Why Hermann Joseph Muller is considered a outstanding scientist?

Hermann Joseph Muller is best known as the founder of the field of radiation genetics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1946.

   Muller is best remembered for his demonstration that mutations and hereditary changes can be caused by X-rays striking the genes and chromosomes of living cells.

   His studies of the processes and frequencies of mutations enabled Muller to form a picture of the arrangements and recombination of genes. This later led to his experimental induction of genetic mutations through the use of X-rays in 1926. This highly original discovery established his international reputation as a geneticist and eventually won him the Nobel Prize.

   Muller frequently warned the public of the long-term dangers of radioactive fallout from nuclear war and nuclear testing. He thus played an important role in raising public awareness in this area.