The Chain Of Events

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Bruce Ames discovers that cancer-causing chemicals also cause mutations in DNA, the basis of the Ames test for carcinogens

1973

In the first successful genetic-engineering experiment, Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer insert a gene from an African clawed toad into bacterial DNA

1975

Scientists meet at the Asilomar conference center in California and call for guidelines regulating recombinant-DNA research

1976

Boyer and Robert Swanson found Genentech, the world's first genetic-engineering company

1977

Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger separately develop methods for sequencing DNA

1978

Genentech scientists help clone the gene for human insulin

1980

Martin Cline and co-workers create a transgenic mouse by transferring functional genes from one animal into another

1982

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the first genetically engineered drug, a form of insulin produced by bacteria

Stanley Prusiner discovers prions, the infectious proteins responsible for scrapie and mad-cow disease

Thomas Cech, and later Sidney Altman, show that RNA can act as an enzyme

1983

Kary Mullis devises the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), enabling scientists to multiply rapidly snippets of DNA 1984

Alec Jeffreys and colleagues develop genetic fingerprinting--using DNA to positively identify individuals

Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider discover telomerase, an enzyme that extends the life of cells

1985

Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier each publish the genetic sequence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS

1986

Leroy Hood invents the first automatic DNA sequencer

The FDA approves the first genetically engineered vaccine for humans for hepatitis B

1987

Allan Wilson, Rebecca Cann and Mark Stoneking determine that all living humans share a common ancestor: "mitochondrial Eve"

1988

Harvard University acquires the first patent for a genetically altered animal: a mouse that is highly susceptible to breast cancer

1989

The first genetic screening test (to determine sex) is performed on embryos before they are implanted in the uterus

1990

The Human Genome Project, an international effort to map and sequence human DNA, is officially launched

1993

Researchers at George Washington University clone the first human embryos, and nuture them in vitro for several days

1994

The FDA allows the first genetically modified food product to market, the Flavr Savr tomato. A bland taste and high price make it a commercial dud

1995

PCR and DNA fingerprinting play a starring role in the O.J. Simpson murder trial

Craig Venter and colleagues are first to decode the genome of a free-living organism, the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae

DNA microarrays are invented, permitting rapid analysis of large quantities of DNA

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are linked to hereditary breast, ovarian and prostate cancers

1997

Ian Wilmut and others report they have cloned a sheep, Dolly