Robert Hall Haynes,
OC,
FRSC (August 27, 1931 – December 22, 1998) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...
and
biophysicist
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study Biology, biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from Molecule, molecular to organismic ...
. He was the Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Biology at
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
. Haynes was best known for his contributions to the study of
DNA repair
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA dam ...
and
mutagenesis
Mutagenesis () is a process by which the genetic information of an organism is changed by the production of a mutation. It may occur spontaneously in nature, or as a result of exposure to mutagens. It can also be achieved experimentally using la ...
, and for helping promote the concept of
terraforming
Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
through his invention of the term,
ecopoiesis.
Haynes was one of the earliest geneticists to recognize the fundamental biologic importance of the
vulnerability of DNA to damage and therefore the central role of
DNA repair
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA dam ...
processes. As he noted, “
DNA is composed of rather ordinary molecular subunits, which certainly are not endowed with any peculiar kind of quantum mechanical stability. Its very chemical vulgarity makes it prey to all the chemical horrors and misfortune that might befall any such molecule in a warm aqueous medium.”
Haynes early life and scientific contributions have been summarized by Kunz et al. (1993) and Kunz and Hanawalt (1999).
[Kunz BA1, Hanawalt PC. In memoriam: robert hall haynes. Environ Mol Mutagen. 1999;33(4):257-265. DOI:10.1002/(sici)1098-2280(1999)33:4<257::aid-em1>3.0.co;2-0]
Incomplete timeline
* 1953, Haynes receives a degree in Mathematics and Physics, at the ''University of Western Ontario''.
* 1957, Ph.D. in Biophysics, UWO
* 1984, Haynes creates the word ''ecopoiesis'', a term that came to be widely used by writers and some proponents of ''terraforming'' and space exploration.
* 1987, The Genetics Society of Canada creates the ''Robert H. Haynes Young Scientist Award''.
* 1988, Haynes serves as President of the 16th International Congress of Genetics.
* 1990, He is made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.
* 1995 Haynes becomes the 104th President of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
Selected publications
Presidential Address
*
Planetary engineering
*
*
* in
*Haynes, Robert H. (1990) Etablierung von Leben auf dem Mars durch gerichtete Panspermie: Technische und ethische Probleme der Okopoese," ''Biol. Zent.'' bl. 109. 193-205.
*
*Haynes, Robert. (1993)
How Mars Might Become a Home for Humans.The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind''.
References
External links
104th President
Environmental Mutagen Society Robert H. Haynes Young Scientist Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Robert
1931 births
1998 deaths
Canadian biophysicists
Canadian geneticists
Canadian physicists
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Officers of the Order of Canada
University of Western Ontario alumni
York University faculty
20th-century Canadian biologists