My Life in Science: Sydney Brenner

From modest beginnings, Sydney Brenner (1927-2019) has risen to become one of the most distinguished and influential scientists of the twentieth century. His research spans the breadth of biology—from deciphering the genetic code to establishing the role of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for developmental biology.

 

This entertaining account charts Brenner’s life, in his own words, from early experiments in the back room of his father’s shoe shop to his election as Director of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK and beyond. It offers a fascinating and intimate portrait of one of the giants of modern biology.