Brenner, Sydney


Brenner, Sydney

(1927-) South African scientist (1927-) who discovered the principles of how DNA instructs cells to make proteins. In 1960s he established the existence of MESSENGER RNA for TRANSLATION into proteins and showed that the nucleotide sequence of mRNA determines the order of AMINO ACIDS in proteins. Together with Francis CRICK, he proposed that an amino acid is coded by a triplet code (see CODON of RNA. Brenner was the first to sequence the genome of an entire multicellular organism, the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, which provided the basis for sequencing the human genome (see HUMAN GENOME PROJECT). In 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine, with J.E. Sulston and H.R. Horvitz, for contributions to understanding how genes regulate organ growth and the process of PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH.

Brenner,

Sydney, South African-born English scientist, 1927–, joint winner of 2002 Nobel Prize for work related to genetic regulation of organ development and cell death.