Hermann Joseph Muller was the first to show that genetic mutations can be induced by exposing chromosomes to x rays. For this demonstration, he was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Muller also took up a crusade to improve the condition of the human gene pool by calling for a cessation of the unnecessary use of x rays in medicine, and a halt to nuclear bomb testing in order to prevent further damage to the genetic makeup of the human population.

Hermann Joseph Muller was born on December 21, 1890, in New York City. Hermann attended Morris High School in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. On a scholarship, Muller enrolled at Columbia University in 1907 and majored in genetics. He received his bachelors degree in 1910 and then continued at both Cornell Medical School and Columbia for his master's degree, studying the transmission of nerve impulses...