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Whose discovery identified the Barr body in female cells?

Human BiologyGenetics

Quick Answer

Murray Barr and Ewart Bertram identified the Barr body in 1949. It is the condensed inactive X chromosome seen in many female cells.

The Full Story

Murray Barr and Ewart Bertram discovered in 1949 that cells from female mammals contain a dense nuclear structure later called the Barr body. This was important evidence that one X chromosome is inactive in many female cells. The finding became a classic clue in sex-chromosome biology and clinical genetics. Barr bodies are still used in some contexts to help understand chromosomal sex and X-inactivation.

Key Facts

1.The Barr body was described in 1949
2.It represents an inactive X chromosome
3.It is found in many female mammalian cells

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Suggested video title for this topic:

"The tiny body in cells that revealed X-chromosome silencing"