Joshua Lederberg
American molecular biologist (1925–2008)
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Joshua Lederberg was an American molecular biologist who lived from 1925 to 2008 and made groundbreaking discoveries about how bacteria exchange genetic material. His work fundamentally changed our understanding of heredity and laid the foundation for modern genetic engineering and biotechnology.
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Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python
· 2020 · cited 34,535x
- Full-length transcriptome assembly from RNA-Seq data without a reference genome
· 2011 · cited 19,149x
- Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
· 2020 · cited 15,328x
- Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3
· 2024 · cited 13,234x
- StringTie enables improved reconstruction of a transcriptome from RNA-seq reads
· 2015 · cited 12,706x
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Quotes
- “Microbes have been shaping the course of human history, from the development of agriculture to the prevention and treatment of diseases.”
- “The central dogma of molecular biology: DNA makes RNA makes protein.”
Article
Joshua Lederberg ForMemRS (May 23, 1925 – February 2, 2008) was an American molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was 33 years old when he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that bacteria can mate and exchange genes (bacterial conjugation); work that was conducted alongside his wife Esther, who was uncredited for her contributions. He shared the prize with Edward Tatum and George Beadle, who won for their work with genetics.
In addition to his contributions to biology, Lederberg did extensive research in artificial intelligence. This included work in the NASA experimental programs seeking life on Mars and the chemistry expert system Dendral.
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1925 births2008 deathsAmerican artificial intelligence researchersAmerican astrobiologistsAmerican eugenicistsAmerican fellows of the Royal SocietyAmerican geneticistsAmerican Nobel laureatesCharles H. Revson FoundationColumbia College, Columbia University alumniColumbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumniDeaths from pneumonia in New York City