he majored in physics. Benzer then moved on to Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
to earn his Ph.D. in solid state physics. While there he was recruited for a secret military project to develop improved radar. He performed research that led to the development of stable germanium
Germanium
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. The isolated element is a semiconductor, with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon....
rectifiers and discovered a germanium crystal able to be used at high voltages, among the scientific work that led to the first transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
.
Personal life
At Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, as a sixteen-year-old freshman, Benzer met Dorothy Vlosky (nicknamed Dotty), a twenty-one-year-old nurse. He later married her in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1942. They had two daughters, Barbie (Barbara) and Martha Jane.
Benzer died of a stroke at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Molecular biology
Upon receiving his Ph.D. in 1947, he was immediately hired as an assistant professor in physics at Purdue. However, Benzer was inspired by Erwin Schrödinger'sErwin Schrödinger
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
book What Is Life?
What is life?
What is Life and similar may refer to:* "What is Life", a song by George Harrison* What Is Life?, a book by Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger, in which he tries to answer the question in physical/chemical terms...
, in which the physicist pondered the physical nature of the gene and a “code” of life. This catalyzed Benzer's shift in interest to biology, and he moved into the area of bacteriophage
Bacteriophage
A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...
genetics., spending two years as a postdoctoral fellow in Max Delbruck
Max Delbrück
Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück was a German-American biophysicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Delbrück was born in Berlin, German Empire...
's laboratory at California Institute of Technology,and then returning to Purdue. At Purdue University, Benzer developed the T4 rII system
T4 rII system
The T4 rII system is an experimental system developed in the 1950s by Seymour Benzer for studying the substructure of the gene. The experimental system is based on genetic crosses of different mutant strains of bacteriophage T4, a virus that infects the bacteria E...
, a new genetic technique involving recombination
Genetic recombination
Genetic recombination is a process by which a molecule of nucleic acid is broken and then joined to a different one. Recombination can occur between similar molecules of DNA, as in homologous recombination, or dissimilar molecules, as in non-homologous end joining. Recombination is a common method...
in T4 bacteriophage rII mutants. After observing that a particular rII mutant, a mutation that caused the bacteriophage to eliminate bacteria more rapidly than usual, was not exhibiting the expected phenotype, it occurred to Benzer that this strain might have come from a cross between two different rII mutants (each having part of the rII gene intact) wherein a recombination
Genetic recombination
Genetic recombination is a process by which a molecule of nucleic acid is broken and then joined to a different one. Recombination can occur between similar molecules of DNA, as in homologous recombination, or dissimilar molecules, as in non-homologous end joining. Recombination is a common method...
event resulted in a normal rII sequence. Benzer realized that by generating many r mutants and recording the recombination frequency between different r strains, one could create a detailed map of the gene, much as Alfred Sturtevant
Alfred Sturtevant
Alfred Henry Sturtevant was an American geneticist. Sturtevant constructed the first genetic map of a chromosome in 1913. Throughout his career he worked on the organism Drosophila melanogaster with Thomas Hunt Morgan...
had done for chromosomes. Taking advantage of the enormous number of recombinants that could be analyzed in the rII mutant system, Benzer was eventually able to map over 2400 rII mutations. The data he collected provided the first evidence that the gene is not an indivisible entity, as previously believed, and that genes were linear. Benzer also proved that mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
s were distributed in many different parts of a single gene, and the resolving power of his system allowed him to discern mutants that differ at the level of a single nucleotide
Nucleotide
Nucleotides are molecules that, when joined together, make up the structural units of RNA and DNA. In addition, nucleotides participate in cellular signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions...
. Based on his rII data, Benzer also proposed distinct classes of mutations including deletions, point mutations, missense mutations, and nonsense mutations.
Benzer's work influenced many other celebrated scientists of his time. In his molecular biology period, Benzer dissected the fine structure of a single gene, laying down the ground work for decades of mutation analysis and genetic engineering, and setting up a paradigm using the rII phage that would later be used by Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
and Sidney Brenner to establish the triplet code of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
. In addition, Benzer's mapping technique was taken up by Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
.
IN 1967, Benzer left the field of phage genetics and returned to the California Institute of Technology to work in behavioral genetics.
Benzer vs. Hirsch
Benzer was one of the first scientists to rise to prominence in the field of behavioral genetics. As the field began to emerge in the 1960s and 70s, Benzer found himself in scientific opposition to another of the field's leading researchers, Jerry Hirsch. While Hirsch believed that behaviors were complex phenomena irreducible to the level of single genes, Benzer advocated that animal behaviors were not too complex to be directed by a single gene. This translated to methodological differences in the two researchers' experiments with DrosophilaDrosophila
Drosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...
that profoundly influenced the field of behavioral genetics. Hirsch artificially selected for behaviors of interest over many generations, while Benzer primarily used forward genetic
Forward genetics
Forward genetics is an approach that encompasses several means of identifying the gene or set of genes that are responsible for a particular phenotype within an organism. Initially, this entailed the generation of random mutations in an organism, often through radiation or insertional mutagenesis...
mutagenesis screens to isolate mutants for a particular behavior. Benzer and Hirsch's competing philosophies served to provide necessary scientific tension in order to accelerate and enhance developments in behavioral genetics, helping it gain traction as a legitimate area of study in the scientific community.
Research accomplishments
Benzer used forward genetics to investigate the genetic basis of various behaviors such as phototaxisPhototaxis
Phototaxis is a kind of taxis, or locomotory movement, that occurs when a whole organism moves in response to the stimulus of light. This is advantageous for phototrophic organisms as they can orient themselves most efficiently to receive light for photosynthesis...
, circadian rhythms, and learning by inducing mutations in a Drosophila population and then screening individuals for altered phenotypes of interest. To better identify mutants, Benzer developed novel apparatuses such as the countercurrent device, which was designed to separate flies according to the magnitude and direction of their phototactic response. Benzer identified mutants for a wide variety of characteristics: vision (nonphototactic, negative phototactic, and eyes absent), locomotion (sluggish, uncoordinated), stress sensitivity (Shaker
Shaker gene
The shaker gene, when mutated, causes a variety of atypical behaviors in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Under ether anesthesia, the fly’s legs will shake ; even when the fly is unanaesthetized, it will exhibit aberrant movements...
, freaked-out), sexual function (savoir-faire, fruitless
Fruitless (gene)
The fruitless gene is a Drosophila melanogaster gene that encodes several variants of a putative transcription factor protein. Normal fruitless function is required for proper development of several anatomical structures necessary for courtship, including motor neurons which innervate muscles...
), nerve and muscle function (photoreceptor degeneration, drop-dead), and learning and memory (rutabaga
Rutabaga (gene)
Rutabaga is the name of the gene encoding calcium-sensitive dependent adenylate cyclase in fruit flies.Rutabaga has been implicated in a number of functions, including learning and memory, behavior, and cell communication.-External links:*...
, dunce).
Benzer and student Ron Konopka
Ron Konopka
Ronald J. Konopka is a former American geneticist who studied chronobiology. He made his most notable contribution to the field while working with Drosophila in the lab of Seymour Benzer at the California Institute of Technology...
discovered the first circadian rhythm mutants. Three distinct mutant types—arrhythmic, shortened period, and lengthened period—were identified. These mutations all involved the same functional gene on the X chromosome and influenced the eclosion rhythm of the population as well as rhythms in individual flies' locomotor activity. To monitor Drosophila locomotor activity, Benzer and postdoctoral researcher, Yoshiki Hotta, designed a system using infrared light and solar cells. All three mutations were mapped to the X chromosome, zero centimorgans away from each other, indicating that the mutant phenotypes corresponded to alleles of the same gene, which Konopka named period
Period (gene)
Period is a gene located on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Oscillations in levels of both per transcript and its corresponding protein PER have a period of approximately 24 hours and together play a central role in the molecular mechanism of the Drosophila biological clock driving...
. This was the first of several seminal studies of single genes affecting behavior, studies that have been replicated in other animal models and are now the basis for the growing field of molecular biology of behavior. In 1992 Benzer, working with Michael Rosbash, furthered this work by showing that the PER protein, which period
Period (gene)
Period is a gene located on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Oscillations in levels of both per transcript and its corresponding protein PER have a period of approximately 24 hours and together play a central role in the molecular mechanism of the Drosophila biological clock driving...
codes for, is predominantly located in the nucleus. The work with Period mutants was catalytic in the study of circadian rhythms and served to propel the field forward.
Benzer was at the forefront of the study of neurodegeneration in fruit flies, modeling human diseases and attempting to suppress them. He also contributed to the field of aging biology, looking for mutants with altered longevity and trying to dissect the mechanisms by which an organism can escape the inevitable functional downfall and its associated diseases. In 1998, Benzer and his colleagues Yi-Jyun Lin and Laurent Seroude published findings of a long-life mutant in Drosophila, then named Methuselah. The mutant gene coded for a previously unknown member of the GPCR family. By testing against temperature stress, it is thought that these mutants have an increased ability to respond to stress and thus to live longer. One of Benzer’s final research projects was on dietary restriction and longevity research. A paper was published, in ''Cell'', on the longevity effect of 4E-BP, a translational repressor, following dietary restriction. Although the research was done before his death, the paper was published afterwards and dedicated to his memory.
Cancer research
In 1978, Dotty was in the hospital with breast cancer, and Seymour's friend, colleague, and mentor Max DelbrückMax Delbrück
Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück was a German-American biophysicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Delbrück was born in Berlin, German Empire...
was diagnosed with cancer. Consequently, Seymour Benzer took interest in cancer biology and attended several conferences on breast cancer.
Benzer later remarried with Carol Miller, a neuropathologist
Neuropathology
Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole autopsy brains. Neuropathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology, neurology, and neurosurgery...
. Together, in the early 1980s, they used antibody staining
Immunostaining
Immunostaining is a general term in biochemistry that applies to any use of an antibody-based method to detect a specific protein in a sample. The term immunostaining was originally used to refer to the immunohistochemical staining of tissue sections, as first described by Albert Coons in 1941...
techniques to find nearly identical genes
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
between flies and humans.
Honors and awards
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(1959) - Gairdner Foundation International AwardGairdner Foundation International AwardThe Gairdner Foundation International Award is given annually at a special dinner to three to six people for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a precursor to winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine; as of 2007, 69 Nobel...
(1964) - Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical ResearchAlbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical ResearchThe Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease...
(1971) - Louisa Gross Horwitz PrizeLouisa Gross Horwitz PrizeLouisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers that have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry....
from Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(1976), - Harvey PrizeHarvey PrizeThe Harvey Prize is awarded by the Technion in Haifa, Israel. It is awarded in different disciplines of Science, Technology, Human Health, and Contributions to Peace in the Middle East. Two awards - each of $75,000 - are given away annually...
(1977) - National Medal of ScienceNational Medal of ScienceThe National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
(1982) - Thomas Hunt Morgan MedalThomas Hunt Morgan MedalThe Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal is a medal awarded for lifetime contributions to the field of genetics. The medal is awarded by the Genetics Society of America.-Award recipients:* 1981 Barbara McClintock and Marcus M. Rhoades* 1982 Sewall Wright...
(1986) - Wolf Prize in MedicineWolf Prize in MedicineThe Wolf Prize in Medicine is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Arts. The Prize is probably the third most prestigious award...
(1991) - Crafoord PrizeCrafoord PrizeThe Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord...
(1993) - International Prize for BiologyInternational Prize for BiologyThe International Prize for Biology is an annual award for significant contributions to biology. The award was created in 1985 to recognize Emperor Hirohito of Japan's long time interest in and support of the biological sciences. The selection and award of the prize is managed by the Japan Society...
(2000) - NAS Award in the NeurosciencesNAS Award in the NeurosciencesThe NAS Award in the Neurosciences is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of extraordinary contributions to progress in the fields of neuroscience, including neurochemistry, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, developmental neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and behavioral...
from the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(2001) - March of Dimes Prize in Developmental BiologyMarch of Dimes Prize in Developmental BiologyThe March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology is awarded once a year by the March of Dimes. It carries a $250,000 award "to an investigator whose research brings us closer to the day when all babies will be born healthy." It also includes a medal in the shape of a Roosevelt dime.- Laureates...
(2003) - Gairdner Foundation International Award (2004) (second award)
- Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science (2004)
- Albany Medical Center PrizeAlbany Medical Center PrizeThe is the United States' highest value prize in medicine and biomedical research. Among prizes for medicine, the Albany Medical Center Prize is second only to the $1.4 million Nobel Prize in Medicine and the $1 million Shaw Price in life science and medicine....
(2006)
He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
and the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
.
Books
Benzer is the subject of the 1999 book Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior by Pulitzer laureatePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
Jonathan Weiner
Jonathan Weiner
Jonathan Weiner is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of non-fiction books on his biology observations, in particular evolution in the Galápagos Islands, genetics, and the environment....
, and Reconceiving the Gene: Seymour Benzer's Adventures in Phage Genetics by Lawrence Holmes.
External links
- Obituary in The Times, 13 December 2007
- Interview with Seymour Benzer conducted by the Oral History Project of the Caltech Archives
- A Conversation with Jonathan Weiner, author of Time, Love, Memory