Joshua Lederberg dies

Joshua Lederberg, Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist who shaped the field of bacterial genetics, and served as chair of The Scientist's advisory board since 1986, died on Saturday (February 2). He was 82. Lederberg shared a linkurl:Nobel Prize;http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1958/index.html in physiology and medicine in 1958 for the discovery that certain strains of bacteria reproduce by mating, thereby exchanging their genetic material. This overturned the idea held at the time that bacteria did not warrant genetic study and set the field of bacterial genetics into motion. According to the ISI database Lederberg published 288 papers. His most highly cited paper, published in 1952 on bacterial mutants, was cited more than 1100 times. An analysis of citations of Lederberg's papers can be found linkurl:here.;http://garfield.library.upenn.edu/histcomp/index-lederberg.html "He was one of the most significant scientists of our generation" Eugene Garfield, founder of The Scientist, said. Lederberg was also one of the early supporters of the...