Caltech will remember Giuseppe Attardi of Altadena, a pioneering DNA researcher, with a memorial symposium at Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena from 1:30-4:30 PM on Fri, Aug. 29. Attardi died on April 5 at age 84 in his Altadena home. Says Caltech Today:
Attardi, the California Institute of Technology's Steele Professor of Molecular Biology, was among the first scientists to delve into the processes through which DNA's information is transferred. He identified all the genes of the DNA in human mitochondria—often called the powerhouses of biological cells. He then developed techniques for investigating genetic diseases, including Alzheimer's, and aging in general, which he discovered is associated with changes in mitochondrial DNA.
