Cohen and Boyer perform the first successful recombinant DNA experiment, using bacterial genes. The National Institute of Health forms a Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee to oversee recombinant genetic research. 1975 Colony hybridization and Southern blotting are developed for detecting specific DNA sequences. The first monoclonal antibodies are produced. The tools of recombinant DNA are first applied to a human inherited disorder.
Molecular hybridization is used for the prenatal diagnosis of alpha thalassemia.
Yeast genes are expressed in E. coli bacteria. 1978 North Carolina scientists Hutchinson and Edgell show it is possible to introduce specific mutations at specific sites in a DNA molecule. The U.S. Supreme Court, in the landmark case Diamond v. Chakrabarty, approves the principle of patenting genetically engineered life forms. The U.S. patent for gene cloning is awarded to Cohen and Boyer. The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is created by the state's General Assembly as the nation's first state-sponsored initiative to develop biotechnology.