McClintock 's research became well understood in the 1960s and 1970s , as researchers discovered the mechanisms behind the genetic change and gene regulation that she had shown in her maize research in the 1940s and 1950s . McClintock 's research became well understood in the 1960s and 1970s , as researchers demonstrated the mechanisms of genetic change and genetic regulation that she had demonstrated in her maize research in the 1940s and 1950s .