Ohio State Alum Lauded for Helping Launch Biotech Industry, Genomics Revolution

Ohio State University alumnus Thomas Brock has been honored with the Golden Goose Award for his discovery of a bacterium that enabled the first DNA fingerprinting of the heat resistant bacteria Thermus aquaticus. The award honors scientists "whose federally funded research may not have seemed to have significant practical applications at the time it was conducted, but has resulted in tremendous societal and economic benefit."

In 1967, with funding from the National Science Foundation, Brock and his then-undergraduate research assistant Hudson Freeze ventured to a colorful hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. There, they discovered a hearty species of bacteria they named Thermus aquaticus, that could thrive in water hot enough to kill other forms of life.

Enzymes found in the bacteria turned out to be durable enough to survive the high heat required to copy and study the bacterium's DNA. This was the first effort in research launched the biotech industry, genomics and countless medical advances since.

For details, check out http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/goose_osu.htm.