Brenner, Sidney (1927- )

South African scientist, one of the pioneers of genetic engineering. Brenner discovered messenger RNA (a link between DNA and the ribosomes in which proteins are synthesized) 1960. Brenner became engaged in one of the most elaborate efforts in anatomy ever attempted: investigating the nervous system of nematode worms and comparing the nervous systems of different mutant forms of the animal. About 100 genes are involved in constructing the nervous system of a nematode and most of the mutations that occur affect the overall design of a section of the nervous system. Brenner was born in Germiston, near Johannesburg, and studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and in the UK at Oxford. From 1957 he researched in the Molecular Biology Laboratory of the Medical Research Council, Cambridge, and in 1980 was appointed its director. Brenner is also interested in tumour biology and in the use of genetic engineering for purifying proteins, cloning genes, and synthesizing amino acids.