2008 was a great year for women! WowOwow.com (The Women on the Web) is celebrating those women’s achievements that were “firsts” in the past twelve months. 2008 was more than just the year of 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling: women smashed gender barriers in politics, science, sports, and elsewhere. Read about some of these remarkable women here.
More Firsts for Women 2008
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Hillary Rodham Clinton, First Woman to Be a Presidential Candidate in Every Primary and Caucus
October 26, 2010 08:15 AM -
Sarah Palin, First Woman to Be the Republican Candidate for Vice President
February 11, 2010 08:15 AM -
Brittany Catanzaro, First Female Ferry Captain for New York Waterway and Hero to US Airways Flight 1549
January 16, 2010 12:10 AM
Jerry Lampen/Reuters
Dr. Marjolein Kriek, First Woman to Have Her DNA Sequence Determined
Celebrating two firsts in May, Dutch clinical geneticist Dr. Marjolein Kriek, 34, of Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) in the Netherlands, became the first woman and the first European to have her complete DNA sequence determined.
Dr. Kriek joins the four men who have had their entire DNA decoded. Her DNA sequence will offer a clearer picture of the XX-chromosomes that women possess, versus the XY-chromosomes of men.
“We considered that sequencing only males, for 'completeness,' slows insight into X-chromosome variability. So it was time, after sequencing four males, to balance the genders a bit,” said Gert-Jan B van Ommen, leader of the LUMC team and director of the Center for Medical Systems Biology (CMSB), at the announcement of the research.
Dr. Kriek joins DNA pioneer James Watson as one of only five people to have had their DNA sequence determined. Craig Venter, also a gene researcher, has had his DNA sequenced, followed by two African men. Experts suggest that the procedure could become more common as its price continues to decrease.
The University announced Kriek’s sequencing in May, though final results will not be released until a comprehensive study has been completed.
The field of DNA sequencing dates back to Frederic Sanger’s invention of sequencing nearly 25 years ago. But large-scale analyses of the human genome, such as that proposed by the Human Genome Project in 1990, could not take place without the technologically advanced computers we have today. These computers are powerful enough to calculate the enormous amounts of information involved in DNA sequencing.
“We considered that sequencing only males, for 'completeness,' slows insight into X-chromosome variability. So it was time, after sequencing four males, to balance the genders a bit,” said Gert-Jan B van Ommen, leader of the LUMC team and director of the Center for Medical Systems Biology (CMSB), at the announcement of the research.
Dr. Kriek joins DNA pioneer James Watson as one of only five people to have had their DNA sequence determined. Craig Venter, also a gene researcher, has had his DNA sequenced, followed by two African men. Experts suggest that the procedure could become more common as its price continues to decrease.
The University announced Kriek’s sequencing in May, though final results will not be released until a comprehensive study has been completed.
The field of DNA sequencing dates back to Frederic Sanger’s invention of sequencing nearly 25 years ago. But large-scale analyses of the human genome, such as that proposed by the Human Genome Project in 1990, could not take place without the technologically advanced computers we have today. These computers are powerful enough to calculate the enormous amounts of information involved in DNA sequencing.
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