The following includes select facts from life science history, both global and Texas specific,
that help explain the origins of the state's life science industry. We encourage you to learn about the scientists behind
the discoveries, the entrepreneurs, philanthropists, political leaders, and significant events, institutions
and companies that are the foundation of the life science industry in Texas.
If you are aware of a notable event, person, organization/company or accomplishment that we should include,
please e-mail: Suggestions@InfoResource.org
We also invite you to explore Texas Life Science Genealogy, a one-of-a-kind image
that illustrates the founding technology origins of more than 220 science firms located in
the state. Specifically, the origins of the companies' founding technology with the state's
universities and non-profit research organizations -- longstanding centers of innovation, technology
transfer and job creation.
The newly updated Texas and other state and province posters will be
made available in high-resolution digital and printed formats for distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada in 2019.
Information about sponsorship opportunities will soon be available.
1848 -- American Association for the Advancement of Science was founded.
American Association for the Advancement of Science founded in 1848
marked the emergence of a national scientific community in the United States, and was the first organization
established to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of
all its disciplines.
Today, the AAAS serves nearly 300 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the
peer-reviewed general science journal Science. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance
science and serve society" through initiatives that include science policy, international programs, science education,
and public understanding of science.
1859 -- Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species."
In 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of
Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life"
in which he postulated his theory of evolution that explained how the diverse of
species on Earth evolved from a simple, singled-celled ancestor.
Darwin's theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly
and that the survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism's ability
to adapt to its environment. Darwin's theory of evolution remains the foundation of modern
biology.
1865 -- Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, presented his laws of heredity.
Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian considered the father of modern genetics,
conducted crossbreeding experiments with pea plants between 1856 and 1863. Through this work,
he established many of the rules of heredity.
"In 1859 I obtained a very fertile descendant with large, tasty seeds from a first generation
hybrid. Since in the following year, its progeny retained the desirable characteristics
and were uniform, the variety was cultivated in our vegetable garden, and many plants were
raised every year up to 1865. (Gregor Mendel to Carl Nägeli, April 1867).
1876 -- Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas) was founded.
Founded in 1876 through the Morrill Act of 1862, which established the nation’s
land-grant college system, Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas),
located in College Station, was the state’s first public institution of higher education.
In 1963, the college's name was changed to Texas A&M University to more accurately
reflect its expanding role as a leader in teaching, research, and public service.
Texas A&M's rare triple designation as a Land-, Sea- and Space-Grant institution
reflects the broad scope of its research endeavors, with ongoing projects funded
by agencies as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation
and the Office of Naval Research.
1882 -- Construction of University of Texas at Austin commenced.
The University of Texas at Austin, originated in 1839,
with construction of the college launched in 1882. The University of Texas at Austin is the
largest component of The University of Texas.
The University is a leading center for education and research in the technology and
knowledge-based industries, and University faculty is distinguished nationally and
internationally and includes winners of the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, and
National Medal of Technology.
1887 -- Marine Hospital Service Hygienic Laboratory (National Institutes of Health) was founded.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) traces its roots to 1887,
when a one-room laboratory was created within the Marine Hospital Service (MHS), predecessor agency to the
U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The MHS was established in 1798 to provide for the medical care of
merchant seamen -- charged by Congress with examining passengers on arriving ships for clinical signs of
infectious diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, to prevent epidemics.
During the 1870s and 1880s, scientists in Europe presented compelling evidence that microscopic organisms
were the causes of several infectious diseases, and MHS officials closely followed these developments.
In 1887, Joseph Kinyoun, a MHS physician trained in the new bacteriological
methods, set up a one-room laboratory in the Marine Hospital at Stapleton, Staten Island,
New York. Kinyoun called this facility a "laboratory of hygiene" in imitation of German facilities, and within
a few months, he identified the cholera bacillus and used his Zeiss microscope to
demonstrate it to his colleagues as confirmation of their clinical diagnoses
(Photo: courtesy of the NIH Almanac).
1900 -- Baylor College of Medicine was founded.
Founded in 1900, the medical school was affiliated with Baylor University from 1903-1969
when Baylor College of Medicine became an independent institution. Originally located in Dallas,
the College moved to Houston in 1943 to become the educational cornerstone of the new Texas
Medical Center.
The only private medical school in the Greater Southwest, Baylor is among the top 15 of
the 125 U.S. medical schools in federal research funding.
1902 -- The Biologics Control Act was established.
The Biologics Control Act, established in 1902, had major consequences for the Hygienic Laboratory. It charged
the laboratory with regulating the production of vaccines and antitoxins, making it a regulatory agency
four years before passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. The danger posed by biological products that had
emerged from bacteriologic discoveries resulted from their production in animals and their administration by
injection. In 1901, thirteen children in St. Louis died after receiving diphtheria antitoxin contaminated
with tetanus spores. This tragedy spurred Congress to pass the Biologics Control Act, and between 1903-1907
standards were established and licenses issued to pharmaceutical firms for making smallpox and rabies vaccines,
diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, and various other antibacterial antisera. (In 1972, responsibility
for regulation of biologics was transferred to the Food and Drug Administration).
The Marine Hospital Service (MHS), established in 1798, was reorganized in 1912
and renamed the Public Health Service (PHS). The PHS was authorized to conduct research into
noncontagious diseases and into the pollution of streams and lakes in the U.S. During
World War I, the PHS attended primarily to sanitation of areas around military bases in the
U.S., and when the 1918 influenza pandemic struck Washington, physicians from the
laboratory were pressed into service treating patients in the District of Columbia because
so many local doctors had fallen ill.
1912 -- William Marsh Rice Institute (Rice University) was opened.
The William Marsh Rice Institute (Rice
University), a private, independent, research university in Houston, was
chartered in 1891 by Houston merchant William Marsh Rice.
In 1961 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration located the Manned Space Flight
Center (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) on land made available by Rice, and in 1962
the university established the nation's first department of space science.
Rice is noted for its programs in artificial heart research, structural chemical
analysis, signal processing, space science, and nanotechnology.
1918 -- Spanish Influenza Pandemic.
It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died
from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and
around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans
--civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I,
II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.
On Sept. 23, 1918, Texas first reported the disease as being present in the state.
By Oct. 4th, thirty-five counties reported influenza. By Oct. 29th, the state had
reported 106,978 cases and 2,181 deaths in just the state's urban centers.
The disease peaked in the state during the fall. By the summer, the disease had begun
to disappear from the state.
1930 -- The name of the Hygienic Laboratory was changed to the National Institute of Health.
In 1930, the Ransdell Act changed the name of the Hygienic Laboratory to the National Institute
of Health (NIH) and authorized the establishment of fellowships for research into basic biological and medical
problems. The roots of this act extended to 1918, when chemists who had worked with the Chemical Warfare
Service in World War I sought to establish an institute in the private sector to apply fundamental knowledge
in chemistry to problems of medicine.
1933 -- Thomas Hunt Morgan was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his
chromosome theory of heredity.
Thomas Hunt Morgan pioneered the new science of genetics through experimental
research with the fruit fly (Drosophila), laying the foundations for the future of biology. On
the basis of fly-breeding experiments he demonstrated that genes are linked in a series on
chromosomes and that they determine indentifiable, hereditary traits.
1937 -- The National Cancer Institute was created.
In 1937, the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) was created with sponsorship from every Senator in Congress, and was authorized
to award grants to nonfederal scientists for research on cancer and to fund fellowships at NCI for young
researchers.
Today, the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the federal government's
principal agency for cancer research and training.
1937 - 1968 -- Lyndon Baines Johnson continued state's political leadership and
expanded federal revenue stream into Texas.
Lyndon Baines Johnson
or LBJ, was an influential Democrat who served in the U.S. House of
Representatives from 1937-49, the U.S. Senate from 1948-60, Vice President from 1960-63,
and President from 1963-68. (Photo: Lyndon Baines Johnson courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)
Johnson Served on Special Committee on Astronautics and Space, and in 1961, NASA's
$60 million manned space flight laboratory was located in Houston on 1,000 acres of land
made available by Rice University in Houston. In 1973, the Manned Space Center was renamed
the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The Center's location in Houston has made, and
continues to make significant contributions in the development of the medical device
and electronics industry in Texas and elsewhere.
1941 -- Texas State Cancer Hospital (M. D. Anderson) created by Texas Legislature.
In 1941, The Texas Legislature created the the Texas State Cancer
Hospital and the Division of Cancer Research, renamed the next year, it became the
M. D. Anderson
Hospital for Cancer Research of The University of Texas to recognize the philanthropy of
Monroe Dunaway Anderson, a successful Houston cotton broker.
M. D. Anderson is one of the nation's original three Comprehensive Cancer
Centers designated by the National Cancer Act of 1971. The institution currently
spends more than $210 million per year in research. M. D. Anderson now ranks first
in the number of grants awarded nationwide by the National Cancer
Institute, and third in grants given by the American Cancer Society.
1944 -- Public Health Service Act was established.
The 1944 Public Health Service Act defined the shape of medical research in the post-war world.
The entire NIH budget expanded from $8 million in 1947 to more than $1 billion in
1966, now fondly remembered as "the golden years" of NIH expansion. The 1944 PHS Act
authorized NIH to conduct clinical research, and after the war Congress provided funding to
build a research hospital, now called the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center on the
NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The Center which opened in 1953 with 540 beds
was designed to bring research laboratories into close proximity with hospital wards in
order to promote productive collaboration between laboratory scientists and clinicians.
The NIH today, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency
for conducting and supporting medical research and is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, providing
leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world.
1947 -- Transistor was invented at AT&T's Bell Laboratories.
The transistor, the invention that marked the dawn of the
information age, was invented by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Laboratories. Bardeen,
Shockley and Brattain were awarded the 1956
Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the transistor effect.
Transistors have become an invisible technology that is
part of almost every electronic device. Every major information age innovation was made
possible by the transistor and its application can be found all around us.
1948 -- Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., recruited by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston as
its new Chairman of Surgery.
In 1953, DeBakey performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy, thereby
establishing the field of surgery for strokes. In 1964, DeBakey and associates
performed the first aortocoronary bypass with autogenous saphenous vein graft, and
in 1968, DeBakey performed the first of 12 heart transplants.
Dr. DeBakey worked with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to develop
a self-contained, miniaturized artificial heart. The DeBakey-Raytheon-ITS telemedicine
system uses satellites to electronically link remote sites of the world to the famed
Texas Medical Center for medical training and treatment.
Dr. DeBakey served as Chancellor Emeritus of Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston, was active on staff at The Methodist Hospital of Houston, and was internationally
recognized as the most famous heart surgeon in the world.
(Photo: Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. courtesy Michael E. DeBakey)
1953 -- Double helix structure of DNA was revealed.
The double helix structure of DNA, the hereditary molecule is revealed by
two scientists, James D. Watson and Francis Crick. This is one of the key
discoveries of the century. Watson and Crick shared the 1962
Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine with Maurice Wilkins for their discoveries
concerning the molecular structure of nuclear acids and its significance for information
transfer in living material.
Jack Kilby, an engineer at
Texas Instruments shows only a transistor and other components on a slice of
germanium. This invention (7/16-by-1/16-inches in size), called an integrated
circuit, revolutionized the electronics industry. Kilby was awarded
the 2000 Nobel Prize in
Physics for his invention of the integrated circuit.
(Photo: Jack Kilby courtesy of Texas Instruments)
Jack Kilby went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial applications of
microchip technology. He headed teams that built both the first military system and the
first computer incorporating integrated circuits. He later co-invented both the hand-held
calculator and the thermal printer that was used in portable data terminals.
Mr. Kilby officially retired from TI in 1983, but he maintained a significant involvement
with the company throughout his life.
1961 -- President John F. Kennedy expanded the U.S. Space Program
Listen to President John F. Kennedy's speech in
his historic message to a joint session of the Congress, on May 25, 1961 declared,
"...I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade
is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." This goal was
achieved when astronaut Neil A. Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the
Moon at 10:56 p.m. EDT, July 20, 1969. Shown in the background are, (left) Vice
President Lyndon Johnson, and (right) Speaker of the House Sam T. Rayburn. The expansion of
the U.S. Space Program resulted in the development of a wide range of technology with
enormous benefit to human and animal kind.
(Photo: courtesy National Aeronautics & Space Administration)
1962 -- Texas Heart Institute was founded.
The Texas Heart Institute was founded in 1962 by Dr. Denton A. Cooley
a world-renowned surgeon who pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery. The Institute's
mission is to reduce the devastating toll of cardiovascular disease through innovative programs in research, education
and patient care.
The Texas Heart Institute has been at the forefront in developments about the causes, prevention,
diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease, including the first successful heart transplantation in the U.S.,
the first implantation of an artificial heart in man in the world, breakthroughs in the treatment of infants born with
congenital defects, and effective methods of preventing heart attacks by reducing the formation of blockages in the arteries.
Today, the Texas Heart Institute and its clinical partner, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, are one of the
nation's largest cardiovascular centers.
1969 -- Man walked on the moon.
In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, American astronauts, made
history by becoming the first men to walk on the moon.
Listen to Neil Armstrong's first words as he steps onto the lunar
surface (66 kb .wav file). Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)
An important benefit of the Apollo Lunar Program and
other NASA programs is the ever-growing pipeline of technology that improves human and
veterinary healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics.
1969 -- Victor McKusick published "Mendelian Inheritance in Man".
Victor McKusick, widely acknowledged as the father of medical genetics, spent his career studying
the genetic basis of diseases and disorders with the belief that such an understanding could lead
to new methods of diagnosis and treatment. He studied, identified, and mapped genes responsible for
inherited conditions such as Marfan syndrome and dwarfism (specifically in Amish communities).
In 1969, he proposed the idea of mapping the human genome, over 30 years before the Human
Genome Project was established.
McKusick, a graduate of Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1946), spent his entire career there and founded
the Division of Medical Genetics in 1957, the first research center and clinic of its kind. In
1969 he published the 1st edition of his
book "Mendelian Inheritance of Man",
one of the most comprehensive collections of inherited disease genes. In 2002, McKusick received the
highest scientific honor in the U.S., the National Medal of Science.
1969 -- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center was founded.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC),
founded in 1969 by the 61st state Legislature, provides education, patient care and research
to benefit a previously under-served area in West Texas.
TTUHSC is home to the Alzheimer's DNA Bank, Center for Trauma Research, Center for Reproductive Research, The Institute of
Environmental and Human Health and Southwest Addictive Disease Institute.
1971 -- NASDAQ Stock Market was founded.
NASDAQ Stock Market was founded as the world's first electronic stock market by the
National Association of Securities Dealers. The NASDAQ system, created by the Bunker Ramos
Corp. allowed the financial community, for the first time, to determine which market
offered the best price on a given security.
1971 -- President Nixon declared war on cancer creating the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute.
On Dec. 23, 1971, the National Cancer Act of 1971, enacted by President Richard Nixon as part of the
nation’s war on cancer, established the Cancer Centers Program of the National Cancer Institute.
The National Cancer Act, "The War on Cancer," gave the NCI unique autonomy at NIH with special budgetary authority.
The annual budget of NCI, called the bypass budget, be submitted directly to the president, bypassing traditional
approval by the NIH or the Department of HHS required of other NIH institutes.
1973 -- Recombinant DNA was perfected.
The modern era of biotechnology begins when Stanley Cohen of Stanford University and Herbert Boyer of the University of
California at San Francisco successfully recombined ends of bacterial DNA after splicing a toad gene in between. They
called their accomplishment recombinant DNA, but the media preferred the term genetic engineering.
(Photo: Courtesy Stanley Cohen)
Boyer and Cohen's achievement was an advancement upon the techniques developed by Paul Berg, in 1972,
for inserting viral DNA into bacterial DNA. Cohen's research at Stanford was with plasmids—the nonchromosomal, circular
units of DNA found in, and exchanged by, bacteria, while Boyer's was restriction enzymes produced by bacteria to counter
invasion by bacteriophages.
1974 -- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was enacted.
John N. Erlenborn, the ranking Republican on the House Committee, was responsible for
bringing the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to a floor vote, and
is one of the ERISA’s "Founding Fathers." Together with Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY), Senator
Pete Williams (D-NJ) and Congressman John Dent (D-PA), Erlenborn crafted provisions and
participated in negotiations that were instrumental to the enactment of ERISA which was - and
remains - the single most important legislation governing employee benefit plans in the United
States creating a growing source of new capital.
(Photos: Jacob Javits and Pete Williams courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office).
1975 -- Monoclonal antibodies were produced.
In 1975, Georges Köhler and César Milstein, showed how monoclonal antibodies can be generated by
isolating individual fused myeloma cells.
Genentech was founded by venture
capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer. In the early 1970s, Boyer
and geneticist Stanley Cohen at Stanford University pioneered recombinant DNA technology.
Within a few short years Swanson and Boyer invented a new industry - biotechnology.
In 1980, Genentech issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and raised $35 million
with an offering that jumped from $35 a share to a high of $88 after less than an
hour on the market. This event was one of the largest stock run-ups ever, and that
event set the stage for future biotechnolgy industry offerings.
1977 -- First human gene was cloned.
Walter Gilbert induced bacteria to synthesize insulin and interferon, and Frederick Sanger
published the complete sequence of phage FX174. The 1980 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was
awarded jointly to Frederick Sanger and Walter Gilbert for "for their contributions concerning
the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids, and to Paul Berg for his fundamental
studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA.
1977 -- Ilya Prigogine was awarded Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.
Ilya Prigogine from the University of Texas at Austin
was awarded the 1977
Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics,
particularly the theory of dissipative structures.
In 1959, Prigogine joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin
where he later was appointed Regental Professor and Ashbel Smith Professor of Physics
and Chemical Engineering. In 1967, he in 1967, he co-founded the Center for Thermodynamics and
Statistical Mechanics (Center for Complex Quantum Systems) in Austin.
1980 -- U.S. Supreme Court ruled man-made organism patentable.
Diamond v. Chakrabarty, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds five-to-four the patentability of
genetically altered organisms, opening the door to greater patent protection for any
modified life forms.
In 1972, Mohan Chakrabarty, a microbiologist, filed a patent
application, assigned to the General Electric Co. for a human-made genetically engineered
bacterium capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil. Because of this
property, which is possessed by no naturally occurring bacteria, Chakrabarty's invention
was believed to have significant value for the treatment of oil spills. The application
asserted 36 claims related to Chakrabarty's invention of "a bacterium from the genus
Pseudomonas containing therein at least two stable energy-generating plasmids, each of
said plasmids providing a separate hydrocarbon degradative pathway.
Opinions: Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion
of the Court, in which justices Potter Stewart, Harry Blackmun, William Rehnquist, and
John Paul Stevens joined. William Brennan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Byron
White, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis Powell joined.
1980 -- Bayh-Dole Act provided for university technology transfer.
H.R.6933, Public Law: 96-517, December 12, 1980. A bill to amend title
35 of the United States Code. This Act known as the Bayh-Dole Act provided for the legal transfer of research and
technology originating from U.S. universities and federal laboratories to private
companies for commercialization. Technology transfer offices are now common in
universities and federal laboratories and are the technology foundation for numerous
biotechnology and medical device companies. (Photos: Birch Bayh and
Robert Dole courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office)
1983 -- Orphan Drug Act was created.
The Orphan Drug Act
encouraged the research and development of drugs for rare or "orphan" diseases defined as a disease or condition that
affects fewer than 200,000 Americans.
The Orphan Drug Act provided for financial incentives to help companies recover the cost of developing much needed
therapies for small patient populations. The FDA estimates that more than 11 million patients in the U.S. and millions
more around the world, have benefited from this legislation.
1984 -- Alec Jeffreys and technician Vicky Wilson discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting.
In 1984, geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys, and technician Vicky Wilson at the University of
Leicester in England discovered minisatellites leading to the development of genetic fingerprinting.
The new technology was first used in 1985 to resolve a disputed immigration case
that confirmed the identity of a British boy whose family was from Ghana.
In 1988, Colin Pitchfork was convicted of murdering two girls in 1983 and 1986 in
Narborough, Leicestershire, England after his DNA samples matched semen samples
taken from the two dead girls. Jeffreys' work in this case convicted the
killer, but also exonerated Richard Buckland, a suspect who otherwise might
have spent his life in prison. In 1994, Jeffreys' was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II for his services to genetics.
1990 -- E. Donnall Thomas awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine.
E. Donnall Thomas, a native of Texas and graduate of the University of Texas in
Austin (B.A. 1941, M.A. 1943), was awarded the 1990 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Joseph Murray for their
discoveries concerning organ and cell transplantation in the treatment of human disease.
The U.S. Human Genome
Project was established -- a 13-year effort coordinated by the U.S.
Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The main goals of the
Human Genome Project were to provide a complete and accurate sequence of the 3 billion
DNA base pairs that make up the human genome and to find all of the estimated 20,000 to
25,000 human genes. The project, originally planned to last 15 years, was expected
to be completed by 2003 due to rapid technological advances.
1991 -- The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center was founded..
Today, the Center serves Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding counties in North Texas,
a metropolitan area encompassing a racially and ethnically diverse population of nearly 7
million people.
1993 -- Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) was founded.
Biotechnology Industry
Organization is the world's largest organization to serve and represent the
biotechnology industry. BIO's leadership and service-oriented guidance have helped advance
the industry and bring the benefits of biotechnology to people everywhere.
1993 -- Kary B. Mullis was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
PCR allows scientists to quickly replicate small strands of DNA, greatly simplifying
the sequencing and cloning of genes. First presented in 1985, PCR has become one of
the most widespread methods of analyzing DNA. Notably, PCR requires the heat-stable enzyme
Taq (Thermus Aquaticus) which originated from hot springs located in Yellowstone
National Park.
1996 -- Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute was founded.
The mission of the http://www.thbi.com/" target="_blank">Texas Healthcare & Bioscience
Institute (THBI) is to research, develop, and advocate policies and actions that promote
biomedical science, biotechnology, agriculture and medical device innovation in Texas.
1996 -- Robert Curl and Richard Smalley awarded Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.
The 1996
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Rice University professors
Richard Smalley, Robert Curl and Harold Kroto of the University of Sussex in Brighton,
England for their discovery of fullerenes (buckminsterfullerenes).
Robert F. Curl Jr., born and raised in Alice, Texas, received a a B.S. from Rice Institute
(Rice University). In 1957, Curl earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California,
Berkeley. He joined the faculty of Rice University in 1967 and his research in infrared and microwave
spectroscopy inspired Richard Smalley to join Rice University in 1976 with the hope of
collaborating with Curl. Curl retired in 2008 as University Professor Emeritus,
Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus, and Professor of Chemistry
Emeritus at Rice University.
1997 -- National Space Biomedical Research Institute was established.
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI),
located in Houston, is a consortium of 12 institutions working to prevent or solve health problems related to long-duration space
travel and prolonged exposure to microgravity.
NSBRI discoveries and research will lead to countermeasures to the harmful effects of microgravity and space radiation, and, at the
same time, bring discoveries and products of clinical benefit to mankind on Earth enhancing
treatments for conditions such as osteoporosis, muscle wasting, shift-related sleep
disorders and radiation-related conditions. The Institute also is researching ways to
deliver medical care on these missions through new technologies and remote-treatment advances.
(Photo: Courtesy of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration)
2001 -- Human Genome Project draft sequence was published.
The February 16 issue of Science and February
15 issue of Nature contained the working draft of the human genome
sequence (U.S. Human Genome
Project). Nature papers included initial analysis of the descriptions of the sequence
generated by the publicly sponsored Human Genome Project, while Science publications focused
on the draft sequence reported by the private company, Celera Genomics.
2002 -- Governor Perry formed the Council on Science and Biotechnology Development.
In January 2002, Governor Rick Perry announced the formation of the Governor's Council
on Science and Biotechnology Development. The mission of the Council was to create a
seamless system of innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace in the rapidly developing areas of
biotechnology - such as biopharmaceutical development, bioinformatics, genomics and
nanotechnology.
The Council also was to develop a strategy to increase research and development
expenditures in Texas, including both private and public funds. Ashley Smith, a senior
advisor on the governor's staff, served as chairman of the Council. Smith, a former
member of the Texas House, served as chairman of the Southeast Texas BioTechnology
Park in Houston, and was president and CEO of the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation
and Research in Houston.
2007 -- Cancer Research Investment Initiative (Proposition 15) was approved by voters.
Cancer Research Investment Initiative
created by the Texas Legislature at Gov. Perry’s request through House Bill 14 and approved
by voters in Nov. 2007 established the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas,
enabling the issuance of $3 billion in bonds over the next ten years to fund cancer
research at institutions throughout the state.
Under the guidance of its governing body, the Oversight Committee, CPRIT accepted
applications and awards grants for a wide variety of cancer-related research and for the
delivery of cancer prevention programs and services by public and private entities
located in Texas. All CPRIT-funded research must be conducted in state by
Texas-based scientists and reflect CPRIT’s mission to attract and expand the state’s
research capabilities and create high quality new jobs in Texas.
2007 -- The National Institutes of Health established the Human Microbiome Project.
On Dec. 19, 2007, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), a $150 million initiative, was established by the National
Institutes of Health with the mission of generating resources that would enable the comprehensive characterization of
the human microbiome and analysis of its role in human health and disease.
The HMP is the collection of all
the microorganisms living in association with the human body, including eukaryotes, archaea, bacteria and viruses.
Bacteria in an average human body number ten times more than human cells, for a total of about 1000 more genes
than are present in the human genome.
Learn about the history of the life science industry in other states:
If you are aware of a notable event or person at your company or organization
that should be included in Texas Life Science History, please e-mail us
at: suggestions@inforesource.org.
The 
It is estimated that between 25 and 40 million people died
from the the influenza outbreak that began in 1918, swept across America in a week and
around the world in three months. In all, between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans
--civilians and soldiers-- died from the influenza, more than were lost in World War I,
II, and the Korean and Viet Nam wars combined.
In 1953, DeBakey performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy, thereby
establishing the field of surgery for strokes. In 1964, DeBakey and associates
performed the first aortocoronary bypass with autogenous saphenous vein graft, and
in 1968, DeBakey performed the first of 12 heart transplants. 
Listen to 
The 
