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Red hair – Wikipedia

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ModernNorthern and Western Europe

Red hair is most commonly found at the northern and western fringes of Europe;[4] it is centred around populations in the British Isles and is particularly associated with the Celtic nations.[4]

Ireland has the highest number of red-haired people per capita in the world with the percentage of those with red hair at around 10%.[5]

Great Britain also has a high percentage of people with red hair. In Scotland around 6% of the population has red hair, with the highest concentration of red head carriers in the world found in Edinburgh, making it the red head capital of the world.[6][7] In 1907, the largest ever study of hair colour in Scotland, which analysed over 500,000 people, found the percentage of Scots with red hair to be 5.3%.[8] A 1956 study of hair colour among British Army recruits also found high levels of red hair in Wales and in the Scottish border counties of England.[fn 1][9]

Byzantine writers, Jordanes and Procopius described the early Slavic peoples as having ruddy hair and skin tone.[10][11] Later by the 10th century, Southern Slavic populations would have darker hair and skin tone, as the Slavs assimilated the indigenous inhabitants of the Balkans, including Greek and Illyrian peoples.[12]

In the late 18th century, ethnographers considered the Udmurt people of the Volga Region in Russia to be "the most red-headed men in the world".[13] The Volga region still has one of the highest percentages of redheaded people.[14]

Red hair is also found amongst the Ashkenazi Jewish populations.[15] In 1903, 5.6% of Polish Jews had red hair.[16] Other studies have found that 3.69% of Jewish women overall were found to have red hair, but around 10.9% of all Jewish men have red beards.[17] The stereotype that red hair is Jewish remains in parts of Eastern Europe and Russia.[18]

In Italy, red hair is found at a frequency of 0.57% of the total population, without variation in frequency across the different regions of the country.[19] In Sardinia, red hair is found at a frequency of 0.24% of the population.[19] In Italy, red hair was associated with Italian Jews, and Judas was traditionally depicted as red-haired in Italian and Spanish art.[20] In European culture, before the 20th century, red hair was often seen as a stereotypically Jewish trait: during the Spanish Inquisition, all those with red hair were identified as Jewish.[21]

The Berber populations of Morocco[22] and northern Algeria have occasional redheads. Red hair frequency is especially significant among the Riffians from Morocco and Kabyles from Algeria,[23][24][25] respectively.

In Asia, red hair can be found among some peoples of Afghan,[26][27] Arab, Iranian, East Indians, Mongolian, Turkic, Miao, and Hmong descent.[citation needed]

Several preserved samples of human hair have been obtained from an Iron Age cemetery in Khakassia, South Siberia. Many of the hair samples appear red in color, and one skull from the cemetery had a preserved red moustache.[28]

Ancient human remains described as having red or auburn hair have been discovered in various parts of Asia including the Tarim mummies of Xinjiang, China.[29] In Chinese sources, ancient Kyrgyz people were described as fair-skinned, green- or blue-eyed and red-haired people with a mixture of European and East Asian features.[30] In the Book of Wei, Chinese author Wei Shou notes that Liu Yuan was over 6 feet tall and had red strands of hair in his long beard.[31] The ethnic Miao people of China are recorded with red hair. According to F.M Savina of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society, the appearance of the Miao was pale yellow in their skin complexion, almost white, their hair color often being light or dark brown, sometimes even red or corn-silk blond, and a few of them even have pale blue eyes.[32] A phenotype study of Hmong People show they are sometimes born with red hair.[33]

There are other examples of red hair among early Turkic people. Muqan Qaghan, the third Qaghan of the Turkic Khaganate, was said to have red hair and blue eyes.[34] The Kipchak people were a Turkic ethnic group from central Asia who served in the Golden Horde military forces after being conquered by the Mongols. In the Chinese historical document Kang mu, the Kipchak people are described as red haired and blue eyed.[35][36]

Reddish-brown (auburn) hair is also found amongst some Polynesians, and is especially common in some tribes and family groups. In Polynesian culture reddish hair has traditionally been seen as a sign of descent from high-ranking ancestors and a mark of rulership.[38][39] Emigration from Europe has increased the population of red haired humans in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Several accounts by Greek writers mention redheaded people. A fragment by the poet Xenophanes describes the Thracians as blue-eyed and red-haired.[40] The ancient peoples Budini and Sarmatians are also reported by Greek author to be blue-eyed and red-haired, and the latter even owe their names to it.[41][42]

In Asia, red or auburn hair has been found among the ancient Tocharians, who occupied the Tarim Basin in what is now the northwesternmost province of China. Tarim mummies have been found with red hair dating to the 2nd millennium BC.[43]

In certain Biblical accounts, Hebrew and Israelite individuals were described as having ruddy hair. For example, Esau and David (Gen. 25:25; 1 Sam. 16:12, 17:42.), are described as "admoni", meaning red or ruddy.[44]

The pigment pheomelanin gives red hair its distinctive color. Red hair has far more of the pigment pheomelanin than it has of the dark pigment eumelanin.

The genetics of red hair appear to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is found on chromosome 16. In 1995, Valverde, et al. identified aleles on MC1R associated with red hair. The number of alleles linked to red hair has since been expanded by other authors, and these variants are now identified as the RHC alleles. Eighty percent of redheads have an MC1R gene variant within the RHC.[45][2] Red hair is also associated with fair skin color because the MC1R mutation also results in low concentrations of eumelanin throughout the body. The lower melanin concentration in skin confers the advantage that a sufficient concentration of important Vitamin D can be produced under low light conditions. However, when UV-radiation is strong (as in regions close to the equator) the lower concentration of melanin leads to several medical disadvantages, such as a higher risk of skin cancer. The MC1R variant gene that gives people red hair generally results in skin that is difficult or impossible to tan. Because of the natural tanning reaction to the sun's ultraviolet light and high amounts of pheomelanin in the skin, freckles are a common but not universal feature of red-haired people.

Red hair can originate from several changes on the MC1R-gene. If one of these changes is present on both chromosomes then the respective individual is likely to have red hair. This type of inheritance is described as an autosomal recessive. Even if both parents do not have red hair themselves, both can be carriers for the gene and have a redheaded child.

Genetic studies of dizygotic (fraternal) twins indicate that the MC1R gene is not solely responsible for the red hair phenotype; unidentified modifier genes exist, making variance in the MC1R gene necessary, but not sufficient, for red hair production.[46]

The alleles Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, Asp294His, and Arg142His on MC1R are shown to be recessives for the red hair phenotype.[48] The gene HCL2 on chromosome 4 may also be related to red hair.[49][50] There are at least 8 genetic differences associated with red hair color.[51][52]

In species other than primates, red hair has different genetic origins and mechanisms.

The genes responsible for red hair can express themselves to different extents in different people. One consequence of this is that a number of people have both dark hair and red beards. This may reflect the presence of a single copy of the MC1R gene, leading to differential expression in the beard versus the scalp hair. However, some red-bearded people lack MC1R genes.[53][54]

Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in humans. The non-tanning skin associated with red hair may have been advantageous in far-northern climates where sunlight is scarce. Studies by Bodmer and Cavalli-Sforza (1976) hypothesized that lighter skin pigmentation prevents rickets in colder climates by encouraging higher levels of vitamin D production and also allows the individual to retain heat better than someone with darker skin.[55] In 2000, Harding et al. concluded that red hair is not the result of positive selection but of a lack of negative selection. In Africa, for example, red hair is selected against because high levels of sun harm pale skin. However, in Northern Europe this does not happen, so redheads can become more common through genetic drift.[48]

Estimates on the original occurrence of the currently active gene for red hair vary from 20,000 to 100,000 years ago.[56][57]

A DNA study has concluded that some Neanderthals also had red hair, although the mutation responsible for this differs from that which causes red hair in modern humans.[58]

A 2007 report in The Courier-Mail, which cited the National Geographic magazine and unnamed "geneticists", said that red hair is likely to die out in the near future.[59] Other blogs and news sources ran similar stories that attributed the research to the magazine or the "Oxford Hair Foundation". However, a HowStuffWorks article says that the foundation was funded by hair-dye maker Procter & Gamble, and that other experts had dismissed the research as either lacking in evidence or simply bogus. The National Geographic article in fact states "while redheads may decline, the potential for red isn't going away".[60]

Red hair is caused by a relatively rare recessive allele, the expression of which can skip generations. It is not likely to disappear at any time in the foreseeable future.[60]

In various times and cultures, red hair has been prized, feared, and ridiculed.

A common belief about redheads is that they have fiery tempers and sharp tongues. In Anne of Green Gables, a character says of Anne Shirley, the redheaded heroine, that "her temper matches her hair", while in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield remarks that "People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie [his dead brother] never did, and he had very red hair."

During the early stages of modern medicine, red hair was thought to be a sign of a sanguine temperament.[80] In the Indian medicinal practice of Ayurveda, redheads are seen as most likely to have a Pitta temperament.

Another belief is that redheads are highly sexed; for example, Jonathan Swift satirizes redhead stereotypes in part four of Gulliver's Travels, "A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms," when he writes that: "It is observed that the red-haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity." Swift goes on to write that "neither was the hair of this brute [a Yahoo] of a red colour (which might have been some excuse for an appetite a little irregular) but black as a sloe".[81] Such beliefs were given a veneer of scientific credibility in the 19th century by Cesare Lombroso and Guglielmo Ferrero. They concluded that red hair was associated with crimes of lust, and claimed that 48% of "criminal women" were redheads.[82]

Queen Elizabeth I of England was a redhead, and during the Elizabethan era in England, red hair was fashionable for women. In modern times, red hair is subject to fashion trends; celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Alyson Hannigan, Marcia Cross, Christina Hendricks, Emma Stone and Geri Halliwell can boost sales of red hair dye.[citation needed]

Sometimes, red hair darkens as people get older, becoming a more brownish color or losing some of its vividness. This leads some to associate red hair with youthfulness, a quality that is generally considered desirable. In several countries such as India, Iran, Bangladesh and Pakistan, henna and saffron are used on hair to give it a bright red appearance.[83]

Many painters have exhibited a fascination with red hair. The hair color "Titian" takes its name from the artist Titian, who often painted women with red hair. Early Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli's famous painting The Birth of Venus depicts the mythological goddess Venus as a redhead. Other painters notable for their redheads include the Pre-Raphaelites, Edmund Leighton, Modigliani,[84] and Gustav Klimt.[85]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Red-Headed League" (1891) involves a man who is asked to become a member of a mysterious group of red-headed people. The 1943 film DuBarry Was a Lady featured red-heads Lucille Ball and Red Skelton in Technicolor.

Notable comic book characters with red hair include Jean Grey, Red Sonja, Mystique, and Poison Ivy.[86]

A book of photographs of red haired people was published in 2020, Gingers by Kieran Dodds (2020).[87]

Red hair was thought to be a mark of a beastly sexual desire and moral degeneration. A savage red-haired man is portrayed in the fable by Grimm brothers (Der Eisenhans) as the spirit of the forest of iron. Theophilus Presbyter describes how the blood of a red-haired young man is necessary to create gold from copper, in a mixture with the ashes of a basilisk.[88]

According to Montague Summers, red hair and green eyes were thought to be the sign of a witch, a werewolf or a vampire during the Middle Ages:

Those whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakably vampires. It is significant that in ancient Egypt, as Manetho tells us, human sacrifices were offered at the grave of Osiris, and the victims were red-haired men who were burned, their ashes being scattered far and wide by winnowing-fans. It is held by some authorities that this was done to fertilize the fields and produce a bounteous harvest, red-hair symbolizing the golden wealth of the corn. But these men were called Typhonians, and were representatives not of Osiris but of his evil rival Typhon, whose hair was red.

During the Spanish Inquisition, people of red hair were identified as Jewish and isolated for persecution.[21] In Medieval Italy and Spain, red hair was associated with the heretical nature of Jews and their rejection of Jesus, and thus Judas Iscariot was commonly depicted as red-haired in Italian and Spanish art.[20] Writers from Shakespeare to Dickens would identify Jewish characters by giving them red hair, such as the villainous Jewish characters Shylock and Fagin.[89] The antisemitic association persisted into modern times in Soviet Russia.[18] The medieval prejudice against red-hair may have derived from the Ancient biblical tradition, in relation to biblical figures such as Esau and King David. The Ancient historian Josephus would mistranslate the Hebrew Torah to describe the more positive figure of King David as 'golden haired', in contrast to the negative figure of Esau, even though the original Hebrew Torah implies that both King David and Esau had 'fiery red hair'.[90]

In his 1885 book I Say No, Wilkie Collins wrote "The prejudice against habitual silence, among the lower order of the people, is almost as inveterate as the prejudice against red hair."

In his 1895 memoir and history The Gurneys of Earlham, Augustus John Cuthbert Hare described an incident of harassment:"The second son, John, was born in 1750. As a boy he had bright red hair, and it is amusingly recorded that one day in the streets of Norwich a number of boys followed him, pointing to his red locks and saying, "Look at that boy; he's got a bonfire on the top of his head," and that John Gurney was so disgusted that he went to a barber's, had his head shaved, and went home in a wig. He grew up, however, a remarkably attractive-looking young man."[91]

In British English, the word "ginger" is sometimes used to describe red-headed people (at times in an insulting manner),[92] with terms such as "gingerphobia"[93] and "gingerism"[94] used by the British media. In Britain, redheads are also sometimes referred to disparagingly as "carrot tops" and "carrot heads". (The comedian "Carrot Top" uses this stage name.) "Gingerism" has been compared to racism, although this is widely disputed, and bodies such as the UK Commission for Racial Equality do not monitor cases of discrimination and hate crimes against redheads.[94]

Nonetheless, individuals and families in Britain are targeted for harassment and violence because of their hair colour. In 2003, a 20-year-old was stabbed in the back for "being ginger".[95] In 2007, a UK woman won an award from a tribunal after being sexually harassed and receiving abuse because of her red hair;[96] in the same year, a family in Newcastle upon Tyne, was forced to move twice after being targeted for abuse and hate crime on account of their red hair.[97] In May 2009, a schoolboy committed suicide after being bullied for having red hair.[98] In 2013, a fourteen-year-old boy in Lincoln had his right arm broken and his head stamped on by three men who attacked him "just because he had red hair". The three men were subsequently jailed for a combined total of ten years and one month for the attack.[99] A possible fringe theory explaining the historical and modern mistreatment of red-heads supposedly stems from subjugation and consequent persecution of Celtic Nations.

This prejudice has been satirised on a number of TV shows. English comedian Catherine Tate (herself a redhead) appeared as a red-haired character in a running sketch of her series The Catherine Tate Show. The sketch saw fictional character Sandra Kemp, who was forced to seek solace in a refuge for ginger people because she had been ostracised from society.[100] The British comedy Bo' Selecta! (starring redhead Leigh Francis) featured a spoof documentary which involved a caricature of Mick Hucknall presenting a show in which celebrities (played by themselves) dyed their hair red for a day and went about daily life being insulted by people.(Hucknall, who says that he has repeatedly faced prejudice or been described as ugly on account of his hair colour, argues that Gingerism should be described as a form of racism.[101]) Comedian Tim Minchin, himself a redhead, also covered the topic in his song "Prejudice".[102]

The pejorative use of the word "ginger" and related discrimination was used to illustrate a point about racism and prejudice in the "Ginger Kids", "Le Petit Tourette", "It's a Jersey Thing" and "Fatbeard" episodes of South Park.

Film and television programmes often portray school bullies as having red hair.[103] However, children with red hair are often themselves targeted by bullies; "Somebody with ginger hair will stand out from the crowd," says anti-bullying expert Louise Burfitt-Dons.[104]

In Australian slang, redheads are often nicknamed "Blue" or "Bluey".[105] More recently, they have been referred to as "rangas" (a word derived from the red-haired ape, the orangutan), sometimes with derogatory connotations.[106] The word "rufus" has been used in both Australian and British slang to refer to red-headed people;[107] based on a variant of rufous, a reddish-brown color.

In November 2008 social networking website Facebook received criticism after a 'Kick a Ginger' group, which aimed to establish a "National Kick a Ginger Day" on 20 November, acquired almost 5,000 members. A 14-year-old boy from Vancouver who ran the Facebook group was subjected to an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for possible hate crimes.[108]

In December 2009 British supermarket chain Tesco withdrew a Christmas card which had the image of a child with red hair sitting on the lap of Father Christmas, and the words: "Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones" after customers complained the card was offensive.[109]

In October 2010, Harriet Harman, the former Equality Minister in the British government under Labour, faced accusations of prejudice after she described the red-haired Treasury secretary Danny Alexander as a "ginger rodent".[110] Alexander responded to the insult by stating that he was "proud to be ginger".[111] Harman was subsequently forced to apologise for the comment, after facing criticism for prejudice against a minority group.[112]

In September 2011, Cryos International, one of the world's largest sperm banks, announced that it would no longer accept donations from red-haired men due to low demand from women seeking artificial insemination.[113]

The term ang mo (Chinese: ; pinyin: hng mo; Peh-e-j: ng-mo) in Hokkien (Min Nan) Chinese, meaning "red-haired",[114] is used in Malaysia and Singapore, although it refers to all white people, never exclusively people with red hair. The epithet is sometimes rendered as ang mo kui () meaning "red-haired devil", similar to the Cantonese term gweilo ("foreign devil"). Thus it is viewed as racist and derogatory by some people.[115] Others, however, maintain it is acceptable.[116] Despite this ambiguity, it is a widely used term. It appears, for instance, in Singaporean newspapers such as The Straits Times,[117] and in television programmes and films.

The Chinese characters for ang mo are the same as those in the historical Japanese term Km (), which was used during the Edo period (16031868) as an epithet for Dutch or Northern European people. It primarily referred to Dutch traders who were the only Europeans allowed to trade with Japan during Sakoku, its 200-year period of isolation.[118]

The historic fortress Fort San Domingo in Tamsui, Taiwan was nicknamed ang mo sia ().

The mainly masculine given name Rory a name of Goidelic origin, which is an anglicisation of the Irish: Ruair/Ruaidhr/Ruaidhrgh/Raidhrgh, Scottish Gaelic: Ruairidh and Manx: Rauree[119] which is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas[120] means "red-haired king", from ruadh ("red-haired" or "rusty") and rgh ("king"). However, present bearers of the name are by no means all red-haired themselves.

There has been an annual Redhead Day festival in the Netherlands that attracts red-haired participants from around the world. The festival was held in Breda, a city in the south east of the Netherlands, prior to 2019, when it moved to Tilburg.[121] It attracts participants from over 80 countries. The international event began in 2005, when Dutch painter Bart Rouwenhorst decided he wanted to paint 15 redheads.

The Irish Redhead Convention, held in late August in County Cork since 2011, claims to be a global celebration and attracts people from several continents. The celebrations include crowning the ginger King and Queen, competitions for the best red eyebrows and most freckles per square inch, orchestral concerts and carrot throwing competitions.[122]

A smaller red-hair day festival is held since 2013 by the UK's anti bullying alliance in London, with the aim of instilling pride in having red-hair.[123]

Since 2014, a red-hair event is held in Israel, at Kibbutz Gezer (Carrot), held for the local Israeli red hair community,[124] including both Ashkenazi and Mizrahi red-heads.[125] However, the number of attendees has to be restricted due to the risk of rocket attacks, leading to anger in the red-hair community.[126] The organizers state; "The event is a good thing for many redheads, who had been embarrassed about being redheads before."[126]

The first and only festival for red heads in the United States was launched in 2015. Held in Highwood, Illinois, Redhead Days draws participants from across the United States.[127]

A festival to celebrate the red-haired people is held annually in Izhevsk (Russia), the capital of Udmurtia, since 2004.[128]

MC1R Magazine is a publication for red-haired people worldwide, based in Hamburg, Germany.[129]

In ancient Egypt, red hair was associated with the deity Set as well as Ramesses II.[130][131]

In the Iliad, Achilles' hair is described as ksanths ([132]), usually translated as blonde, or golden[133] but sometimes as red or tawny.[134][135] His son Neoptolemus also bears the name Pyrrhus, a possible reference to his own red hair.[136]

The Norse god Thor is usually described as having red hair.[137]

The Hebrew word usually translated "ruddy" or "reddish-brown" (admoni , from the root ADM , see also Adam and Edom)[138][139][140] was used to describe both Esau and David.

Early artistic representations of Mary Magdalene usually depict her as having long flowing red hair, although a description of her hair color was never mentioned in the Bible, and it is possible the color is an effect caused by pigment degradation in the ancient paint.

Judas Iscariot is also represented with red hair in Spanish culture[141][142] and in the works of William Shakespeare,[143] reinforcing the negative stereotype.

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Red hair - Wikipedia

The Truth About Redheads – TheList.com

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The mutation on theMC1Rgene that gives gingers their unique coloring doesn't just affect the way they look. In a curious twist, gingers also feel pain and respond to painkilling agents differently than their blonde and brunette counterparts.

For one, redheads are more sensitive to certain kinds of pain (thermal pain, which we'll discuss later), according to a study by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to that, the study also concluded that redheads are more resistant to lidocaine, a local anesthetic, than the rest of us. Plus, they need more anesthetic on the operating table, according to another study. So redheads aren't lying or being dramatic about the pain of medical and dental procedures they're legit wired a little bit differently, and science proves it!

And that's not all, either. Apparently our redheaded sisters respond better to opiates than both men and non-ginger ladies, according to Science Daily. Who knew gingers had all kind of magic going on?

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The Truth About Redheads - TheList.com

70 Incredible Facts About Redheads: How Much Do You Know About … – Kidadl

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Although red is the rarest natural hair color, it certainly gets the people who have it talked about.

We all like to know what makes us, us. It might be our eye color or our star sign, or maybe it's the hobbies we choose or the way we spend our downtime.

Lots of people are fascinated by red hair, so if you're one of them, check out our list of fascinating facts about this beautiful shade. For more interesting facts, take a look at Scorpio facts and hazel eyes facts.

Do redheads have less hair? Do blue eyes and red hair really go together? Find out with these true facts about redheads.

1. Red is the rarest hair color - only between 1-2% of the world's population are redheads.

2. If you're a redhead with blue eyes, you're a unicorn. Less than a million people have this rarest combination of eye and hair colors.

3. Redheads have less hair, with only 90 000 strands compared with an average 110 000 for blondes and 140 000 for brunettes. But don't worry...

4. ....Each strand of red hair is thicker than strands of other colours, so although redheads have fewer strands, they still have plenty of hair.

5. Redheads don't go gray. Their hair naturally keeps its pigment longer than most colors, before eventually fading to white.

6. Redheads are twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease. It's to do with the way the brain releases chemicals like dopamine that control emotions and thoughts.

7. If you're a brunette but find yourself suddenly going red, check your diet. Dark hair turning red can be a sign of protein deficiency.

8. Bees like redheads more than people with other hair colors. Scientists think the bright color reminds them of flowers.

9. Red hair's pigment is so strong, it has to be bleached repeatedly before it can be dyed, damaging the hair.

10. Redheads on average need about 20% more anaesthetic when they go into the hospital for surgery.

11. Redheads can sense changes in temperature more quickly than people with other hair colors.

From the gene mutation that causes red hair to whether or not redheads are really more likely to get skin cancer, you'll find all the biological facts about redheads in this section.

12. There are six main shades: strawberry-blonde, ginger, classic red, deep red, auburn and deep auburn.

13. Red hair is caused by mutation in a gene called MC1R, which controls hair color.

14. The genetics of red hair mean for a child to be a redhead, both their parents must have the mutated MC1R gene.

15. If two redheads have a baby, the child will always have red hair.

16. People with ginger hair have a greater chance of being left-handed.

17. People of any ethnicity can have red hair. However, it's most common in people of Northern European descent.

18. Redheads naturally produce their own vitamin D, which is essential for good health and proper bone development.

19. The gene that controls hair color also controls production of melanin, the skin pigment that makes people tan.

20. Because the MC1R mutation means they have less melanin, redheads are more likely to develop the skin cancer melanoma.

21. The MC1R gene also controls pain response, meaning redheads may be less sensitive to pain like stings and injections.

From Helen of Troy to Winston Churchill, redheads have made their mark. Find out how with these interesting facts about redheads through history.

22. Scientists have found evidence that Neanderthals had a similar gene to the one that gives humans red hair.

23. Founding Father and third President of the US Thomas Jefferson was a redhead.

24. Romans thought red headed people were wild and warlike, especially the Celts.

25. Ancient Greeks believed that people with red hair could turn into vampires after they died.

26. The Ancient Greeks also thought Helen of Troy and the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, had natural ginger hair.

27. Mummies with red hair have been found as far afield as Peru and Egypt.

28. Pharaoh Ramses II, one of Ancient Egypt's greatest pharaohs, was thought to have been a redhead.

29. Romans valued slaves with ginger hair more highly. In fact, some used to dye their hair red on purpose.

30. Celtic warrior queen Boudicca had a red hair. Maybe that's where all those "fierce redhead" myths come from.

31. Hitler made it illegal for redheads to get married. He said their children would be "deviant".

32. Redheads can be very creative: painter Vincent Van Gogh, classical music composer Vivaldi and writer Mark Twain were all redheads.

33. Russia just might be named after a redhead: the name is thought to come from a Viking called Rurik, meaning 'red'.

Supernatural redhead facts from myth and legend to astonish and intrigue you.

34. Lilith, said in some religions to be the first wife of Adam, is commonly shown with red hair.

35. Some theologists think it was Adam who was the redhead, as his name means "red" in Hebrew.

36. The Ancient Egyptian god of the desert, Set, was frequently depicted with red hair.

37. In ancient Gaul, the Merovingians thought redheads had special supernatural powers and abilities.

38. Irish leprechauns are usually pictured with red hair as well as their classic green suit.

39. Spanish people used to believe that redheads' hair colour came from stealing flames from the devil.

40. During the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, hundreds of women with red hair were accused of witchcraft.

41. Even today, people still think redheads have supernatural powers. Some pagans even dye their hair red on purpose using henna.

42. In Irish myth, the mystical races of the Tuatha de Danaan and the Sithe are both said to have ginger hair.

43. In medieval times, a writer suggested that redheads' blood was an essential ingredient in a paint called Spanish Gold.

These "facts" about red hair are more like myths. None of them are proven: these ones are just for fun.

44. Redheads are often said to have a hot temper because red is associated with fire and danger.

45. Some people think that because red hair is carried by a recessive gene, redheads might be going extinct.

46. Some people believe rubbing a redhead's hair brings good luck.

47. In Russia, ginger hair is believed to be a sign of having a hot temper and being a bit of a wild child.

48. Britain has a tradition that says if the first call you receive on New Year's Day is from a redhead, then you'll have bad luck all year.

49. British legend foretold a red-haired leader would save the country from peril. Interestingly, King Arthur, Queen Elizabeth I and Winston Churchill all had red hair.

50. In Poland, legend has it that if you see three redheads at once, you'll win the State Lottery.

51. In Ancient Egypt, it's said that people with red hair were sacrificed as being unlucky.

52. People in Corsica believed that if you pass a redhead walking down the street, you have to spit and spin round to ward off bad luck.

53. Some people say redheads bruise easily, but this may just be down to redheads' pale skin showing bruises more clearly.

54. There is a common belief that redheads are smarter than people with other hair colors.

55. Some people say that redheads' freckles are the marks left by kisses from angels.

56. A lot of people think redheads have more adventurous and outgoing personalities than other hair colors.

Fun and lighthearted red hair facts to keep you entertained.

57. About 30% of people who dye their hair at home choose to go red.

58. The USA has a National Redhead Day, celebrated on 5 November. It's also known as Love Your Red Hair Day.

59. National Redhead Day was created in 2015 by Stephanie and Adrienne Vendetti, two red-headed sisters who wanted to celebrate their beautiful hair.

60. Americans aren't the only ones who like to celebrate their fiery locks. 26 May is World Redhead Day.

61. The USA has the highest redhead population of any country in the world, boasting between 6 and 18 million redheaded citizens.

62. In the Netherlands, there's a two- day summer festival in early September devoted to celebrating reed hair. It's called Redhead Day.

63. Mark Twain once said that while most humans are descended from apes, people with red hair come from cats. We'd say that was catty, but it turns out Twain was a redhead himself.

64. Legend says that the origins of red hair was Prince Idon of Mu, who got it on a visit to the mythical drowned city of Atlantis.

65. Another redhead origin story says redheads are descended from Vulcan, the Greek god of the forge.

66. The most common surname in Italy, Rossi, means redhead.

67. Scotland has the highest percentage of redheads in the world, at 13% of the population.

68. Lots of English-language surnames are inspired by redheads. Names like Flannery, Reid and Russell can all trace their origin to red hair.

69. 1 in 10 Irish people has red hair, making them second in the world after Scotland for number of redheads per capita.

70. One of the first women's professional basketball teams, the All-American Redheads, was named after the fact all its members had red hair.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for incredible facts about redheads, then why not take a look at Love facts, or Capricorn facts.

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70 Incredible Facts About Redheads: How Much Do You Know About ... - Kidadl

Stunning Red Heads With Blue Eyes Will Take Your Breath Away

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Now Youve Seen Some Stunning Blue Eyed Red Heads, Here Are More Red Head Facts!

How gorgeous are all the ladies here? We think that youll agree theyre beautiful. But what about some more facts about people with this stunning hair colour? Now you know that ginger people with blue eyes are the rarest on earth, here are some more facts you probably didnt know about those with this beautiful, unique hair colour!

So, weve established by now that blue eyed red heads are super rare. All the more reason to love them, right? But what about people in the world of celebrity? Do any famous people have red hair and gorgeous blue eyes? They certainly do! Heres a list of some of your favourite celebrities that have those gorgeous traits you lust after

Want to know when they were born? Click here to skip to our table of celebrities with blue eyes and red hair and their birthdays!

We hope that this article has shown you just how stunning people with ginger hair and blue eyes are. So much so that you may now be looking to find your own partner who has these attractive qualities. If so, we dont blame you! Here at Redhead Dates.com, were here to help you do just that! We have new people joining our site every day, so theres plenty of people to choose from. So, whether youre a redhead yourself, or just a lover of those with ginger hair, there is truly something for everyone on our site. Need a bit more convincing to sign up? Weve put together our top reasons why you should join us and start searching for red heads with blue eyes today! Just click here to go to our homepage when youre ready to sign up- its free, easy, and quick!

Sounds tempting? Dont forget to sign up today! We have red heads with blue eyes (and all the other eye colours too) just waiting to meet you TODAY!

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Stunning Red Heads With Blue Eyes Will Take Your Breath Away

Fifth Amendment | Summary, Rights, & Facts | Britannica

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Fifth Amendment, amendment (1791) to the Constitution of the United States, part of the Bill of Rights, that articulates procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of the criminally accused and to secure life, liberty, and property. For the text of the Fifth Amendment, see below.

Similar to the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment is divided into five clauses, representing five distinct, yet related, rights. The first clause specifies that [n]o person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger. This grand jury provision requires a body to make a formal presentment or indictment of a person accused of committing a crime against the laws of the federal government. The proceeding is not a trial but rather an ex parte hearing (i.e., one in which only one party, the prosecution, presents evidence) to determine if the government has enough evidence to carry a case to trial. If the grand jury finds sufficient evidence that an offense was committed, it issues an indictment, which then permits a trial. The portion of the clause pertaining to exceptions in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia is a corollary to Article I, Section 8, which grants Congress the power [t]o make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces. Combined, they justify the use of military courts for the armed forces, thus denying military personnel the same procedural rights afforded civilians.

The second section is commonly referred to as the double jeopardy clause, and it protects citizens against a second prosecution after an acquittal or a conviction, as well as against multiple punishments for the same offense. Caveats to this provision include permissions to try persons for civil and criminal aspects of an offense, conspiring to commit as well as to commit an offense, and separate trials for acts that violate laws of both the federal and state governments, although federal laws generally suppress prosecution by the national government if a person is convicted of the same crime in a state proceeding.

The third section is commonly referred to as the self-incrimination clause, and it protects persons accused of committing a crime from being forced to testify against themselves. In the U.S. judicial system a person is presumed innocent, and it is the responsibility of the state (or national government) to prove guilt. Like other pieces of evidence, once presented, words can be used powerfully against a person; however, words can be manipulated in a way that many other objects cannot. Consequently, information gained from sobriety tests, police lineups, voice samples, and the like is constitutionally permissible while evidence gained from compelled testimony is not. As such, persons accused of committing crimes are protected against themselves or, more accurately, how their words may be used against them. The clause, therefore, protects a key aspect of the system as well as the rights of the criminally accused.

The fourth section is commonly referred to as the due process clause. It protects life, liberty, and property from impairment by the federal government. (The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, protects the same rights from infringement by the states.) Chiefly concerned with fairness and justice, the due process clause seeks to preserve and protect fundamental rights and ensure that any deprivation of life, liberty, or property occurs in accordance with procedural safeguards. As such, there are both substantive and procedural considerations associated with the due process clause, and this has influenced the development of two separate tracks of due process jurisprudence: procedural and substantive. Procedural due process pertains to the rules, elements, or methods of enforcementthat is, its procedural aspects. Consider the elements of a fair trial and related Sixth Amendment protections. As long as all relevant rights of the accused are adequately protectedas long as the rules of the game, so to speak, are followedthen the government may, in fact, deprive a person of his life, liberty, or property. But what if the rules are not fair? What if the law itselfregardless of how it is enforcedseemingly deprives rights? This raises the controversial spectre of substantive due process rights. It is not inconceivable that the content of the law, regardless of how it is enforced, is itself repugnant to the Constitution because it violates fundamental rights. Over time, the Supreme Court has had an on-again, off-again relationship with liberty-based due process challenges, but it has generally abided by the principle that certain rights are implicit in the concept of ordered liberty (Palko v. Connecticut [1937]), and as such they are afforded constitutional protection. This, in turn, has led to the expansion of the meaning of the term liberty. What arguably began as freedom from restraint has transformed into a virtual cornucopia of rights reasonably related to enumerated rights, without which neither liberty nor justice would exist. For example, the right to an abortion, established in Roe v. Wade (1973), grew from privacy rights, which emerged from the penumbras of the constitution.

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Fifth Amendment | Summary, Rights, & Facts | Britannica

Fifth Amendment | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute

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Overview

TheFifth Amendmentof theU.S. Constitution "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

The clauses incorporated within the Fifth Amendment outline basic constitutional limits on police procedure. The Framers derived the Grand Juries Clause and the Due Process Clause from the MagnaCarta, dating back to 1215. Scholars consider the Fifth Amendment as capable of breaking down into the following five distinct constitutional rights:

While the Fifth Amendment originally only applied to federal courts, the U.S. Supreme Court has partiallyincorporatedthe Fifth Amendment to the states through the Due Process Clause of theFourteenth Amendment.The right to indictment by the grand jury has not been incorporated, while the right against double jeopardy, the right against self-incrimination, and the protection against arbitrary taking of private property without due compensation have all been incorporated into the states.

Grand juriesare a holdover from the early British common law dating back to the12th century.Deeply rooted in the Anglo-American tradition, the grand jury was originally intended to protect the accused from overly-zealous prosecutions by the English monarchy.In the early phases of the development of theU.S. Constitution, the Founding Fathers decided to retain the grand jury system as a protection against over-zealous prosecution by the central government.Although the Supreme Court inHurtado v. Californiain 1884 refused to incorporate the grand jury system into all of the states, most states have independently decided to retain a similar form of grand jury, and currently, all but two states (Connecticut and Pennsylvania) have the grand jury.

Congressional statutes outline the means by which a federal grand jury shall be impaneled. Ordinarily, the grand jurors are selected from the pool of prospective jurors who potentially could serve on a given day in any juror capacity. At commonlaw, a grand jury consists of between12 and 23 members. Because the grandjurywas derived from the commonlaw, courts use the commonlaw as a means of interpreting the Grand Jury Clause. While state legislatures may set the statutory number of grand jurors anywhere within the commonlaw requirement of 12 to 23, statutes setting the number outside of this range violate the Fifth Amendment. Federal law has set the federal grand jury number as falling between16 and 23.

A person being charged with a crime that warrants a grand jury has the right to challenge members of the grand juror for partiality or bias, but these challenges differ from peremptory challenges, which a defendant has when choosing a trial jury. When a defendant makes a peremptory challenge, the judge must remove the juror without making any proof, but in the case of a grand juror challenge, the challenger must establish the cause of the challenge by meeting the same burden of proof as the establishment of any other fact would require. Grand juries possess broad authority to investigate suspected crimes. They may not, however, conduct "fishing expeditions" or hire individuals not already employed by the government to locate testimony or documents. Ultimately, grand juries may make a presentment, informing the court of their decision to indict or not indict the suspect.If they indict the suspect, it means they have decided that there is probable cause to believe that the charged crime has indeed been committed by the suspect.

The Double Jeopardy Clause aims to protect against the harassment of an individual through successive prosecutions of the same alleged act, to ensure the significance of an acquittal, and to prevent the state from putting the defendant through the emotional, psychological, physical, and financial troubles that would accompany multiple trials for the same alleged offense. Courts have interpreted the Double Jeopardy Clause as accomplishing these goals by providing the following three distinct rights: a guarantee that a defendant will not face a second prosecution after an acquittal, a guarantee that a defendant will not face a second prosecution after a conviction, and a guarantee that a defendant will not receive multiple punishments for the same offense. Courts, however, have not interpreted the Double Jeopardy Clause as either prohibiting the state from seeking a review of a sentence or restricting a sentence's length on rehearing after a defendant's successful appeal.

Jeopardy refers to the danger of conviction. Thus, jeopardy does not attach unless a risk of the determination of guilt exists. If some event or circumstance prompts the trial court to declare a mistrial, jeopardy has not been attached if the mistrial only results in minimal delay and the government does not receive addedopportunityto strengthen its case.

The Fifth Amendment also protects criminal defendants from having to testify if they may incriminate themselves through the testimony. A witness may "plead the Fifth" and not answer if the witness believes answering the question may be self-incriminatory.

In the landmarkMiranda v. Arizona384 U.S. 436 (1966) ruling, the United States Supreme Court extended the Fifth Amendment protections to encompass any situation outside of the courtroom that involves the curtailment of personal freedom. Therefore, any time that law enforcement takes a suspect into custody, law enforcement must make the suspect aware of all rights.Known asMirandarights, these rights include the right to remain silent, the right to have an attorney present during questioning, and the right to have a government-appointed attorney if the suspect cannot afford one.

However, courts have since then slightly narrowed theMirandarights, holding that police interrogation or questioning that occurs prior to taking the suspect into custody does not fall within the Miranda requirements, and the police are not required to give Miranda warnings to the suspects prior to taking them into custody, and their silence in some instances can be deemed to be implicit admission of guilt.

If law enforcement fails to honor these safeguards, courts will often suppress any statements by the suspect as violating the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, provided that the suspect has not actually waived the rights. An actual waiver occurs when a suspect has made the waiver knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. To determine if a knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver has occurred, a court will examine the totality of the circumstances, which considers all pertinent circumstances and events. If a suspect makes a spontaneous statement while in custody prior to being made aware of theMirandarights, law enforcement can use the statement against the suspect, provided that police interrogation did not prompt the statement.The Fifth Amendment right does not extend to an individual's voluntarily prepared business papers because the element of compulsion is lacking.Similarly, the right does not extend to potentially incriminating evidence derived from obligatory reports or tax returns.

To be self-incriminating, the compelled answers must pose a substantial and real, and not merely a trifling or imaginary hazard of criminal prosecution.

After Congress passed the Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, some felt that the statute by implication overruled the requirements ofMiranda. Some scholars also felt that Congress constitutionally exercised its power in passing this law because they felt thatMirandarepresented a matter of judicial policy rather than an actual manifestation of Fifth Amendment protections. InDickerson v.UnitedStates,the U.S. Supreme Court rejectedthis argumentand held that the Warren Court had directly derivedMirandafrom the Fifth Amendment.

The guarantee ofdue processfor all persons requires the government to respect all rights, guarantees, and protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution and all applicable statutes before the government can deprive any person of life, liberty, or property.Dueprocess essentially guarantees that a party will receive a fundamentally fair, orderly, and just judicial proceeding. While the Fifth Amendment only applies to the federal government, the identical text in the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly applies this due process requirement to the states as well.

Courts have come to recognize that two aspects of due process exist: procedural due process andsubstantive due process.Theproceduraldue processaims to ensure fundamental fairness by guaranteeing a party the right to be heard, ensuring that the parties receive proper notification throughout the litigation, and ensuring that the adjudicating court has the appropriate jurisdiction to render a judgment. Meanwhile, substantive due process has developed during the20thcentury as protecting those substantive rights so fundamental as to be "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty."

While the federal government has a constitutional right to "take" private property for public use, the Fifth Amendment's Just Compensation Clause requires the government to pay just compensation, interpreted as market value, to the owner of the property, valued at the time of the takings. The U.S. Supreme Court has defined fair market value as the most probable price that a willing butunpressuredbuyer, fully knowledgeable of both the property's good and bad attributes, would pay. The government does not have to pay a property owner's attorney's feesunless a statute so provides.

In2005, inKelov.Cityof New London, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a controversial opinion in which they held that a city could constitutionally seize private property for private commercial development, where the redevelopment would economically benefit an area that was sufficiently distressed to justify a program of economic rejuvenation. However, after theKelodecision, some state legislatures passed statutory amendments to counteractKeloand expand protection for the condemned.

Nevertheless,Keloremains a valid law under the federal context, and its broad interpretation of "public use" still holds true under the federal protection for the Fifth Amendment right to just compensation.

U.S. Code:18 U.S.C., Part I- Crimes

[Last updated in December of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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5th Amendment – Definition, Examples, Cases, Processes – Legal Dictionary

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The term 5th Amendment refers to the more well-known aspect of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that no one can be forced to testify against himself in court. The 5th Amendment also ensures that no one can be tried a second time for a crime of which they were already acquitted. This is referred to as double jeopardy. To explore this concept, consider the following 5th Amendment definition.

Noun

Origin

1791 American Constitution

The 5th Amendment is the amendment to the Constitution that protects people from being forced to testify against themselves. On legal television shows, a character may say I plead the fifth! This means that he is invoking his right under the Fifth Amendment to not be forced to say anything on the stand that could incriminate him.

Unfortunately, while it is a persons right to plead the fifth, many believe that someone who pleads the 5th may, in fact, be guilty. Their opinion is that, if he has nothing to hide, why wouldnt he just testify and clear his name? Why would he make it harder for the attorneys to prove their case unless he had something he didnt want them to know.

The 5th Amendment also protects people from something called double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is the process by which a person who was accused of a crime, and found innocent, would then be charged with that same crime again. The 5th Amendment prevents this from happening. Once a person is found innocent by a jury of his peers, even if new evidence is raised after the fact that proves he is actually guilty, he cannot be tried again for that same crime.

The Fifth Amendment right to counsel provides that someone who is being interrogated by police has the right to have an attorney present during the process. This goes hand-in-hand with someone being read his Miranda rights (If you do not have an attorney, one will be provided for you.). In fact, the Fifth Amendment also requires that someone who is being arrested be read his Miranda rights (More on that later).

The right to counsel section of the Fifth Amendment has been invaluable to those who have been charged with a crime. Entire cases have been thrown out when defendants lawyers have shown that their clients werent read their Miranda rights upon being arrested.

For example, the 5th Amendment protects a defendant who provides police with information during an interrogation, which happened after not being read his Miranda rights. In such a case, all of the information he gave to the police can be considered inadmissible and thrown out even if he confessed to the crime.

This is why the right to counsel is so important. Without a good lawyer by his side, a defendant might not even know that certain evidence may be inadmissible, which is crucial to whether his case proceeds or gets thrown out.

There is an equal protection clause in the 5th and 14th Amendments that protects U.S. citizens right to life, liberty and property without interference from the government. For example, the 5th Amendment states:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

This section covers three equal protection clause rights in particular:

On the other hand, the 14th Amendment says that all persons born in the U.S., or provided with U.S. citizenship, are to be considered U.S. citizens, and no one can make a law that deprives a person of his right to life, liberty and property without due process of law. Due process of law is the entitlement that all U.S. citizens have to be treated fairly in the judicial system. Fair treatment includes, for instance, the right to a trial by jury upon being accused of a crime.

Both amendments are similarly worded with regard to their treatment of the equal protection clause. The main difference between them is that the 14th Amendment is more specific with regard to the inclusion of due process. With the 5th Amendment, due process takes place within the court system. With the 14th Amendment, however, due process is a natural right that protects American citizens from government interference with their ability to live their lives, unless what theyre doing is illegal.

For example, the 14th Amendment further protects a persons right to freedom of speech under the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Therefore, while a protestor may anger a lot of people by burning the American flag, he has the right to do so under the 14th Amendment. What he is doing is not illegal, and therefore the government cannot interfere.

An example of the 5th Amendment at work can be found in the case that started it all when it comes to Miranda rights: Miranda v. Arizona. In 1966, Ernesto Miranda was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona on evidence that supposedly proved he was involved in a crime involving kidnapping and rape. After an interrogation that dragged on for hours, Miranda confessed to the charges. He also signed a statement acknowledging that he was voluntarily making the confession.

At no point before or during the interrogation was Miranda made aware of the fact that he had the right to have counsel present during the interrogation. He was also unaware of the fact that he had the right to remain silent, and he did not know that the statements he was making could be used against him during his trial. Upon learning this, he objected to the usage of his written confession at trial. He argued that because he was unaware of his rights under the 5th Amendment, his confession must be thrown out as involuntary.

Mirandas objection was overruled, and he was convicted of both crimes and sentenced to 20-30 years in prison. His written confession played a major role in his conviction. Miranda appealed his conviction, once again citing the involuntarily-made confession. The Arizona Supreme Court denied his appeal.

In June 1966, Miranda brought his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court then had to decide whether the protections afforded to U.S. citizens under the 5th Amendment could be extended to cover police interrogations as well. The Court ruled in Mirandas favor, 5 4. Specifically, the Court held that:

The prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way, unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the Fifth Amendments privilege against self-incrimination.

The Court also included more detailed criteria to support this argument, including:

The atmosphere and environment of incommunicado interrogation as it exists today is inherently intimidating, and works to undermine the privilege against self-incrimination. Unless adequate preventive measures are taken to dispel the compulsion inherent in custodial surroundings, no statement obtained from the defendant can truly be the product of his free choice.

And

The privilege against self-incrimination, which has had a long and expansive historical development, is the essential mainstay of our adversary system, and guarantees to the individual the right to remain silent unless he chooses to speak in the unfettered exercise of his own will, during a period of custodial interrogation.

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5th Amendment - Definition, Examples, Cases, Processes - Legal Dictionary

NASA – Wikipedia

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.

NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science.[5][6][7] NASA has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968-1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. NASA supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for uncrewed NASA launches.

NASA's science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System;[8] advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program;[9] exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons and planetary rovers such as Perseverance;[10] and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Great Observatories and associated programs.[11]

The agency's administration is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and provides overall guidance and direction.[12] Except under exceptional circumstances, NASA civil service employees are required to be US citizens.[13] NASA's administrator is nominated by the President of the United States subject to the approval of the US Senate,[14] and serves at the President's pleasure as a senior space science advisor. The current administrator is Bill Nelson, appointed by President Joe Biden, since May 3, 2021.[15]

NASA operates with four FY2022 strategic goals.[16]

NASA budget requests are developed by NASA and approved by the administration prior to submission to the U.S. Congress. Authorized budgets are those that have been included in enacted appropriations bills that are approved by both houses of Congress and enacted into law by the U.S. president.[17]

NASA fiscal year budget requests and authorized budgets are provided below.

NASA funding and priorities are developed through its six Mission Directorates.

Center-wide activities such as the Chief Engineer and Safety and Mission Assurance organizations are aligned to the headquarters function. The MSD budget estimate includes funds for these HQ functions. The administration operates 10 major field centers with several managing additional subordinate facilities across the country. Each is led by a Center Director (data below valid as of September 1, 2022).

Short 2018 documentary about NASA produced for its 60th anniversary

Beginning in 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) began experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1.[43] In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch an artificial satellite for the International Geophysical Year (19571958). An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard. After the Soviet space program's launch of the world's first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. The US Congress, alarmed by the perceived threat to national security and technological leadership (known as the "Sputnik crisis"), urged immediate and swift action; President Dwight D. Eisenhower counseled more deliberate measures. The result was a consensus that the White House forged among key interest groups, including scientists committed to basic research; the Pentagon which had to match the Soviet military achievement; corporate America looking for new business; and a strong new trend in public opinion looking up to space exploration.[44]

On January 12, 1958, NACA organized a "Special Committee on Space Technology", headed by Guyford Stever.[7] On January 14, 1958, NACA Director Hugh Dryden published "A National Research Program for Space Technology", stating,[45]

It is of great urgency and importance to our country both from consideration of our prestige as a nation as well as military necessity that this challenge [Sputnik] be met by an energetic program of research and development for the conquest of space ... It is accordingly proposed that the scientific research be the responsibility of a national civilian agency ... NACA is capable, by rapid extension and expansion of its effort, of providing leadership in space technology.[45]

While this new federal agency would conduct all non-military space activity, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was created in February 1958 to develop space technology for military application.[46]

On July 29, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA.[47] When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA absorbed the 43-year-old NACA intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of US$100million, three major research laboratories (Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory) and two small test facilities.[48] Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA. A significant contributor to NASA's entry into the Space Race with the Soviet Union was the technology from the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who was now working for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), which in turn incorporated the technology of American scientist Robert Goddard's earlier works.[49] Earlier research efforts within the US Air Force[48] and many of ARPA's early space programs were also transferred to NASA.[50] In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology.[48]

NASA's first administrator was Dr. T. Keith Glennan who was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. During his term (19581961) he brought together the disparate projects in American space development research.[51] James Webb led the agency during the development of the Apollo program in the 1960s.[52] James C. Fletcher has held the position twice; first during the Nixon administration in the 1970s and then at the request of Ronald Reagan following the Challenger disaster.[53] Daniel Goldin held the post for nearly 10 years and is the longest serving administrator to date. He is best known for pioneering the "faster, better, cheaper" approach to space programs.[54] Bill Nelson is currently serving as the 14th administrator of NASA.

The NASA seal was approved by Eisenhower in 1959, and slightly modified by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.[55][56] NASA's first logo was designed by the head of Lewis' Research Reports Division, James Modarelli, as a simplification of the 1959 seal.[57] In 1975, the original logo was first dubbed "the meatball" to distinguish it from the newly designed "worm" logo which replaced it. The "meatball" returned to official use in 1992.[57] The "worm" was brought out of retirement by administrator Jim Bridenstine in 2020.[58]

NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC provides overall guidance and political leadership to the agency's ten field centers, through which all other facilities are administered.[59]

Aerial views of the NASA Ames (left) and NASA Armstrong (right) centers

Ames Research Center (ARC) at Moffett Field is located in the Silicon Valley of central California and delivers wind-tunnel research on the aerodynamics of propeller-driven aircraft along with research and technology in aeronautics, spaceflight, and information technology.[60] It provides leadership in astrobiology, small satellites, robotic lunar exploration, intelligent/adaptive systems and thermal protection.

Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is located inside Edwards Air Force Base and is the home of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747 designed to carry a Space Shuttle orbiter back to Kennedy Space Center after a landing at Edwards AFB. The center focuses on flight testing of advanced aerospace systems.

Glenn Research Center is based in Cleveland, Ohio and focuses on air-breathing and in-space propulsion and cryogenics, communications, power energy storage and conversion, microgravity sciences, and advanced materials.[61]

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), located in Greenbelt, Maryland develops and operates uncrewed scientific spacecraft.[62] GSFC also operates two spaceflight tracking and data acquisition networks (the Space Network and the Near Earth Network), develops and maintains advanced space and Earth science data information systems, and develops satellite systems for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).[62]

Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the NASA center for human spaceflight training, research and flight control.[63] It is home to the United States Astronaut Corps and is responsible for training astronauts from the US and its international partners, and includes the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center.[64] JSC also operates the White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico to support rocket testing.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, C and builds and operates robotic planetary spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions.[65] It is also responsible for operating NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN).

Langley Research Center (LaRC), located in Hampton, Virginia devotes two-thirds of its programs to aeronautics, and the rest to space. LaRC researchers use more than 40 wind tunnels to study improved aircraft and spacecraft safety, performance, and efficiency. The center was also home to early human spaceflight efforts including the team chronicled in the Hidden Figures story.[66]

Kennedy Space Center (KSC), located west of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. KSC also manages and operates uncrewed rocket launch facilities for America's civil space program from three pads at Cape Canaveral.[67]

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama, is one of NASA's largest centers and is leading the development of the Space Launch System in support of the Artemis program. Marshall is NASA's lead center for International Space Station (ISS) design and assembly; payloads and related crew training; and was the lead for Space Shuttle propulsion and its external tank.[68]

Stennis Space Center, originally the "Mississippi Test Facility", is located in Hancock County, Mississippi, on the banks of the Pearl River at the MississippiLouisiana border.[69] Commissioned in October 1961, it is currently used for rocket testing by over 30 local, state, national, international, private, and public companies and agencies.[70][71] It also contains the NASA Shared Services Center.[72]

NASA inherited NACA's X-15 experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force and Navy. Three planes were built starting in 1955. The X-15 was drop-launched from the wing of one of two NASA Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses, NB52A tail number 52-003, and NB52B, tail number 52-008 (known as the Balls 8). Release took place at an altitude of about 45,000 feet (14km) and a speed of about 500 miles per hour (805km/h).[73]

Twelve pilots were selected for the program from the Air Force, Navy, and NACA. A total of 199 flights were made between June 1959 and December 1968, resulting in the official world record for the highest speed ever reached by a crewed powered aircraft (current as of 2014[update]), and a maximum speed of Mach 6.72, 4,519 miles per hour (7,273km/h).[74] The altitude record for X-15 was 354,200 feet (107.96km).[75] Eight of the pilots were awarded Air Force astronaut wings for flying above 260,000 feet (80km), and two flights by Joseph A. Walker exceeded 100 kilometers (330,000ft), qualifying as spaceflight according to the International Aeronautical Federation. The X-15 program employed mechanical techniques used in the later crewed spaceflight programs, including reaction control system jets for controlling the orientation of a spacecraft, space suits, and horizon definition for navigation.[75] The reentry and landing data collected were valuable to NASA for designing the Space Shuttle.[76]

In 1958, NASA formed an engineering group, the Space Task Group, to manage their human spaceflight programs under the direction of Robert Gilruth. Their earliest programs were conducted under the pressure of the Cold War competition between the US and the Soviet Union. NASA inherited the US Air Force's Man in Space Soonest program, which considered many crewed spacecraft designs ranging from rocket planes like the X-15, to small ballistic space capsules.[77] By 1958, the space plane concepts were eliminated in favor of the ballistic capsule,[78] and NASA renamed it Project Mercury. The first seven astronauts were selected among candidates from the Navy, Air Force and Marine test pilot programs. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard a capsule he named Freedom7, launched on a Redstone booster on a 15-minute ballistic (suborbital) flight.[79] John Glenn became the first American to be launched into orbit, on an Atlas launch vehicle on February 20, 1962, aboard Friendship7.[80] Glenn completed three orbits, after which three more orbital flights were made, culminating in L. Gordon Cooper's 22-orbit flight Faith 7, May 1516, 1963.[81] Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan were three of the human computers doing calculations on trajectories during the Space Race.[82][83][84] Johnson was well known for doing trajectory calculations for John Glenn's mission in 1962, where she was running the same equations by hand that were being run on the computer.[82]

Mercury's competition from the Soviet Union (USSR) was the single-pilot Vostok spacecraft. They sent the first man in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, into a single Earth orbit aboard Vostok 1 in April 1961, one month before Shepard's flight.[85] In August 1962, they achieved an almost four-day record flight with Andriyan Nikolayev aboard Vostok 3, and also conducted a concurrent Vostok 4 mission carrying Pavel Popovich.[86]

Based on studies to grow the Mercury spacecraft capabilities to long-duration flights, developing space rendezvous techniques, and precision Earth landing, Project Gemini was started as a two-man program in 1961 to overcome the Soviets' lead and to support the planned Apollo crewed lunar landing program, adding extravehicular activity (EVA) and rendezvous and docking to its objectives. The first crewed Gemini flight, Gemini 3, was flown by Gus Grissom and John Young on March 23, 1965.[87] Nine missions followed in 1965 and 1966, demonstrating an endurance mission of nearly fourteen days, rendezvous, docking, and practical EVA, and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on humans.[88][89]

Under the direction of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the USSR competed with Gemini by converting their Vostok spacecraft into a two- or three-man Voskhod. They succeeded in launching two crewed flights before Gemini's first flight, achieving a three-cosmonaut flight in 1964 and the first EVA in 1965.[90] After this, the program was canceled, and Gemini caught up while spacecraft designer Sergei Korolev developed the Soyuz spacecraft, their answer to Apollo.

The U.S. public's perception of the Soviet lead in the Space Race (by putting the first man into space) motivated President John F. Kennedy[91] to ask the Congress on May 25, 1961, to commit the federal government to a program to land a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, which effectively launched the Apollo program.[92]

Apollo was one of the most expensive American scientific programs ever. It cost more than $20billion in 1960s dollars[93] or an estimated $236billion in present-day US dollars.[94] (In comparison, the Manhattan Project cost roughly $30.1billion, accounting for inflation.)[94][95] The Apollo program used the newly developed Saturn I and Saturn V rockets, which were far larger than the repurposed ICBMs of the previous Mercury and Gemini programs.[96] They were used to launch the Apollo spacecraft, consisting of the Command and Service Module (CSM) and the Lunar Module (LM). The CSM ferried astronauts from Earth to Moon orbit and back, while the Lunar Module would land them on the Moon itself.[note 1]

The planned first crew of 3 astronauts were killed due to a fire during a 1967 preflight test for the Apollo 204 mission (later renamed Apollo 1).[97] The second crewed mission, Apollo 8, brought astronauts for the first time in a flight around the Moon in December 1968.[98] Shortly before, the Soviets had sent an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon.[99] The next two missions (Apollo 9 and Apollo 10) practiced rendezvous and docking maneuvers required to conduct the Moon landing.[100][101]

The Apollo 11 mission, launched in July 1969, landed the first humans on the Moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface, conducting experiments and sample collection, while Michael Collins orbited above in the CSM.[102] Six subsequent Apollo missions (12 through 17) were launched; five of them were successful, while one (Apollo 13) was aborted after an in-flight emergency nearly killed the astronauts. Throughout these seven Apollo spaceflights, twelve men walked on the Moon. These missions returned a wealth of scientific data and 381.7 kilograms (842lb) of lunar samples. Topics covered by experiments performed included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismology, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind.[103] The Moon landing marked the end of the space race; and as a gesture, Armstrong mentioned mankind when he stepped down on the Moon.[104]

On July 3, 1969, the Soviets suffered a major setback on their Moon program when the rocket known as the N-1 had exploded in a fireball at its launch site at Baikonur in Kazakhstan, destroying one of two launch pads. Each of the first four launches of N-1 resulted in failure before the end of the first stage flight effectively denying the Soviet Union the capacity to deliver the systems required for a crewed lunar landing.[105]

Apollo set major milestones in human spaceflight. It stands alone in sending crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit, and landing humans on another celestial body.[106] Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to orbit another celestial body, while Apollo 17 marked the last moonwalk and the last crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit. The program spurred advances in many areas of technology peripheral to rocketry and crewed spaceflight, including avionics, telecommunications, and computers. Apollo sparked interest in many fields of engineering and left many physical facilities and machines developed for the program as landmarks. Many objects and artifacts from the program are on display at various locations throughout the world, notably at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museums.

Skylab was the United States' first and only independently built space station.[107] Conceived in 1965 as a workshop to be constructed in space from a spent Saturn IB upper stage, the 169,950lb (77,088kg) station was constructed on Earth and launched on May 14, 1973, atop the first two stages of a Saturn V, into a 235-nautical-mile (435km) orbit inclined at 50 to the equator. Damaged during launch by the loss of its thermal protection and one electricity-generating solar panel, it was repaired to functionality by its first crew. It was occupied for a total of 171 days by 3 successive crews in 1973 and 1974.[107] It included a laboratory for studying the effects of microgravity, and a solar observatory.[107] NASA planned to have the in-development Space Shuttle dock with it, and elevate Skylab to a higher safe altitude, but the Shuttle was not ready for flight before Skylab's re-entry and demise on July 11, 1979.[108]

To reduce cost, NASA modified one of the Saturn V rockets originally earmarked for a canceled Apollo mission to launch Skylab, which itself was a modified Saturn V fuel tank. Apollo spacecraft, launched on smaller Saturn IB rockets, were used for transporting astronauts to and from the station. Three crews, consisting of three men each, stayed aboard the station for periods of 28, 59, and 84 days. Skylab's habitable volume was 11,290 cubic feet (320m3), which was 30.7 times bigger than that of the Apollo Command Module.[108]

In February 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed a space task group headed by Vice President Spiro Agnew to recommend human spaceflight projects beyond Apollo. The group responded in September with the Integrated Program Plan (IPP), intended to support space stations in Earth and lunar orbit, a lunar surface base, and a human Mars landing. These would be supported by replacing NASA's existing expendable launch systems with a reusable infrastructure including Earth orbit shuttles, space tugs, and a nuclear-powered trans-lunar and interplanetary shuttle. Despite the enthusiastic support of Agnew and NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine, Nixon realized public enthusiasm, which translated into Congressional support, for the space program was waning as Apollo neared its climax, and vetoed most of these plans, except for the Earth orbital shuttle, and a deferred Earth space station.[109]

On May 24, 1972, US President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin signed an agreement calling for a joint crewed space mission, and declaring intent for all future international crewed spacecraft to be capable of docking with each other.[110] This authorized the ApolloSoyuz Test Project (ASTP), involving the rendezvous and docking in Earth orbit of a surplus Apollo command and service module with a Soyuz spacecraft. The mission took place in July 1975. This was the last US human spaceflight until the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle in April 1981.[111]

The mission included both joint and separate scientific experiments and provided useful engineering experience for future joint USRussian space flights, such as the ShuttleMir program[112] and the International Space Station.

The Space Shuttle was the only vehicle in the Space Transportation System to be developed, and became the major focus of NASA in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Originally planned as a frequently launchable, fully reusable vehicle, the design was changed to use an expendable external propellant tank to reduce development cost, and four Space Shuttle orbiters were built by 1985. The first to launch, Columbia, did so on April 12, 1981, the 20th anniversary of the first human spaceflight.[113]

The Shuttle flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips. Its major components were a spaceplane orbiter with an external fuel tank and two solid-fuel launch rockets at its side. The external tank, which was bigger than the spacecraft itself, was the only major component that was not reused. The shuttle could orbit in altitudes of 185643 km (115400 miles)[114] and carry a maximum payload (to low orbit) of 24,400 kg (54,000 lb).[115] Missions could last from 5 to 17 days and crews could be from 2 to 8 astronauts.[114]

On 20 missions (19831998) the Space Shuttle carried Spacelab, designed in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA). Spacelab was not designed for independent orbital flight, but remained in the Shuttle's cargo bay as the astronauts entered and left it through an airlock.[116] On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, on board the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7 mission.[117] Another famous series of missions were the launch and later successful repair of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 and 1993, respectively.[118]

In 1995, Russian-American interaction resumed with the ShuttleMir missions (19951998). Once more an American vehicle docked with a Russian craft, this time a full-fledged space station. This cooperation has continued with Russia and the United States as two of the biggest partners in the largest space station built: the International Space Station (ISS).[119] The strength of their cooperation on this project was even more evident when NASA began relying on Russian launch vehicles to service the ISS during the two-year grounding of the shuttle fleet following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

The Shuttle fleet lost two orbiters and 14 astronauts in two disasters: Challenger in 1986, and Columbia in 2003.[120] While the 1986 loss was mitigated by building the Space Shuttle Endeavour from replacement parts, NASA did not build another orbiter to replace the second loss.[120] NASA's Space Shuttle program had 135 missions when the program ended with the successful landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. The program spanned 30 years with 355 separate astronauts sent into space, many on multiple missions.[121]

While the Space Shuttle program was still suspended after the loss of Columbia, President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration including the retirement of the Space Shuttle after completing the International Space Station. The plan was enacted into law by the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 and directs NASA to develop and launch the Crew Exploration Vehicle (later called Orion) by 2010, return Americans to the Moon by 2020, land on Mars as feasible, repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and continue scientific investigation through robotic solar system exploration, human presence on the ISS, Earth observation, and astrophysics research. The crewed exploration goals prompted NASA's Constellation program.[122]

On December 4, 2006, NASA announced it was planning a permanent Moon base.[123] The goal was to start building the Moon base by 2020, and by 2024, have a fully functional base that would allow for crew rotations and in-situ resource utilization. However, in 2009, the Augustine Committee found the program to be on an "unsustainable trajectory."[124] In February 2010, President Barack Obama's administration proposed eliminating public funds for it.[125]

President Obama's plan was to develop American private spaceflight capabilities to get astronauts to the International Space Station, replace Russian Soyuz capsules, and use Orion capsules for ISS emergency escape purposes. During a speech at the Kennedy Space Center on April 15, 2010, Obama proposed a new heavy-lift vehicle (HLV) to replace the formerly planned Ares V.[126] In his speech, Obama called for a crewed mission to an asteroid as soon as 2025, and a crewed mission to Mars orbit by the mid-2030s.[126] The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 was passed by Congress and signed into law on October 11, 2010.[127] The act officially canceled the Constellation program.[127]

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 required a newly designed HLV be chosen within 90 days of its passing; the launch vehicle was given the name Space Launch System. The new law also required the construction of a beyond low earth orbit spacecraft.[128] The Orion spacecraft, which was being developed as part of the Constellation program, was chosen to fulfill this role.[129] The Space Launch System is planned to launch both Orion and other necessary hardware for missions beyond low Earth orbit.[130] The SLS is to be upgraded over time with more powerful versions. The initial capability of SLS is required to be able to lift 70t (150,000lb) (later 95t or 209,000lb) into LEO. It is then planned to be upgraded to 105t (231,000lb) and then eventually to 130t (290,000lb).[129][131] The Orion capsule first flew on Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1), an uncrewed test flight that was launched on December 5, 2014, atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket.[131]

NASA undertook a feasibility study in 2012 and developed the Asteroid Redirect Mission as an uncrewed mission to move a boulder-sized near-Earth asteroid (or boulder-sized chunk of a larger asteroid) into lunar orbit. The mission would demonstrate ion thruster technology and develop techniques that could be used for planetary defense against an asteroid collision, as well as a cargo transport to Mars in support of a future human mission. The Moon-orbiting boulder might then later be visited by astronauts. The Asteroid Redirect Mission was cancelled in 2017 as part of the FY2018 NASA budget, the first one under President Donald Trump.[132]

NASA has conducted many uncrewed and robotic spaceflight programs throughout its history. Uncrewed robotic programs launched the first American artificial satellites into Earth orbit for scientific and communications purposes and sent scientific probes to explore the planets of the Solar System, starting with Venus and Mars, and including "grand tours" of the outer planets. More than 1,000 uncrewed missions have been designed to explore the Earth and the Solar System.[133]

The first US uncrewed satellite was Explorer 1, which started as an ABMA/JPL project during the early part of the Space Race. It was launched in January 1958, two months after Sputnik. At the creation of NASA, the Explorer project was transferred to the agency and still continues. Its missions have been focusing on the Earth and the Sun, measuring magnetic fields and the solar wind, among other aspects.[134]

The Ranger missions developed technology to build and deliver robotic probes into orbit and to the vicinity of the Moon. Ranger 7 successfully returned images of the Moon in July 1964, followed by two more successful missions.[135]

NASA also played a role in the development and delivery of early communications satellite technology to orbit. Syncom 3 was the first geostationary satellite. It was an experimental geosynchronous communications satellite placed over the equator at 180 degrees longitude in the Pacific Ocean. The satellite provided live television coverage of the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan and conducted various communications tests. Operations were turned over to the Department of Defense on January 1, 1965; Syncom 3 was to prove useful in the DoD's Vietnam communications.[136] Programs like Syncom, Telstar, and Applications Technology Satellites (ATS) demonstrated the utility of communications satellites and delivered early telephonic and video satellite transmission.[137]

Study of Mercury, Venus, or Mars has been the goal of more than ten uncrewed NASA programs. The first was Mariner in the 1960s and 1970s, which made multiple visits to Venus and Mars and one to Mercury. Probes launched under the Mariner program were also the first to make a planetary flyby (Mariner 2), to take the first pictures from another planet (Mariner 4), the first planetary orbiter (Mariner 9), and the first to make a gravity assist maneuver (Mariner 10). This is a technique where the satellite takes advantage of the gravity and velocity of planets to reach its destination.[138]

Magellan orbited Venus for four years in the early 1990s capturing radar images of the planet's surface.[139] MESSENGER orbited Mercury between 2011 and 2015 after a 6.5-year journey involving a complicated series of flybys of Venus and Mercury to reduce velocity sufficiently enough to enter Mercury orbit. MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury and used its science payload to study Mercury's surface composition, geological history, internal magnetic field, and verified its polar deposits were dominantly water-ice.[140]

From 1966 to 1968, the Lunar Orbiter and Surveyor missions provided higher quality photographs and other measurements to pave the way for the crewed Apollo missions to the Moon.[141] Clementine spent a couple of months mapping the Moon in 1994 before moving on to other mission objectives.[142] Lunar Prospector spent 19 months from 1998 mapping the Moon's surface composition and looking for polar ice.[143]

The first successful landing on Mars was made by Viking 1 in 1976. Viking 2 followed two months later. Twenty years later the Sojourner rover was landed on Mars by Mars Pathfinder.[144]

After Mars, Jupiter was first visited by Pioneer 10 in 1973. More than 20 years later Galileo sent a probe into the planet's atmosphere and became the first spacecraft to orbit the planet.[145] Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn in 1979, with Voyager 2 making the first (and so far, only) visits to Uranus and Neptune in 1986 and 1989, respectively. The first spacecraft to leave the Solar System was Pioneer 10 in 1983. For a time, it was the most distant spacecraft, but it has since been surpassed by both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.[146]

Pioneers 10 and 11 and both Voyager probes carry messages from the Earth to extraterrestrial life.[147][148] Communication can be difficult with deep space travel. For instance, it took about three hours for a radio signal to reach the New Horizons spacecraft when it was more than halfway to Pluto.[149] Contact with Pioneer 10 was lost in 2003. Both Voyager probes continue to operate as they explore the outer boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space.[150]

NASA continued to support in situ exploration beyond the asteroid belt, including Pioneer and Voyager traverses into the unexplored trans-Pluto region, and gas giant orbiters Galileo (19892003) and Cassini (19972017) exploring the Jovian and Saturnian systems respectively.

The missions below represent the robotic spacecraft that have been delivered and operated by NASA to study the heliosphere. The Helios A and Helios B missions were launched in the 1970s to study the Sun and were the first spacecraft to orbit inside of Mercury's orbit.[151] The Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST) mission was launched in August 1996 becoming the second SMEX mission placed in orbit. It studied the auroral zones near each pole during its transits in a highly elliptical orbit.[152]

The International Earth-Sun Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) mission was launched in 1978 and is the first spacecraft designed to operate at the Earth-Sun L1 libration point. It studied solar-terrestrial relationships at the outermost boundaries of the Earth's magnetosphere and the structure of the solar wind. The spacecraft was subsequently maneuvered out of the halo orbit and conducted a flyby of the Giacobini-Zinner comet in 1985 as the rechristened International Cometary Explorer (ICE).[153]

Ulysses was launched in 1990 and slingshotted around Jupiter to put it in an orbit to travel over the poles of the Sun. It was designed study the space environment above and below the poles and delivered scientific data for about 19 years.[154]

Additional spacecraft launched for studies of the heliosphere include: Cluster II, IMAGE, POLAR, Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, and the Van Allen Probes.

The Earth Sciences Division of the NASA Science Mission Directorate leads efforts to study the planet Earth. Spacecraft have been used to study Earth since the mid-1960s. Efforts included the Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) and Nimbus satellite systems of which there were many carrying weather research and forecasting from space from 1960 into the 2020s.

The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) was launched in 1990 on a three-year mission to investigate fields, plasmas, and energetic particles inside the Earth's magnetosphere.[155] The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was launched in 1991 by STS-48 to study the Earth's atmosphere especially the protective ozone layer.[156] TOPEX/Poseidon was launched in 1992 and was the first significant oceanographic research satellite.[157]

The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) was launched in 2003, operated for seven years, and measured ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, and well as topography and vegetation characteristics.[158]

Over a dozen past robotic missions have focused on the study of the Earth and its environment. Some of these additional missions include Aquarius, Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), Jason-1, Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2, and Radarsat-1 missions.

The International Space Station (ISS) combines NASA's Space Station Freedom project with the Soviet/Russian Mir-2 station, the European Columbus station, and the Japanese Kib laboratory module.[159] NASA originally planned in the 1980s to develop Freedom alone, but US budget constraints led to the merger of these projects into a single multi-national program in 1993, managed by NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).[160][161] The station consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components, which were manufactured in various factories around the world, and have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and the US Space Shuttles.[159] The on-orbit assembly began in 1998, the completion of the US Orbital Segment occurred in 2009 and the completion of the Russian Orbital Segment occurred in 2010, though there are some debates of whether new modules should be added in the segment. The ownership and use of the space station is established in intergovernmental treaties and agreements[162] which divide the station into two areas and allow Russia to retain full ownership of the Russian Orbital Segment (with the exception of Zarya),[163][164] with the US Orbital Segment allocated between the other international partners.[162]

Long-duration missions to the ISS are referred to as ISS Expeditions. Expedition crew members typically spend approximately six months on the ISS.[165] The initial expedition crew size was three, temporarily decreased to two following the Columbia disaster. Since May 2009, expedition crew size has been six crew members.[166] Crew size is expected to be increased to seven, the number the ISS was designed for, once the Commercial Crew Program becomes operational.[167] The ISS has been continuously occupied for the past 22years and 73days, having exceeded the previous record held by Mir; and has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different nations.[168][169]

The station can be seen from the Earth with the naked eye and, as of 2023, is the largest artificial satellite in Earth orbit with a mass and volume greater than that of any previous space station.[170] The Russian Soyuz and American Dragon spacecraft are used to send astronauts to and from the ISS. Several uncrewed cargo spacecraft provide service to the ISS; they are the Russian Progress spacecraft which has done so since 2000, the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) since 2008, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) since 2009, the (uncrewed) Dragon since 2012, and the American Cygnus spacecraft since 2013.[171][172] The Space Shuttle, before its retirement, was also used for cargo transfer and would often switch out expedition crew members, although it did not have the capability to remain docked for the duration of their stay. Between the retirement of the Shuttle in 2011 and the commencement of crewed Dragon flights in 2020, American astronauts exclusively used the Soyuz for crew transport to and from the ISS[173] The highest number of people occupying the ISS has been thirteen; this occurred three times during the late Shuttle ISS assembly missions.[174]

The ISS program is expected to continue to 2030,[175] after which the space station will be retired and destroyed in a controlled de-orbit.[176]

Commercial Resupply Services missions approaching International Space Station

Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a contract solution to deliver cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on a commmercial basis.[177] NASA signed its first CRS contracts in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve cargo Dragon and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences[note 2] for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. Both companies evolved or created their launch vehicle products to support the solution (SpaceX with The Falcon 9 and Orbital with the Antares).

SpaceX flew its first operational resupply mission (SpaceX CRS-1) in 2012.[178] Orbital Sciences followed in 2014 (Cygnus CRS Orb-1).[179] In 2015, NASA extended CRS-1 to twenty flights for SpaceX and twelve flights for Orbital ATK.[note 2][180][181]

A second phase of contracts (known as CRS-2) was solicited in 2014; contracts were awarded in January 2016 to Orbital ATK[note 2] Cygnus, Sierra Nevada Corporation Dream Chaser, and SpaceX Dragon 2, for cargo transport flights beginning in 2019 and expected to last through 2024. In March 2022, NASA awarded an additional six CRS-2 missions each to both SpaceX and Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital).[182]

Northrop Grumman successfully delivered Cygnus NG-17 to the ISS in February 2022.[183] In July 2022, SpaceX launched its 25th CRS flight (SpaceX CRS-25) and successfully delivered its cargo to the ISS.[184] In late 2022, Sierra Nevada continued to assemble their Dream Chaser CRS solution; current estimates put its first launch in early 2023.[185]

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational some time after 2022[needs update].[186] NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.[187]

The spacecraft are owned and operated by the vendor, and crew transportation is provided to NASA as a commercial service. Each mission sends up to four astronauts to the ISS, with an option for a fifth passenger available. Operational flights occur approximately once every six months for missions that last for approximately six months. A spacecraft remains docked to the ISS during its mission, and missions usually overlap by at least a few days. Between the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and the first operational CCP mission in 2020, NASA relied on the Soyuz program to transport its astronauts to the ISS.

A Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched to space atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle and the capsule returns to Earth via splashdown in the ocean near Florida. The program's first operational mission, SpaceX Crew-1, launched on 16 November 2020.[188] Boeing Starliner operational flights will now commence after its final test flight which was launched atop an Atlas V N22 launch vehicle. Instead of a splashdown, a Starliner capsule returns on land with airbags at one of four designated sites in the western United States.[189]

Since 2017, NASA's crewed spaceflight program has been the Artemis program, which involves the help of US commercial spaceflight companies and international partners such as ESA, JAXA, and CSA.[190] The goal of this program is to land "the first woman and the next man" on the lunar south pole region by 2024. Artemis would be the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was held over from the canceled Constellation program for Artemis. Artemis 1 was the uncrewed initial launch of Space Launch System (SLS) that would also send an Orion spacecraft on a Distant Retrograde Orbit.[191]

NASA's next major space initiative is to be the construction of the Lunar Gateway, a small space station in lunar orbit.[192] This space station will be designed primarily for non-continuous human habitation. The first tentative steps of returning to crewed lunar missions will be Artemis 2, which is to include the Orion crew module, propelled by the SLS, and is to launch in 2024.[190] This mission is to be a 10-day mission planned to briefly place a crew of four into a Lunar flyby.[131] The construction of the Gateway would begin with the proposed Artemis 3, which is planned to deliver a crew of four to Lunar orbit along with the first modules of the Gateway. This mission would last for up to 30 days. NASA plans to build full scale deep space habitats such as the Lunar Gateway and the Nautilus-X as part of its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program.[193] In 2017, NASA was directed by the congressional NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 to get humans to Mars-orbit (or to the Martian surface) by the 2030s.[194][195]

In support of the Artemis missions, NASA has been funding private companies to land robotic probes on the lunar surface in a program known as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services. As of March 2022, NASA has awarded contracts for robotic lunar probes to companies such as Intuitive Machines, Firefly Space Systems, and Astrobotic.[196]

On April 16, 2021, NASA announced they had selected the SpaceX Lunar Starship as its Human Landing System. The agency's Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit where they will transfer to SpaceX's Starship for the final leg of their journey to the surface of the Moon.[197]

In November 2021, it was announced that the goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2024 had slipped to no earlier than 2025 due to numerous factors. Artemis 1 launched on November 16, 2022 and returned to Earth safely on December 11, 2022. As of June 2022, NASA plans to launch Artemis 2 in May 2024 and Artemis 3 sometime in 2025.[198][199] Additional Artemis missions, Artemis 4 and Artemis 5, are planned to launch after 2025.[200]

The Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations program is an initiative by NASA to support work on commercial space stations that the agency hopes to have in place by the end of the current decade to replace the "International Space Station". The three selected companies are: Blue Origin (et al.) with their Orbital Reef station concept, Nanoracks (et al.) with their Starlab Space Station concept, and Northrop Grumman with a station concept based on the HALO-module for the Gateway station.[201]

NASA has conducted many uncrewed and robotic spaceflight programs throughout its history. More than 1,000 uncrewed missions have been designed to explore the Earth and the Solar System.[133]

NASA executes a mission development framework to plan, select, develop, and operate robotic missions. This framework defines cost, schedule and technical risk parameters to enable competitive selection of missions involving mission candidates that have been developed by principal investigators and their teams from across NASA, the broader U.S. Government research and development stakeholders, and industry. The mission development construct is defined by four umbrella programs.

The Explorer program derives its origin from the earliest days of the U.S. Space program. In current form, the program consists of three classes of systems - Small Explorers (SMEX), Medium Explorers (MIDEX), and University-Class Explorers (UNEX) missions. The NASA Explorer program office provides frequent flight opportunities for moderate cost innovative solutions from the heliophysics and astrophysics science areas. The Small Explorer missions are required to limit cost to NASA to below $150M (2022 dollars). Medium class explorer missions have typically involved NASA cost caps of $350M. The Explorer program office is based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.[202]

The NASA Discovery program develops and delivers robotic spacecraft solutions in the planetary science domain. Discovery enables scientists and engineers to assemble a team to deliver a solution against a defined set of objectives and competitively bid that solution against other candidate programs. Cost caps vary but recent mission selection processes were accomplished using a $500M cost cap to NASA. The Planetary Mission Program Office is based at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and manages both the Discovery and New Frontiers missions. The office is part of the Science Mission Directorate.[203]

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on June 2, 2021, that the DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions were selected to launch to Venus in the late 2020s, having beat out competing proposals for missions to Jupiter's volcanic moon Io and Neptune's large moon Triton that were also selected as Discovery program finalists in early 2020. Each mission has an estimated cost of $500 million, with launches expected between 2028 and 2030. Launch contracts will be awarded later in each mission's development.[204]

The New Frontiers program focuses on specific Solar System exploration goals identified as top priorities by the planetary science community. Primary objectives include Solar System exploration employing medium class spacecraft missions to conduct high-science-return investigations. New Frontiers builds on the development approach employed by the Discovery program but provides for higher cost caps and schedule durations than are available with Discovery. Cost caps vary by opportunity; recent missions have been awarded based on a defined cap of $1 Billion. The higher cost cap and projected longer mission durations result in a lower frequency of new opportunities for the program - typically one every several years. OSIRIS-REx and New Horizons are examples of New Frontiers missions.[205]

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NASA - Wikipedia

Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory – NCI

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NCI established the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) to accelerate the progress of nanomedicine by providing preclinical characterization and safety testing of nanoparticles. It is a collaborative effort between NCI, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The NCL serves as a resource and knowledge base for all cancer researchers in academia, industry, and government to facilitate the development and clinical translation of nanotechnologies intended as cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. NCL supports the characterization of:

Considering the relevance of nanoparticles to combat COVID-19 pandemic, the NCL also supports the characterization of nanotechnology-based COVID vaccines and therapeutics.

There are multiple ways the NCL can help nanotech researchers and developers advance their technology, including characterization, formulation, optimization, lead selection, and method development.

NCL has a free preclinical characterization service for developers of oncology-based nanoformulations to help in their development toward clinical trials.

Technical services are predefined statements of work for select NCL assays, with a fixed cost for each service. NCL provides two technical services, both based on the Stable Isotope Tracer Ultrafiltration Assay (SITUA) an analytical method invented at NCL that measures key nanomedicine fractions in plasma.

The NCL has developed a standardized analytical cascade that performs physicochemical characterization as well as preclinical testing of the immunology, pharmacology, and toxicology properties of nanomaterials. The data generated can be used in regulatory filings, in publications, and to garner interest from investors.

The NCL was founded in 2004 in collaboration with FDA and NIST, as a publicprivate partnership to advance the science needed to expedite the development of promising nanotech therapies and diagnostics. The NCL has tested more than 450 unique nanomaterials and worked with more than 125 investigators worldwide.

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Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory - NCI

Master of Engineering in Bioengineering

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You are here: Home / Master of Engineering in BioengineeringChoose from 7 cutting-edge technical concentrations: .rt-md-content-holder .rt-md-content, .rt-popup-wrap-1785209550.rt-popup-wrap .rt-popup-navigation-wrap, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .carousel9 .rt-holder .overlay .post-info{background-color:#0367bf;}#rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .layout5 .rt-holder .overlay, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .isotope2 .rt-holder .overlay, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .carousel2 .rt-holder .overlay,#rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .layout15 .rt-holder h3, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .isotope11 .rt-holder h3, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .carousel11 .rt-holder h3, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .layout16 .rt-holder h3,#rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .isotope12 .rt-holder h3, #rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .carousel12 .rt-holder h3 {background-color:rgba(3,103,191,0.1);}#rt-tpg-container-1785209550 [class*='rt-col-'] {padding-left : 10px;padding-right : 10px;margin-top : 10px;margin-bottom : 10px;}#rt-tpg-container-1785209550 .rt-row{margin-left : -10px;margin-right : -10px;}#rt-tpg-container-1785209550.rt-container-fluid,#rt-tpg-container-1785209550.rt-container{padding-left : 10px;padding-right : 10px;}]]>General Bioengineering

Introduces you to major problems addressed by bioengineers today, along with the modern methods used to solve them. Exposes you to bioengineering research through hands-on projects in faculty labs and to entrepreneurship practices through classes and research.

Exposes you to unmet clinical need areas directly from subject matter experts. Help you analyze and correlate engineering principles to existing medical, pharmaceutical products. Prepares you for engineering careers in industries with the full spectrum knowledge of technology-to-product pathway, including applied technical skills and commercialization steps.

Prepare for a range of career options within industries developing and/or applying multi-modal imaging modalities. Course work emphasizes fundamental mathematics and physics alongside engineering principles for design innovation. Career options range from application of pre-clinical imaging in pharmaceutical testing, to engineering of novel imaging devices and modalities, to clinical research and application of emerging methodologies.

Prepares you for careers in industries that apply fundamental biomaterials science and device design to markets for clinical product manufacturing, medical implants, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, wearable technology, and other related fields.

Teaches you how living systems sense, process, and respond to mechanical forces. Prepares you for a wide variety of career paths, including biomaterials, stem cell engineering, and medical devices such as orthopedic implants and cardiovascular grafts.

Prepares you for a career managing and analyzing genomic and molecular data, applying techniques like statistical modeling, machine learning, databases, scripting, and bioinformatics tool development/deployment in fields such as precision molecular medicine, genetic engineering, and biotechnology.

Prepares you to design and build novel biological functions and systems by applying engineering design principles and computational tools to biology to produce materials more cheaply and sustainably, and to design and construct better-performing genetic systems quickly, reliably, and safely.

If you have specific questions about the UC Berkeley Bioengineering MEng program, please contact bioe-meng@berkeley.edu.

Please note: Berkeley also offers a Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) degree, which is sponsored jointly by UCSF. We urge applicants to consider both masters programs and choose the one that is right for them. If you have specific questions about the MTM program, please contact the MTM program at mtm@berkeley.edu.

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Master of Engineering in Bioengineering

Genetics vs. Genomics Fact Sheet – National Human Genome Research Institute

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Proteomics

The suffix "-ome" comes from the Greek for all, every, or complete. It was originally used in "genome," which refers to all the genes in a person or other organism. Due to the success of large-scale biology projects such as the sequencing of the human genome, the suffix "-ome" is now being used in other research contexts. Proteomics is an example. The DNA sequence of genes carries the instructions, or code, for building proteins. This DNA is transcribed into a related molecule, RNA, which is then translated into proteins. Proteomics, therefore, is a similar large-scale analysis of all the proteins in an organism, tissue type, or cell (called the proteome). Proteomics can be used to reveal specific, abnormal proteins that lead to diseases, such as certain forms of cancer.

Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics

The terms "pharmacogenetics" and "pharmacogenomics" are often used interchangeably in describing the intersection of pharmacology (the study of drugs, or pharmaceuticals) and genetic variability in determining an individual's response to particular drugs. The terms may be distinguished in the following way.

Pharmacogenetics is the field of study dealing with the variability of responses to medications due to variation in single genes. Pharmacogenetics takes into account a person's genetic information regarding specific drug receptors and how drugs are transported and metabolized by the body. The goal of pharmacogenetics is to create an individualized drug therapy that allows for the best choice and dose of drugs. One example is the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin). This therapy works only for women whose tumors have a particular genetic profile that leads to overproduction of a protein called HER2. (See: Genetics, Disease Prevention and Treatment)

Pharmacogenomics is similar to pharmacogenetics, except that it typically involves the search for variations in multiple genes that are associated with variability in drug response. Since pharmacogenomics is one of the large-scale "omic" technologies, it can examine the entirety of the genome, rather than just single genes. Pharmacogenomic studies may also examine genetic variation among large groups of people (populations), for example, in order to see how different drugs might affect different racial or ethnic groups.

Pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic studies are leading to drugs that can be tailor-made for individuals, and adapted to each person's particular genetic makeup. Although a person's environment, diet, age, lifestyle, and state of health can also influence that person's response to medicines, understanding an individual's genetic makeup is key to creating personalized drugs that work better and have fewer side effects than the one-size-fits-all drugs that are common today. (See: Genetics, Disease Prevention and Treatment). For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends genetic testing before giving the chemotherapy drug mercaptopurine (Purinethol) to patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Some people have a genetic variant that interferes with their ability to process this drug. This processing problem can cause severe side effects, unless the standard dose is adjusted according to the patient's genetic makeup. (See: Frequently Asked Questions about Pharmacogenomics).

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cells have two important characteristics. First, stem cells are unspecialized cells that can develop into various specialized body cells. Second, stem cells are able to stay in their unspecialized state and make copies of themselves. Embryonic stem cells come from the embryo at a very early stage in development (the blastocyst staqe). The stem cells in the blastocyst go on to develop all of the cells in the complete organism. Adult stem cells come from more fully developed tissues, like umbilical cord blood in newborns, circulating blood, bone marrow or skin.

Medical researchers are investigating the use of stem cells to repair or replace damaged body tissues, similar to whole organ transplants. Embryonic stem cells from the blastocyst have the ability to develop into every type of tissue (skin, liver, kidney, blood, etc.) found in an adult human. Adult stem cells are more limited in their potential (for example, stem cells from liver may only develop into more liver cells). In organ transplants, when tissues from a donor are placed into the body of a patient, there is the possibility that the patient's immune system may react and reject the donated tissue as "foreign." However, by using stem cells, there may be less risk of this immune rejection, and the therapy may be more successful.

Stem cells have been used in experiments to form cells of the bone marrow, heart, blood vessels, and muscle. Since the 1990's, umbilical cord blood stem cells have been used to treat heart and other physical problems in children who have rare metabolic conditions, or to treat children with certain anemias and leukemias. For example, one of the treatment options for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia [cancer.gov] is stem cell transplantation therapy.

There has been much debate nationally about the use of embryonic stem cells, especially about the creation of human embryos for use in experiments. In 1995, Congress enacted a ban on federal financing for research using human embryos. However, these restrictions have not stopped researchers in the United States and elsewhere from using private funding to create new embryonic cell lines and undertaking research with them. The embryos for such research are typically obtained from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized in vitro - as in an in vitro fertilization clinic - and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. In 2009, some of the barriers to federal financing of responsible and scientifically worthy human stem cell research were lifted.

Cloning

Cloning can refer to genes, cells, or whole organisms. In the case of a cell, a clone refers to any genetically identical cell in a population that comes from a single, common ancestor. For example, when a single bacterial cell copies its DNA and divides thousands of times, all of the cells that are formed will contain the same DNA and will be clones of the common ancestor bacterial cell. Gene cloning involves manipulations to make multiple identical copies of a single gene from the same ancestor gene. Cloning an organism means making a genetically identical copy of all of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up the organism. There are two major types of cloning that may relate to humans or other animals: therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning.

Therapeutic cloning involves growing cloned cells or tissues from an individual, such as new liver tissue for a patient with a liver disease. Such cloning attempts typically involve the use of stem cells. The nucleus will be taken from a patient's body cell, such as a liver cell, and inserted into an egg that has had its nucleus removed. This will ultimately produce a blastocyst whose stem cells could then be used to create new tissue that is genetically identical to that of the patient.

Reproductive cloning is a related process used to generate an entire animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal. The first cloned animals were frogs. Dolly, the famous sheep, is another example of cloning. The success rates of reproductive animal cloning, however, have been very low. In 2005, South Korean researchers claimed to have produced human embryonic stem cell lines by cloning genetic material from patients. However, this data was later reported to have been falsified.

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Genetics vs. Genomics Fact Sheet - National Human Genome Research Institute

Table of Pharmacogenomic Biomarkers in Drug Labeling | FDA

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AbacavirInfectious DiseasesHLA-BBoxed Warning, Dosage and Administration, Contraindications, Warnings and PrecautionsAbemaciclib (1)OncologyESR(Hormone Receptor)Indications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAbemaciclib (2)OncologyERBB2(HER2)Indications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAbemaciclib (3)OncologyMKI67Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Clinical StudiesAbrocitinibDermatologyCYP2C19Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyAdo-Trastuzumab EmtansineOncologyERBB2(HER2)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesAducanumab-avwaNeurologyAPOEWarnings and Precautions, Clinical StudiesAfatinibOncologyEGFRIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAlectinibOncologyALKIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesAlglucosidase AlfaInborn Errors of MetabolismGAAWarnings and PrecautionsAllopurinolOncologyHLA-BWarningsAlpelisib (1)OncologyERBB2(HER2)Indication and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAlpelisib (2)OncologyESR(Hormone Receptor)Indication and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAlpelisib (3)OncologyPIK3CAIndication and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAmifampridineNeurologyNAT2Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyAmifampridine PhosphateNeurologyNAT2Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyAmitriptylinePsychiatryCYP2D6PrecautionsAmivantamab-vmjwOncologyEGFRIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAmoxapinePsychiatryCYP2D6PrecautionsAmphetaminePsychiatryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyAnakinraRheumatologyNLRP3Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesAnastrozoleOncologyESR, PGR(Hormone Receptor)Indications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Drug Interactions, Clinical StudiesAnifrolumab-fniaRheumatologyGene Signature(IFN)Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesArformoterol (1)PulmonaryUGT1A1Clinical PharmacologyArformoterol (2)PulmonaryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyAripiprazolePsychiatryCYP2D6Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyAripiprazole LauroxilPsychiatryCYP2D6Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyArsenic TrioxideOncologyPML-RARAIndications and Usage, Clinical StudiesArticaine and Epinephrine (1)AnesthesiologyG6PDWarnings and PrecautionsArticaine and Epinephrine (2)AnesthesiologyNonspecific(Congenital Methemoglobinemia)Warnings and PrecautionsAsciminibOncologyBCR-ABL1(Philadelphia chromosome)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesAtezolizumab (1)OncologyCD274(PD-L1)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesAtezolizumab (2) OncologyGene Signature(T-effector)Clinical StudiesAtezolizumab (3)OncologyEGFRIndications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAtezolizumab (4)OncologyALKIndications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAtezolizumab (5)OncologyBRAFIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesAtomoxetinePsychiatryCYP2D6Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Drug Interactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyAscorbic Acid, PEG-3350, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Ascorbate, Sodium Chloride, and Sodium SulfateGastroenterologyG6PDWarnings and Precautions, Adverse ReactionsAvapritinib (1)OncologyPDGFRAIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Clinical StudiesAvapritinib (2)OncologyKITClinical StudiesAvatrombopag (1)HematologyF2(Prothrombin)Warnings and PrecautionsAvatrombopag (2)HematologyF5(Factor V Leiden)Warnings and PrecautionsAvatrombopag (3)HematologyPROCWarnings and PrecautionsAvatrombopag (4)HematologyPROS1Warnings and PrecautionsAvatrombopag (5)HematologySERPINC1(Antithrombin III)Warnings and PrecautionsAvatrombopag (6)HematologyCYP2C9Clinical PharmacologyAvelumabOncologyCD274(PD-L1)Clinical StudiesAzacitidine (1)OncologyCBLClinical StudiesAzacitidine (2)OncologyPTPN11Clinical StudiesAzacitidine (3)OncologyRASClinical StudiesAzathioprine (1)RheumatologyTPMTDosage and Administration, Warnings, Precautions, Drug Interactions, Adverse Reactions, Clinical PharmacologyAzathioprine (2)RheumatologyNUDT15Dosage and Administration, Warnings, Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Clinical PharmacologyBelinostatOncologyUGT1A1Dosage and Administration, Clinical PharmacologyBelzutifan (1)OncologyCYP2C19Warnings and Precautions, Drug Interactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyBelzutifan (2)OncologyUGT2B17Warnings and Precautions, Drug Interactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyBelzutifan (3)OncologyVHLClinical StudiesBinimetinib (1)OncologyBRAFIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesBinimetinib (2)OncologyUGT1A1Clinical PharmacologyBlinatumomab (1)OncologyBCR-ABL1(Philadelphia chromosome)Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesBlinatumomab (2)OncologyCD19Indications and UsageBoceprevirInfectious DiseasesIFNL3(IL28B)Clinical PharmacologyBosutinibOncologyBCR-ABL1(Philadelphia chromosome)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesBrentuximab Vedotin (1)OncologyALKClinical StudiesBrentuximab Vedotin (2)OncologyTNFRSF8(CD30)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesBrexpiprazolePsychiatryCYP2D6Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyBrigatinibOncologyALKIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesBrivaracetamNeurologyCYP2C19Clinical PharmacologyBupivacaine (1) AnesthesiologyG6PDWarningsBupivacaine (2)AnesthesiologyNonspecific(Congenital Methemoglobinemia)WarningsBupropionPsychiatryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyBusulfanOncologyBCR-ABL1(Philadelphia chromosome)Clinical StudiesCabotegravir and Rilpivirine (1)Infectious DiseasesHLA-BClinical StudiesCabotegravir and Rilpivirine (2)Infectious DiseasesUGT1A1Clinical PharmacologyCabozantinibOncologyRETClinical StudiesCapmatinibOncologyMETIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Clinical StudiesCapecitabineOncologyDPYDWarnings and Precautions, Patient Counseling InformationCarbamazepine (1)NeurologyHLA-BBoxed Warning, Warnings, PrecautionsCarbamazepine (2)NeurologyHLA-AWarningsCarglumic AcidInborn Errors of MetabolismNAGSIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesCariprazinePsychiatryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyCarisoprodolRheumatologyCYP2C19Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyCarvedilolCardiologyCYP2D6Drug Interactions, Clinical PharmacologyCasimersenNeurologyDMDIndications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesCeftriaxone (1)Infectious DiseasesG6PDWarningsCeftriaxone (2)Infectious DiseasesNonspecific(Congenital Methemoglobinemia)WarningsCelecoxibRheumatologyCYP2C9Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyCemiplimab-rwlc (1)OncologyALKIndications and Usage, Clinical StudiesCemiplimab-rwlc (2)OncologyCD274(PD-L1)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Clinical StudiesCemiplimab-rwlc (3)OncologyEGFRIndications and Usage, Clinical StudiesCemiplimab-rwlc (4)OncologyROS1Indications and Usage, Clinical StudiesCeritinibOncologyALKIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warning and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesCerliponase AlfaInborn Errors of MetabolismTPP1Indications and Usage, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesCetuximab (1)OncologyEGFRIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesCetuximab (2)OncologyRASIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesCetuximab (3)OncologyBRAFIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesCevimelineDentalCYP2D6PrecautionsChloroprocaine (1)AnesthesiologyG6PDWarningsChloroprocaine (2)AnesthesiologyNonspecific(Congenital Methemoglobinemia)WarningsChloroquineInfectious DiseasesG6PDPrecautions, Adverse ReactionsChlorpropamideEndocrinologyG6PDPrecautionsCholic AcidInborn Errors of MetabolismAMACR, AKR1D1, CYP7A1, CYP27A1, DHCR7, HSD3B2(Bile Acid Synthesis Disorders)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesCisplatinOncologyTPMTAdverse ReactionsCitalopram (1)PsychiatryCYP2C19Dosage and Administration, Warnings,Clinical PharmacologyCitalopram (2)PsychiatryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyClobazamNeurologyCYP2C19Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyClomipraminePsychiatryCYP2D6PrecautionsClopidogrelCardiologyCYP2C19Boxed Warning, Warnings and Precautions, Clinical PharmacologyClozapinePsychiatryCYP2D6Dosage and Administration, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyCobimetinibOncologyBRAFIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesCodeineAnesthesiologyCYP2D6Boxed Warning, Warnings and Precautions, Use in Specific Populations, Patient Counseling InformationCrizanlizumab-tmcaHematologyHBBAdverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesCrizotinib (1)OncologyALKIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesCrizotinib (2)OncologyROS1Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesDabrafenib (1)OncologyBRAFIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesDabrafenib (2)OncologyG6PDWarnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Patient Counseling InformationDabrafenib (3)OncologyRASDosage and Administration, Warnings and PrecautionsDaclatasvirInfectious DiseasesIFNL3(IL28B)Clinical StudiesDacomitinibOncologyEGFRIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesDapsone (1)DermatologyG6PDWarnings and Precautions, Use in Specific Populations, Patient Counseling InformationDapsone (2)DermatologyNonspecific(Congenital Methemoglobinemia)Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Patient Counseling InformationDapsone (3)Infectious DiseasesG6PDPrecautions, Adverse Reactions, OverdosageDarifenacinUrologyCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyDasabuvir, Ombitasvir, Paritaprevir, andRitonavirInfectious DiseasesIFNL3(IL28B)Clinical StudiesDasatinibOncologyBCR-ABL1(Philadelphia chromosome)Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical StudiesDenileukin DiftitoxOncologyIL2RA(CD25 antigen)Indications and Usage, Clinical StudiesDesipraminePsychiatryCYP2D6PrecautionsDesfluraneAnesthesiologyNonspecific(Genetic Susceptibility to Malignant Hyperthermia)ContraindicationsDesvenlafaxinePsychiatryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyDeutetrabenazineNeurologyCYP2D6Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyDexlansoprazoleGastroenterologyCYP2C19Drug Interactions, Clinical PharmacologyDextromethorphan and QuinidineNeurologyCYP2D6Warnings and Precautions, Clinical PharmacologyDiazepamNeurologyCYP2C19Clinical PharmacologyDinutuximabOncologyMYCNClinical StudiesDocetaxelOncologyESR, PGR(Hormone Receptor)Clinical StudiesDolutegravirInfectious DiseasesUGT1A1Clinical PharmacologyDonepezilNeurologyCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyDostarlimab-gxlyOncologyMismatch RepairIndication and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Adverse Reactions, Clinical StudiesDoxepin (1)PsychiatryCYP2D6Clinical PharmacologyDoxepin (2)PsychiatryCYP2C19Clinical PharmacologyDronabinolGastroenterologyCYP2C9Use in Specific Populations, Clinical PharmacologyDrospirenone and Ethinyl EstradiolGynecologyCYP2C19Clinical PharmacologyDuloxetinePsychiatryCYP2D6Drug InteractionsDurvalumabOncologyCD274(PD-L1)Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesDuvelisibOncologyChromosome 17pClinical StudiesEculizumab (1)NeurologyACHRIndications and Usage, Clinical StudiesEculizumab (2)NeurologyAQP4Indications and Usage, Clinical StudiesEfavirenzInfectious DiseasesCYP2B6Clinical PharmacologyEfgartigimod Alfa-fcabNeurologyACHRIndications and Usage, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesElagolixGynecologySLCO1B1Clinical PharmacologyElbasvir and GrazoprevirInfectious DiseasesIFNL3(IL28B)Clinical StudiesElexacaftor, Ivacaftor, and TezacaftorPulmonaryCFTRIndications and Usage, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesEliglustatInborn Errors of MetabolismCYP2D6Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Contraindications, Warnings and Precautions, Drug Interactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesElosulfaseInborn Errors of MetabolismGALNSIndications and Usage, Warnings and Precautions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesEltrombopag (1)HematologyF5(Factor V Leiden)Warnings and PrecautionsEltrombopag (2)HematologySERPINC1(Antithrombin III)Warnings and PrecautionsEltrombopag (3)HematologyChromosome 7Adverse ReactionsEltrombopag (4)HematologyChromosome 13Adverse ReactionsEmapalumab-lzsgHematologyPRF1, RAB27A, SH2D1A, STXBP2, STX11, UNC13D, XIAP (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis)Clinical StudiesEnasidenibOncologyIDH2Indications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesEncorafenib (1)OncologyBRAFIndications and Usage, Dosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Adverse Reactions, Use in Specific Populations, Clinical Pharmacology, Clinical StudiesEncorafenib (2)OncologyRASDosage and Administration, Warnings and Precautions, Clinical StudiesEnfortumab Vedotin-ejfvOncology

NECTIN4

SERPINC1(Antithrombin III)

ERBB2(HER2)

Indications and Usage, Adverse Reactions, Clinical Studies

Clinical Studies

Indications and Usage, Clinical Studies

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Table of Pharmacogenomic Biomarkers in Drug Labeling | FDA

AMCAS Letter Service | Students & Residents

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AMCAS accepts applicants' letters of evaluation via the AMCAS Letter Service and distributes them to participating medical schools electronically. This service enables letter authors to send their letters to AMCAS rather than to each individual school. Letter writers may submit letters through the AMCAS Letter Writer ApplicationorInterfolio.

If a medical school participates in the AMCAS Letter Service, all letters must be sent through AMCAS. Medical schools that participate in AMCAS for admission to their MD program also participate in the AMCAS Letter Service unless noted on this page. Please note, participation is subject to change. Schools that do not participate in the AMCAS Letter Service may still require letters of evaluation from you. To review a medical school's requirements for letters of evaluation, visit their admissions website.

Under no circumstances will AMCAS provide applicants access to letters of evaluation. Read the completedata privacy policy.

Direct your letter authors to visit theAMCAS Letter Service page specifically for them, where they'll find instructions on how to write letters of evaluation and submit them to AMCAS.

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AMCAS Letter Service | Students & Residents