Renowned Geneticist set to detail the rise of a 'Courageous Prodigy' in Scripps Lecture series
A memorial service for the late Richard Rosenblatt will be held at the Scripps Seaside Forum on January 15, 2015, at 1 p.m., preceding the resumption of the Rosenblatt Lecture series. The lecture, scheduled for 3 p.m., will be delivered by Sean Carroll, an award-winning scientist, writer, educator, and executive producer.
The Rosenblatt Lecture has been on hiatus since the passing of Richard Rosenblatt on October 30, 2014. This forthcoming lecture marks the ninth in the series, which focuses on evolutionary biology.
Sean Carroll, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin, will delve into the life and achievements of Jacques Monod, a co-founder of molecular biology. Monod's groundbreaking research in gene regulation and allosteric mechanisms has had a profound impact on the field.
Jacques Monod, a French biochemist and molecular biologist, is renowned for his pioneering work on gene regulation and allosteric mechanisms. Together with François Jacob, he demonstrated in 1961 that gene products regulate the expression of other genes by acting on specific DNA sites, elucidating a fundamental mechanism of genetic control.
Monod’s concept of allostery—where a protein’s function is regulated by changes in its conformation induced by effectors binding at sites other than the active site—was further demonstrated and refined by successors such as Max Perutz. This allosteric regulation concept has broad implications across molecular biology, including the control of enzymes and receptors, key to cellular communication.
In his lectures, Sean Carroll has highlighted Monod's seminal contribution to molecular biology by referencing his foundational work on protein regulation and allostery, which had a profound impact on biology. Carroll emphasized how Monod’s theoretical models helped bridge molecular biology with broader biological phenomena such as cognition, illustrating Monod’s role as a key figure connecting molecular mechanisms and complex biological systems.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Robert Paine Scripps Forum for Science, Society, and the Environment (Scripps Seaside Forum) on the Scripps Oceanography campus. The address for the venue is 8610 Kennel Way, La Jolla, CA 92037.
Sean Carroll has been the executive producer and/or on-screen presenter in more than a dozen films, including the documentary "Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink" on the Smithsonian Channel. He currently serves as vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and conducts research on the genetic components of evolution and development ("evo-devo").
The public is invited to attend the lecture, which will also discuss Monod's emergence as a public figure and leading voice of science. The event will precede the Rosenblatt Lecture with Sean Carroll, who is the architect of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's $60 million science filmmaking initiative.
[1] Carroll, S. B. (2013). Brave Genius: A Scientist's Journey from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize. W. W. Norton & Company. [2] Jacob, F., & Monod, J. (1961). Genetic regulatory mechanisms in the synthesis of proteins. Journal of Molecular Biology, 3(4), 318-356. [3] Perutz, M. F. (1960). Structure of haemoglobin. Nature, 187(4739), 1252-1262.
- The upcoming Rosenblatt Lecture, focusing on evolutionary biology and honoring Jacques Monod's groundbreaking work on gene regulation and allosteric mechanisms, falls under the realms of science, education-and-self-development, and health-and-wellness, considering its implications for understanding complex biological systems and genetic control.
- Sean Carroll, an award-winning scientist, writer, educator, and executive producer, delving into the life and achievements of Jacques Monod, will discuss medical-conditions such as gene regulation and allosteric mechanisms, connect them with science, technology, and lifestyle by demonstrating their effects on cellular communication.
- As the architect of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's science filmmaking initiative and executive producer of documentaries like "Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink," Sean Carroll's work also touches upon space-and-astronomy, as the understanding of biological systems can have cosmic implications, and lifestyle, as he uses film to engage the public in scientific discussions.
