Reflections on the Historiography of Molecular Biology
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The Theorist Ridley Makes No Mention of a Meeting She Had Then with the Physicist Alexander Stokes and a Half a Dozen Scientists and Laboratories to Solve
NATURE|Vol 443|26 October 2006 AUTUMN BOOKS the spring of 1950 (not in December, as Ridley writes). She joined the lab in January 1951, and The theorist Ridley makes no mention of a meeting she had then with the physicist Alexander Stokes and a half a dozen scientists and laboratories to solve. graduate student, Raymond Gosling, at which Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Crick himself did very little of the laboratory John Randall, the lab’s director, gave her a sup- Genetic Code work. Rather, he was the explicator, the arbiter, ply of the best DNA they had and appointed by Matt Ridley the taskmaster. Gosling her assistant. Crucially, Wilkins was HarperCollins: 2006. 213 pp. £12.95, $19.95 Crick was above all the theorist — and that’s away on vacation. Franklin had every reason Horace Freeland Judson the unifying thread. Not just with the coding to think the DNA was exclusively hers. When Any biographer of Francis Crick faces a dif- problem but throughout his career, Crick was Wilkins returned and expected to collabo- ficult problem: he was the greatest biologist the one who put other scientists’ thoughts in rate with her, she shut him out. He grumbled of the latter half of the twentieth century, yet order. He soaked up data, mostly other people’s, about her to Crick and Watson, and in Feb- his life was curiously one-dimensional. It was but saw beyond the data to their meaning, their ruary 1953 he notoriously showed Watson an intensely concentrated but narrowly focused. shape, their implications. He found principles, X-ray diagram she had obtained — which they By far the most important part of his life was and did it with a preternatural clarity of mind interpreted as she had failed to do. -
Discovery of DNA Structure and Function: Watson and Crick By: Leslie A
01/08/2018 Discovery of DNA Double Helix: Watson and Crick | Learn Science at Scitable NUCLEIC ACID STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION | Lead Editor: Bob Moss Discovery of DNA Structure and Function: Watson and Crick By: Leslie A. Pray, Ph.D. © 2008 Nature Education Citation: Pray, L. (2008) Discovery of DNA structure and function: Watson and Crick. Nature Education 1(1):100 The landmark ideas of Watson and Crick relied heavily on the work of other scientists. What did the duo actually discover? Aa Aa Aa Many people believe that American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick discovered DNA in the 1950s. In reality, this is not the case. Rather, DNA was first identified in the late 1860s by Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher. Then, in the decades following Miescher's discovery, other scientists--notably, Phoebus Levene and Erwin Chargaff--carried out a series of research efforts that revealed additional details about the DNA molecule, including its primary chemical components and the ways in which they joined with one another. Without the scientific foundation provided by these pioneers, Watson and Crick may never have reached their groundbreaking conclusion of 1953: that the DNA molecule exists in the form of a three-dimensional double helix. The First Piece of the Puzzle: Miescher Discovers DNA Although few people realize it, 1869 was a landmark year in genetic research, because it was the year in which Swiss physiological chemist Friedrich Miescher first identified what he called "nuclein" inside the nuclei of human white blood cells. (The term "nuclein" was later changed to "nucleic acid" and eventually to "deoxyribonucleic acid," or "DNA.") Miescher's plan was to isolate and characterize not the nuclein (which nobody at that time realized existed) but instead the protein components of leukocytes (white blood cells). -
Biochemistrystanford00kornrich.Pdf
University of California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Program in the History of the Biosciences and Biotechnology Arthur Kornberg, M.D. BIOCHEMISTRY AT STANFORD, BIOTECHNOLOGY AT DNAX With an Introduction by Joshua Lederberg Interviews Conducted by Sally Smith Hughes, Ph.D. in 1997 Copyright 1998 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Arthur Kornberg, M.D., dated June 18, 1997. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. -
BSCB Newsletter 2017D
2017 BSCB Newsletter BRITISH SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY Meet the new BSCB President Royal Opening of the Crick Meeting reports 2017 CONTENTS BSCB Newsletter News 2 Book reviews 7 Features 8 Meeting Reports 24 Summer students 30 Society Business 33 Editorial Welcome to the 2017 BSCB newsletter. After several meeting hosted several well received events for our Front cover: years of excellent service, Kate Nobes has stepped PhD and Postdoc members, which we discuss on The head of a Drosophila pupa. The developing down and handed the reins over to me. I’ve enjoyed page 5. Our PhD and Postdoc reps are working hard compound eye (green) is putting together this years’ newsletter. It’s been great to make the event bigger and better for next year! The composed of several hundred simple units called ommatidia to hear what our members have been up to, and I social events were well attended including the now arranged in an extremely hope you will enjoy reading it. infamous annual “Pub Quiz” and disco after the regular array. The giant conference dinner. Members will be relieved to know polyploidy cells of the fat body (red), the fly equivalent of the The 2016 BSCB/DB spring meeting, organised by our we aren’t including any photos from that here. mammalian liver and adipose committee members Buzz Baum (UCL), Silke tissue, occupy a big area of the Robatzek and Steve Royle, had a particular focus on In this issue, we highlight the great work the BSCB head. Cells and Tissue Architecture, Growth & Cell Division, has been doing to engage young scientists. -
1 History for Canonical and Non-Canonical Structures of Nucleic Acids
1 1 History for Canonical and Non-canonical Structures of Nucleic Acids The main points of the learning: Understand canonical and non-canonical structures of nucleic acids and think of historical scientists in the research field of nucleic acids. 1.1 Introduction This book is to interpret the non-canonical structures and their stabilities of nucleic acids from the viewpoint of the chemistry and study their biological significances. There is more than 60 years’ history after the discovery of the double helix DNA structure by James Dewey Watson and Francis Harry Compton Crick in 1953, and chemical biology of nucleic acids is facing a new aspect today. Through this book, I expect that readers understand how the uncommon structure of nucleic acids became one of the common structures that fascinate us now. In this chapter, I introduce the history of nucleic acid structures and the perspective of research for non-canonical nucleic acid structures (see also Chapter 15). 1.2 History of Duplex The opening of the history of genetics was mainly done by three researchers. Charles Robert Darwin, who was a scientist of natural science, pioneered genetics. The proposition of genetic concept is indicated in his book On the Origin of Species published in 1859. He indicated the theory of biological evolution, which is the basic scientific hypothesis of natural diversity. In other words, he proposed biological evolution, which changed among individuals by adapting to the environment and be passed on to the next generation. However, that was still a primitive idea for the genetic concept. After that, Gregor Johann Mendel, who was a priest in Brno, Czech Republic, confirmed the mechanism of gene evolution by using “factor” inherited from parent to children using pea plant in 1865. -
DNA: the Timeline and Evidence of Discovery
1/19/2017 DNA: The Timeline and Evidence of Discovery Interactive Click and Learn (Ann Brokaw Rocky River High School) Introduction For almost a century, many scientists paved the way to the ultimate discovery of DNA and its double helix structure. Without the work of these pioneering scientists, Watson and Crick may never have made their ground-breaking double helix model, published in 1953. The knowledge of how genetic material is stored and copied in this molecule gave rise to a new way of looking at and manipulating biological processes, called molecular biology. The breakthrough changed the face of biology and our lives forever. Watch The Double Helix short film (approximately 15 minutes) – hyperlinked here. 1 1/19/2017 1865 The Garden Pea 1865 The Garden Pea In 1865, Gregor Mendel established the foundation of genetics by unraveling the basic principles of heredity, though his work would not be recognized as “revolutionary” until after his death. By studying the common garden pea plant, Mendel demonstrated the inheritance of “discrete units” and introduced the idea that the inheritance of these units from generation to generation follows particular patterns. These patterns are now referred to as the “Laws of Mendelian Inheritance.” 2 1/19/2017 1869 The Isolation of “Nuclein” 1869 Isolated Nuclein Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss researcher, noticed an unknown precipitate in his work with white blood cells. Upon isolating the material, he noted that it resisted protein-digesting enzymes. Why is it important that the material was not digested by the enzymes? Further work led him to the discovery that the substance contained carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and large amounts of phosphorus with no sulfur. -
DICTIONARY of the HISTORY of SCIENCE Subject Editors
DICTIONARY OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE Subject Editors Astronomy Michael A. Hoskin, Churchill College, Cambridge. Biology Richard W. Burkhardt, Jr, Department of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Chemistry William H. Brock, Victorian Studies Centre, University of Leicester. Earth sciences Roy Porter, W ellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London. Historiography Steven Shapin, & sociology Science Studies Unit, of science University of Edinburgh. Human Roger Smith, sciences Department of History, University of Lancaster. Mathematics Eric J. Aiton, Mathematics Faculty, Manchester Polytechnic. Medicine William F. Bynum, W ellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London. Philosophy Roy Bhaskar, of science School of Social Sciences, University of Sussex. Physics John L. Heilbron, Office for History of Science & Technology, University of California, Berkeley. DICTIONARY OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE edited by W.EBynum E.J.Browne Roy Porter M © The Macmillan Press Ltd 1981 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1981 978-0-333-29316-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. First published 1981 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated Companies throughout the world. ISBN 978-1-349-05551-7 ISBN 978-1-349-05549-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-05549-4 Typeset by Computacomp (UK) Ltd, Fort William, Scotland Macmillan Consultant Editor Klaus Boehm Contents Introduction vii Acknowledgements viii Contributors X Analytical table of contents xiii Bibliography xxiii Abbreviations xxxiv Dictionary Bibliographical index 452 Introduction How is the historical dimension of science relevant to understanding its place in our lives? It is widely agreed that our present attitudes and ideas about religion, art, or morals are oriented the way they are, and thus related to other beliefs, because of their history. -
Chem 352 - Lecture 1 Introduction to Biochemistry
Chem 352 - Lecture 1 Introduction to Biochemistry Question for the Day: What characteristics distinguishes living systems from non-living systems? Introduction ✦ Biochemistry involves the study of biological system at the molecular level. ✦ What biological systems should we study? Anything found to be true of E. coli must also be true of elephants. -Jacques Monod Chem 352, Lecture 1 - Introduction to Biochemistry 2 Introduction InQuestion: this introduction we will consider What✦ History is a polymer of biochemistry? ✦ Molecules • Families of organic molecules and the functional groups that define them • Polymers (Macromolecules) ✦ Energy ✦ Cells and cellular structures Chem 352, Lecture 1 - Introduction to Biochemistry 3 A brief history of Biochemistry Biochemistry, as with all the sciences, is a human endeavor. • It is worth recognizing some of the early contributors to biochemistry. Chem 352, Lecture 1 - Introduction to Biochemistry 4 A brief history of Biochemistry •ClickerProblemFredrich Question:: Wöhler BasedDraw theon itsLewis chemical dot structure structure, for do urea, you expectand predict urea itsto be (1800-1882)watermolecular soluble? geometry, polarity, and ability to form hydrogen bonds✦ Demonstrated with itself and that water urea, a compound that had only been associated with living cells, could be synthesized from an inorganic compound outside of a living cell. A. Yes. O ✦ ∆ This led to the recognition that NH (OCN) H N C NH B. No. 4 2 2 the chemistry that takes place ammonium urea cyanate inside a living cell is the same chemistry that takes place outside of the cell. Chem 352, Lecture 1 - Introduction to Biochemistry 5 A brief history of Biochemistry •Eduard Buchner (1860-1917) ✦ Showed that the fermentation of sugars by yeast, a process that occurs when making beer, wine and bread, could be carried out with the cell extracts from yeast cells. -
“Other Histories, Other Biologies.” in Philosophy
Gregory Radick, 2005. “Other Histories, Other Biologies.” In Philosophy, Biology and Life, ed. Anthony O’Hear. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 21-47. Supplement to Philosophy, Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement: 56. Other Histories, Other Biologies GREGORY RADICK 1. Taking the counterfactual turn When philosophers look to the history of biology, they most often ask about what happened, and how best to describe it. They ask, for instance, whether molecular genetics subsumed the Mendelian genetics preceding it, or whether these two sciences have main- tained rather messier relations.1 Here I wish to pose a question as much about what did not happen as what did. My concern is with the strength of the links between our biological science—our biology—and the particular history which brought that science into being. Would quite different histories have produced roughly the same science? Or, on the contrary, would different histories have produced other, quite different biologies? I shall not endeavour to address the whole of biology or its history. I will concentrate on genetics, the headline-grabbing branch of biology in our time. The claims of this science on our future have given its history an unusually high public profile. Newspaper articles on the completed Human Genome Project came with timelines of genetic achievement, stretching back into the pre- Mendel mists, and forward to a future where, thanks to genetics- based medicine (we were told), the average person will live to more than ninety. Even more recently, the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of the double-helix model of DNA in 1953 prompted books, symposia, television programmes, even a cover story in Time magazine. -
The Eighth Day of Creation”: Looking Back Across 40 Years to the Birth of Molecular Biology and the Roots of Modern Cell Biology
“The Eighth Day of Creation”: looking back across 40 years to the birth of molecular biology and the roots of modern cell biology Mark Peifer1 1 Department of Biology and Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#3280, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA * To whom correspondence should be addressed Email: [email protected] Phone: (919) 962-2272 1 Forty years ago, Horace Judson’s “The Eight Day of Creation” was published, a book vividly recounting the foundations of modern biology, the molecular biology revolution. This book inspired many in my generation. The anniversary provides a chance for a new generation to take a look back, to see how science has changed and hasn’t changed. Many central players in the book, including Sydney Brenner, Seymour Benzer and Francois Jacob, would go on to be among the founders of modern cell, developmental, and neurobiology. These players come alive via their own words, as complex individuals, both heroes and anti-heroes. The technologies and experimental approaches they pioneered, ranging from cell fractionation to immunoprecipitation to structural biology, and the multidisciplinary approaches they took continue to power and inspire our work today. In the process, Judson brings out of the shadows the central roles played by women in many of the era’s discoveries. He provides us with a vision of how science and scientists have changed, of how many things about our endeavor never change, and how some new ideas are perhaps not as new as we’d like to think. 2 In 1979 Horace Judson completed a ten-year project about cell and molecular biology’s foundations, unveiling “The Eighth Day of Creation”, a book I view as one of the most masterful evocations of a scientific revolution (Judson, 1979). -
The Development of Horticultural Science in England, 1910-1930
The Development of Horticultural Science in England, 1910-1930 Paul Smith Department of Science and Technology Studies University College London Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2016 I, Paul Smith, confirm the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm it has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Abstract This thesis explores how horticultural science was shaped in England in the period 1910-1930. Horticultural science research in the early twentieth century exhibited marked diversity and horticulture included bees, chickens, pigeons,pigs, goats, rabbits and hares besides plants. Horticultural science was characterised by various tensions arising from efforts to demarcate it from agriculture and by internecine disputes between government organisations such as the Board of Agriculture, the Board of Education and the Development Commission for control of the innovative state system of horticultural research and education that developed after 1909. Both fundamental and applied science research played an important role in this development. This thesis discusses the promotion of horticultural science in the nineteenth century by private institutions, societies and scientists and after 1890 by the government, in order to provide reference points for comparisons with early twentieth century horticultural science. Efforts made by the new Horticultural Department of the Board of Agriculture and by scientists and commercial growers raised the academic status of -
Front Matter (PDF)
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