Overview

Hermann J. Muller (1890-1967) made many contributions to the understanding of genetic mutation, the gene, and radiation genetics, but he is primarily remembered for his demonstration that mutations could be artificially induced by x rays. Muller began his research career in the famous "fly room" of Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945), who established the chromosome theory of heredity. When Muller began his research, the term "mutation" was applied indiscriminately to many different phenomena. Muller helped narrow the definition to its present meaning: an inheritable change in a specific gene. In 1946 Muller won the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for the induction of genetic mutations with x rays. He also established the laws of radiation genetics, demonstrating the relationship between the radiation dose and the frequency of gene mutations and chromosomal rearrangements...