Influential British geneticist Mary Lyon was born on May 15, 1925! She developed the hypothesis that one of the two X chromosomes in female mammals becomes permanently inactivated early in development, but this inactivation happens at different stages among cells. (The distinctive fur of tortie cats is a result of this phenomenon.) Discovery of X-inactivation led to important developments in treatment of inherited diseases like certain cancers and muscular dystrophy, as well as the discovery of the non-coding RNA Xist that acts in the inactivation process. Lyon also laid the foundations for the use of mice as model organisms in molecular medicine. Lyon enrolled at Cambridge in the 1940s, a time when comparatively few women were accepted, and they only received titular degrees. Way to stick it to the patriarchy, Dr. Lyon! https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/leading-figures/mary-lyon-geneticist-discovered-women-are-cellular-mosaics/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0Kq_qqoueGD-GHhXNHgjXSlO-ISThfyfwqotb_JZsi2uN8EbRk0Oc6aFQ_aem_AU5aOb7H5WRkmX_RDgsadOf4Q2jCH31n6gB9L2uvf7mB3RrmMaWge7uQ5sIXud-o0-n_sTxeUsZncqMmtH2Le51N
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