Wilson Stuart Stone (October 6, 1907 – February 28, 1968) was an American

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

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. Stone received his bachelor, Masters and PhD at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and joined the department of zoology in 1932. Stone mentors were J. T. Patterson,

H.J. Muller Hermann Joseph Muller (December 21, 1890 – April 5, 1967) was an American geneticist, educator, and Nobel laureate best known for his work on the physiological and genetic effects of radiation (mutagenesis), as well as his outspoken political ...

, and

Theophilus Painter Theophilus Shickel Painter (August 22, 1889 – October 5, 1969) was an American zoologist best known for his work on the structure and function of chromosomes, especially the sex-determination genes X and Y in humans. He was the first to discove ...

. Stone's work was primarily in radiation genetics, drosophila speciation, and population genetics. In 1946 along with Wyss and Hass demonstrated the indirect of effects of

ultraviolet radiation Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...

causing

mutations In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

in bacteria. *Helped found the genetics foundation at

in 1952 *Chairman of the department of zoology at University of Texas (1959–1963) *Was vice-Chancellor of the university system *Consultant for Atomic Energy Commission *Elected to

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(1960) *Co-editor of ''Genetics'' (1957–1963) *Associate editor of ''

Radiation Research ''Radiation Research'', the official journal of the Radiation Research Society, is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research into the areas of biology, chemistry, medicine and physics, including epidemiology and translational re ...

'' (1960–1963) *Secretary of

American Society of Naturalists The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America. The purpose of the Society is "to advance and diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and o ...

(1947–1949)

In Memoriam awards

Wilson S. Stone Memorial Award was created in 1971 to recognize young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to biomedical sciences in the United States and presented at the annual Symposium on Fundamental Cancer Research sponsored by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

References

National Academy of Sciences. Biographical memoirs. "Wilson Stuart Stone" by

James F. Crow James Franklin Crow (January 18, 1916 – January 4, 2012) was Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a prominent population geneticist whose career spanned from the modern synthesis to the genomic era. Some o ...

pages in 451-468 Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. https://books.google.com/books?id=h9xnzIV_zQYC ''Radiation Research'' 42(2) 430-432 (1970) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Wilson 1907 births Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1968 deaths American geneticists 21st-century American politicians People from Junction, Texas Genetics (journal) editors