Encyclopedia of Biology

Department of Anatomy. At Harvard Medical School,
in Boston, he received an M.D. in 1922.
In 1924 he was appointed assistant in medicine at
Harvard, and from 1928 until 1935 he was an instruc-
tor in medicine. From 1935 until 1938 he was associate
in medicine at Harvard, and from 1948 until 1958 he
was a lecturer in medicine, becoming in 1958 a senior
associate in medicine and subsequently emeritus lectur-
er in that subject.
In 1923 he practiced medicine and engaged in
research on diabetes mellitus and on diseases of the
blood, and he used intramuscular injections of extract of
liver for the treatment of pernicious and hypochromic
anemia and for granulocytopenia. He was associated
with George Richards MINOTand George Hoyt WHIPPLE
in work on pernicious anemia and the treatment of it by
means of a diet of uncooked liver. For this work he was
awarded, with George Richards Minot and George Hoyt

Whipple, the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for

1934. Murphy’s treatment of the subject was published
      as Anemia in Practice: Pernicious Anemia(1939). In
      1958 he was granted emeritus status at both Harvard
      and the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He died at home
      in Brookline, Massachusetts, on October 9, 1987.

mu (μ) symbol SeeBRIDGING LIGAND.

mutagen An agent that causes a permanent heritable

change (i.e., a mutation) into the DNA (deoxyribonu-

cleic acid) of an organism.

See alsoMUTATION.

mutagenesis The introduction of permanent herita-

ble changes, i.e., MUTATIONs into the DNA of an

236 mu (μ) symbol

5'

3'

GGTA A C G

TC CTGATA C T

C AC

A

TAG

Mutagenesis involves the replacement of one nucleotide in a DNA sequence by another nucleotide or the replacement of one amino acid
in a protein by another amino acid.(Courtesy of Darryl Leja, NHGRI, National Institutes of Health)

In a 2002 published report, state-of-the-art helical CT

provided color three-dimensional reconstructed images so

detailed that even braided hair could be seen. Sequential

three-dimensional fly-through images allowed visualization

of the thoraco-abdominal cavity in such a way that the

viewer feels as though he is inside the cavity and “looking

around.” The technique provides an endoscopic journey

throughout the cavity.

Analysis with DNA sampling is extremely accurate

and will open up new avenues of detective work that

have not been available for the past 3,000 years. It may

someday be possible to link mummies that now reside in

different countries and may also allow Egyptologists to

date mummies from different dynasties. We may learn that

Ankhefenmut has relatives in other museums throughout

the world.

—William A. Wagle, M.D.,is a professor in

the Department of Radiology,

Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York.

Egyptian Mummies:

Brief History and Radiological Studies

(continued)