Adelaide Carpenter

Adelaide T. C. Carpenter (June 24, 1944 – May 2024) was an American fruit fly geneticist at the University of Cambridge.

Adelaide Carpenter
Born	Adelaide T. C. Carpenter (1944-06-24)June 24, 1944 Georgia, United States
Died	May 2024(2024-05-00) (aged 79)
Alma mater	North Carolina State University University of Washington (Ph.D.)
Known for	Discovery of the recombination nodule
Spouse	Aubrey de Grey ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 2017)​ [1][2]
Scientific career
Institutions	University of California, San Diego University of Cambridge

Biography

Carpenter was born 24 June 1944, in Georgia, United States and grew up in North Carolina. In the 1970s, whilst at the University of Washington, she was one of the numerous graduate students mentored by Larry Sandler.^[3] In 1976, she obtained a faculty position at the University of California, San Diego. In 1989, after becoming full professor, she took a second sabbatical in the United Kingdom.

Scientific work

In 1975, Carpenter discovered and published a paper on the recombination nodule, an organelle that mediates meiotic recombination.^[4]

Media appearances

• The Immortalists (2014)
• Do You Want to Live Forever? (2007)

References

1. Chen, Ingfei. Wake-Up Call, Sciencemag.org, 19 February 2003.
2. Cox, Hugo. Aubrey de Grey: scientist who says humans can live for 1,000 years, Financial Times, 8 February 2017.
3. Lindsley, D. (April 1999). "Larry Sandler: personal recollections" (PDF). Genetics. 151 (4): 1233–1237. doi:10.1093/genetics/151.4.1233. PMC 1460553. PMID 10101152.
4. Carpenter, A. T. (1975). "Electron microscopy of meiosis in Drosophila melanogaster females: II. The recombination nodule--a recombination-associated structure at pachytene?". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 72 (8): 3186–3189. Bibcode:1975PNAS...72.3186C. doi:10.1073/pnas.72.8.3186. PMC 432946. PMID 810799.

Further reading

• "Dr. Adelaide T. C. Carpenter discusses genetic recombination at an American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium entitled "The Recombination Nodule: The Organelle that Mediates Meiotic Recombination."". Press release. University of California, San Diego. 1982-01-04. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
• Web page at University of Cambridge