A microbiology giant passes away

by Tara Smith     Department: Health & Life Sciences

The name Joshua Lederberg might not mean anything to those of you who may not be professional biologists, but his influence has touched your life in some way or another. Dr. Lederberg passed away Saturday at the age of 82, and his death leaves a huge void in many areas of biology. Lederberg was truly a giant among men. A Nobel laureate at the age of 33, Lederberg was one of the earliest molecular geneticists. He (and his then-wife, Esther) carried out early experiments that showed that bacteria have "sex," and he described the processes of conjugation (the aforementioned bacterial sex, whereby bacteria directly exchange genetic material) and transduction (where viruses called "bacteriophage" serve as an intermediate, carrying genes between bacteria), and described plasmids--circles of DNA that could be transferred among bacteria species as well. This basic research has allowed us to understand the generation and transfer of antibiotic resistance among other things, and is technology upon which genetic engineering was established.

While he was an amazing scientist, though, Lederberg wasn't content to just remain in the lab. He served as a policy advisor for several presidents, and was active in communicating science to the public, whether he was discussing microbes in space with the likes of Carl Sagan, or speaking on bioterrorism and pandemic preparedness at a scientific conference.

Lederberg was the type of scientific giant that we have all too few of. He leaves a lasting legacy, and he will be missed.

Tags: Joshua Lederberg, microbiology, molecular biology