Women's History Month: Genetics Pioneer

Nettie Stevens

Upon her death, Dr. Nettie Stevens received notoriety in two publications, the journal, Science, and the newspaper, The New York Times. What prompted the national coverage of her death? Stevens, who had degrees from Stanford and Bryn Mawr and had studied genetics in Germany, determined how the male of a species determines the sex of the offspring (Gelling, 2016). Sadly, Dr. Stevens was not able to see all the results of her studies because she died of breast cancer when she was just 50 years old (Gelling, 2016). To learn more about Dr. Stevens and her work, visit one of these sites:

• Nettie Stevens: Sex Chromosomes to Sexism  
• Students Peer into the Past through Vintage Microscope Used by Trailblazing Scientist  

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Sources:

Gelling, C. (2016, March 31). Nettie Stevens: Sex Chromosomes and Sexism [Web log post]. Genes to Genomes Blog. Retrieved from: http://genestogenomes.org/nettie-stevens-sex-chromosomes-and-sexism/