29loved by his students: Dröscher A. Flemming, Walther. eLS. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, March 2015, pp. 1–4. Doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0002790.
30University in Kiel: Paweletz N. Walther Flemming: pioneer of mitosis research. Nature Rev Mol Cell Biol 2001; 2:72–5.
30notable for being poisonous: Some of the fire salamander’s relatives are even more dangerous; see De Lisle H. Poisoning from the roughskinned newt. Herpetology 2010; 13:7–12. A man who lost his bet that swallowing a single newt could not be fatal. Don’t try this at home.
31a monumental book: Flemming 1882. See also Flemming W. Beiträge zur Kentniss der Zelle und ihre Lebensscheinungen, Theil II. Arch für Mikroskop Anatomie 1880; 18:159–259; English translation: Flemming W. Contributions to the knowledge of the cell and its vital processes. J Cell Biol 1965; 25:1–69.
32‘chromosomes’ (‘coloured bodies’): Waldeyer W. Über Karyokinese und ihre Beziehungen zu den Befruchtungsvorgängen. Arch Mikrosk Anat 1888; 32:1–122.
33He described the ‘centriole’: Flemming W. Attraktionsphären und Zentralkörper in Gewebs- und Wanderzellen. Anat Anz 1891; 6:78–86.
33Flemming described this process perfectly: Flemming 1887.
33who called it ‘meiosis’: Farmer J.B., Moore J.E.S. On the meiotic phase (reduction divisions) in animals and plants. Quart J Microscop Sci 1905; 48: 489–557. See also Hamoir 1992.
33how many chromosomes a species has: research.omiscgroup.org/index.php.list_of_organisms_by_chromosome_count.
34‘lampbrush’ chromosomes: Callan H.G. Lampbrush chromosomes as seen in historical perspective. In Hennig W., ed. Structure and Function of Eukaryotic Chromosomes. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1987.
34chromosomes in pollen cells dissolved in alkali: Russow E., cited in Portugal & Cohen, p. 37.
35the protein-digesting enzyme pepsin: Zacharias E. Über die chemische Beschaffenheit des Zellkerns. Bot Zeitung 1881; 39:169–176.
35‘possibly chromatin is identical with nuclein’: Portugal & Cohen, pp. 39–40.
35Flemming deserved better: Dröscher, Flemming (above) pp. 3–4; Dr Ariane Dröscher, personal communication, 2017.
Chapter 4: Gardening leave
Extensive references, including translations of Mendel’s principal papers and letters, are online at the MendelWeb Bibliography, www. mendelweb.org/MWbib.html.
36quite an adventure: Eichling.
36recently caused a stir: Saul J. Descriptive catalogue of new, rare and beautiful plants for Spring 1871. Philadelphia: Horticultural Book & Job Print, 1871.
36‘Album Benary’: The originals are now collectors’ pieces; prints of the plates are widely available, e.g. at www.rhsprints.co.uk/category/9169/artists/ernst-benary.
38Johann Mendel was born: Dodson, pp. 187–90; Mawer, p. 20.
39Cyrill Napp, the abbot: Orel V., Wood R.J. Essence and origin of Mendel’s discovery. C R Acad Sci Paris (Life Sci) 2000; 323:1037–41.
41a teaching post: Iltis, p. 56; Dodson, pp. 188–9.
41an eight-year programme of experiments: Stubbe, pp. 129–35; Mawer, pp. 53–5.
43the Moravian deputation: Stubbe, p. 150.
44A typical sighting: Gustaffson, p. 240.
45Mendel’s presentation: Iltis, pp. 80, 176–7; Mawer, p. 9; Orel, pp. 89, 273–4. A balanced account is in Gustaffson, pp. 240–3.
45‘a lust and a love for natural science’: Dodson, p. 189. The pupil was J. Liznar, who became a celebrated meteorologist, and to whom Mendel wrote a farewell letter shortly before his death.
46His forty-four-page paper: Mendel 1866. English translation is at www.mendelweb.org/MWpptoc.html.
46Charles Darwin headed Mendel’s hit-list: Henig states (p. 143) that an unread reprint of Mendel’s Versuche was found in Darwin’s library after his death; this is denied by Orel (p. 87).
47a fitful correspondence: The letters between Mendel and Nägeli were collated and published after Mendel’s death by Carl Correns: Correns C. Gregor Mendels Briefe an Carl Nägeli 1866–1873. Ein Nachtrag zu den veröffentlichen Bastardierungsversuchen Mendels. Abh d Math-Phys Kl Sächs Ges Wissensch XXIX (III): 189–265. The letters are numbered I to X. English translation: Mendel G. Gregor Mendel’s letters to Carl Nägeli. Genetics 1950; 35:1–29.
47Mendel gave the impression: Mendel’s letters to Nägeli, nos. III–IX, 6 Nov 1867–27 Sept 1870.
48momentous news: Mendel, letter to Nageli, no. V, 4 May 1868.
48Mendel’s last letter to Nageli, no. X, 18 Nov 1873.
48one paper on hawkweed hybrids: Mendel 1870. We now know that Hieracium behaves unpredictably because its ova can divide without the intervention of pollen, so-called ‘apomixis’. See: Bergman B. Studies on the embryo sac mother cell and its development in Hieracium subg. Archieracium. Svensk Bot Tidskr 1941; 35: 1–41.
49the abbot’s pet fox: This is claimed in Mawer, p. 88; cf. Paul Thomason at paulthomasonwriter.com/leos-janacek-the-cunning-little-vixen/, who points out that ‘Vixen Sharp-Ears’ is the name of a wily vixen in a contemporary newspaper cartoon and, later, in Janáček’s opera.
49wrote up the definitive account: Mendel G. Die Windhose vom 13. Oktober 1870. Verhandlungen des Naturforschenden Vereins in Brünn 1871; 9:54–71.
50a single grain of pollen: Mendel letter to Nageli, no. VIII, 3 July 1870.
50He also experimented: Stubbe, p. 136.
50he recorded the weather: an English translation of an article by J. Roznovsky on GM’s meteorological research is at www.cbks.cz/SbornikBrno14/Roznovsky.pdf.
50Mendel refused to pay: Dodson, p. 189; Stubbe, p. 129; Iltis, pp. 253–72.
50a last letter: December 1883, to J. Liznar, former pupil and now respected meteorologist; cited in Mawer, p. 89.
51two days later, he was dead: Iltis, p. 280; Dodson, p. 192; Gustaffson, p. 239; Mawer, p. 17.
Chapter 5: Off grasshoppers and flies
52‘My time will surely come’: According to Gustav von Niessl, Mendel was fond of saying this to his friends. Cited in Henig, p. 171.
52Charles Darwin’s work had been discussed: Gustaffson, pp. 241–2.
52in Encyclopaedia Britannica: Stubbe, p. 165.
53This was Ivan Schmalhausen: Stubbe, pp. 154–5.
53the fertilisation of sea-urchin eggs: Hertwig 1876 & 1884.
54the ‘wonderful material’: Van Beneden, 1883.
55‘The gentleman’s cells’: McKusick, p. 489.
55a pair of papers: Sutton 1902 & 1903.
55Sutton’s farewell statement: Sutton 1903, p. 241.
56‘Mendel rediscoverers’: Moore 2001; Stubbe, pp. 265–85.
56a paper recently published by Hugo de Vries: De Vries, 1900.
56Correns entitled his paper: Correns. English translation: Mendel’s Law in the behaviour of the progeny of varietal hybrids. Genetics 1950; 35:33–41.
56–7 his tribute was grudging: De Vries H. Sur les unités des caractères spécifiques et leur application à l’étude des hybrides. Rev Gén Bot 1900; 12:257–71.
57He immediately wrote a paper: Tschermak E. v. Über künstliche Kreuzung bei Pisum sativum. Berlin Deutsch Bot Ges 1900; 18:232–9.
57Observers with suspicious minds: Stubbe, History pp. 265–85.
57published the letters between Mendel and Nägeli: Mendel G. Gregor Mendel’s letters to Carl Nägeli, 1866–73. Genetics 1950; 35:1–29.
57began raising money: Henig, pp. 247–53. This paid for a rather grandiose statue in white Carrara marble, unveiled in Mendlovo námesti (Mendelplatz, or Mendel Square) on 2 October 1910; those attending included Bateson, Correns and Hugo Iltis.
57Tschermak was branded an opportunist: Corcos A., Monaghan F. Tschermak: a non-discoverer of Mendelism. I: an historical note. J Heredity 1986; 77:468–9; II: a critique. Ibid, 1987; 78:2–10.
57He refused Correns’s invitation: Henig, pp. 247–8.
57later wrote to a friend: Moore, p. 18.
58William Bateson FRS: Henig, pp. 201–204; Bateson B, 1928.
58According to his wife Beatrice: Henig, pp. 199–200.
58Bateson’s conversion: Bateson 1902.
58various characteristics in poultry: Bateson & Saunders, 1902.
58Archibald Garrod at St Bartholomew’s: Garrod.
58his presidential address: Bateson W. The progress of genetic research. Report of the Third International Conference on Genetics. London: Spottiswoode & Co, 1906.
59Karl Pearson: Pearson K. A Mendelian view of law of ancestral heredity. Biometrica 1904; 3:109–12.
59‘superior jugglery’: Morgan, 1909.
59‘a thickhead’: Rushton A.R. William Bateson and the chromosome theory of heredity: a reappraisal. Brit J Hist Sci 2014; 47:154.
59Ronald Fisher: Fisher R.A. Has Mendel’s work been rediscovered? Ann Sci 1936; 1:115–37; Stubbe, pp. 151–2.
59an independent scientific tribunal: Fairbanks D., Rytting B. Mendelian controversies: a botanical and historical review. Am J Botany 2001; 88:7376–52.
59proposed the word ‘gene’: Johannsen W. Elemente der exakten Erblichkeitslehre. Jena: Fischer, 1909, p. 143.
60Darwin believed that ‘gemmules’: Stubbe, p. 174.
60demolished the theory: Portugal & Cohen, p. 93.
60molecules with a memory: Nägeli, 1884.
60Ernst Haeckel dreamed up molecules: Stubbe, pp. 188–90.
60Picture the scene: The Fly Room is described by Sturtevant 1959, pp. 291–6; see also the Fly Room website at theflyroom.com.
61the man who conceived the Fly Room: Sturtevant, 1959.
62adding magnesium salts: Ibid, p. 288.
62he went to visit a Dutch expert: Ibid, p. 290.
62Morgan was unimpressed: Benson K.R. T.H. Morgan’s resistance to the chromosome theory. Nature Rev Genetics 2001; 2:469–74.
63‘more or less unorthodox means’: Sturtevant 1959, p. 297.
63Scientific Monthly reported: Popular Scientific Monthly, Sept 1934, p. 15.
63They even took a pseudo-holiday: Sturtevant 1959, p. 296.
64‘the group worked as a unit’: Mawer, pp. 111–2.
64the ‘atmosphere of excitement’: Ibid.
64a quiet innovator: Morgan T.H. Biographical Memoir of Calvin Blackman Bridges, 1889–1938. Washington DC: Natl Acad Sci, 1940, pp. 29–48.
64a prickly personality: Carlson E.A. Hermann Joseph Muller; 1890–1967. Biographical Memoir. Washington DC: Natl Acad Sci, 2009, pp. 7–9.
65an outsider’s view of the lab: http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/36594/title/A-Fly-on-the-Wall/.
65all aspects of anatomy and physiology: Morgan, 1922.
65a dramatic account: Popular Scientific Monthly, Sept 1934, p. 16.
65a male fly: Henig, p. 242.
65Here was sound evidence: Morgan, 1910.
67The compendium of mutations: Calvin Bridges established the Drosophila Information Service in 1934; see Morgan T.H. CB Bridges, pp. 37–8. Thousands of mutations are now described, including dropdead (programmed death of the nervous system), dissatisfaction (no interest in sex) and the politically incorrect cheapdate (high susceptibilty to alcohol).
67worked out a draft map: Mawer, p. 113.
68‘the linear arrangement of six factors’: Sturtevant 1913.
68the ‘Totem Pole’: Popular Scientific Monthly, Sept 1934, p. 16.
68‘the bearers of the hereditary material’: Letter from Morgan to Hans Driesch in Naples, Jan 1912. Benson K.R. T.H Morgan’s resistance to the chromosome theory. Nat Reviews Genetics 2001; 2:469–474.
68This landmark book: Morgan, Sturtevant, Muller & Bridges, 1915.
Chapter 6: Bausteine
69the new wonder drug: Carnrick J. Protonuclein. Clinical Records. Taken from reports of prominent practitioners in hospital and private practice, together with a summary of the therapeutic use and mode of administration. New York: Reed & Carnrick, 1895.
70Throughout his life: Jones M.E., pp. 80–4.
70It was assumed that ‘yeast nuclein’: Kossel, 1879.
71two simple organic compounds: Portugal & Cohen, p. 59.
71an authoritative book: Kossel A. Untersuchungen über die Nukleine und ihre Spaltungsprodukte, 1881; Jones M.E., p.84.
71One was already known: Kossel 1884.
71he christened it ‘adenine’: Kossel 1885.
72‘thymine’ and ‘cytosine’: Kossel & Neumann 1893 and 1894.
72not casual discoveries: Kossel 1885.
72a time of transition: Jones M.E., pp. 84, 87–8; Portugal & Cohen, pp. 62–3.
72completely novel proteins: Über einen peptonartigen Bestandtheil des Zellkerns. Zeitschr Physiol Chemie 1884; 5:152.
73time to move on: Jones M.E., pp. 88–90; Kennaway 1952.
73Ascoli found another base: Ascoli 1901.
74‘animal’ and ‘plant’ nucleins: Portugal & Cohen, pp. 62–4.
74a diagnostic reaction: Kossel & Neumann 1894.
74The same conclusion was reached: Hammarsten O. Zur Kenntnis der Nucleoproteide. Hoppe-Seylers Zeitschr Physiol Chem 1894: 19:19–37.
75rebaptised nuclein: Altmann 1889.
76Jim Watson sketched: see p. 335.
77Baeyer’s synthetic dye: Youngson R.M. Medical Curiosities. London: Robinson Publishing, 1997.
78His Nobel lecture: Kossel A. The chemical composition of the cell nucleus. Nobel Prize Lecture, 10 Dec 1910.
78Kossel in his natural habitat: Kennaway E. Some recollections of Albrecht Kossel, Professor of Physiology in Heidelberg, 1901–1924. Ann Sci 1952; 8:393–40.
78lecturing to undergraduates: Jones M.E., p. 88.
79an impish sense of humour: Ibid, p. 88, 92. Kossel was also fond of reading Dickens and Dickens’s German counterpart, Fritz Reuter, and especially of both authors’ bawdier creations.
79the Seventh International Physiological Congress: Ibid, p. 91.
79an extraordinary celebration: Ibid, pp. 91–2.
79‘a place in the sun’: Ibid, p. 93.
79In late August 1911: Ibid, pp. 92–3.
80‘One of the greatest living scientists’: Anonymous. ‘Seeks life secret in study of cells – may solve cancer problem.’ New York Times 27 Aug 1911. Kossel, whose English was not as fluent as his wife’s, took intensive tutorials from English-speaking students in Heidelberg before sailing for America: Jones M.E., p. 92.
80the prestigious Harvey Lectures: Kossel 1912.
Chapter 7: A whirlwind from Russia
81a place to study medicine: Van Slyke & Jacobs, pp. 75–7; Corner, p. 57; Portugal & Cohen, p. 74. Levene’s birthplace: Cohen R. The last Jew in Zagaré, New York Times 7 Nov 2011.
82he acquired more papers: Van Slyke & Jacobs, pp. 76–7.
82a fellow American: Kohler R.E. From Medical Chemistry to Biochemistry. The making of a biomedical discipline. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982; pp. 107–8; Portugal & Cohen, p. 74.
82the ‘fantastic’ nucleic acids: Portugal & Cohen, p. 74.
83one of the inaugural Harvey Lectures: Levene P.A. Autolysis. In: The Harvey Lectures, 1905–6. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, pp. 73–100.
83The inspiration for this centre of excellence: Corner, pp. 22–31.
83‘Men of trained scientific intelligence’: Corner, p. 38.
83The foundation stone: Corner, pp. 53–6.
83quietly spoken and unassuming: Corner, pp. 35–40.
84the ‘mind like a searchlight’: Corner, p. 154.
84a meningitis outbreak: Benison S. Simon Flexner: the evolution of a career in medical science. In: Institute to University: a 75th anniversary colloquium, 8 June 1976, pp. 15–17.
84always tough and sometimes fair: Corner, pp. 36–8.
85Many were clever people: Corner, p. 43.
85a risky appointment: Corner, p. 341.
85two houses knocked together: Corner, pp. 115–6; Van Slyke & Jacobs, p. 78.
85he ‘left scarcely any part’: Van Slyke & Jacobs, pp. 83–5; Simons R.D., Hill R.L., Vaughan M. JBC Centenn
ial, 1905–2005. The structure of nucleic acids acids and many other natural products: Phoebus Aaron Levene. J Biol Chem 2002; 277:23–4.
85the elusive pentose: Levene P.A., Jacobs W.A. Über die Hefenucleinsäure. Berlin Deutsch Chem Ges 1909; 42:2474–8; Portugal & Cohen, p. 78.
86he made headlines: Flexner S., Jobling J.W. Serum treatment of epidemic cerebro-spinal meninigitis. J Exp Med 1908; 10:141–203.
86–7 its first research patient: Corner, pp. 94–6.
87‘The Captain of the Men of Death’: The name is attributed to William Osler, author of The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892). One of the first diseases to be targeted by the Rockefeller: Corner, p. 98.
87Cole’s Pneumonia Research Ward: Corner, pp. 94–6.
87‘no specific treatment’: Osler, pp. 511–32.
87Serum from survivors: Ibid, p. 530.
88life was good: Van Slyke & Jacobs, pp. 79–82; Portugal & Cohen, p. 78.
89fined anyone who forgot: Corner, p. 155.
89‘There is no money’: Letter from S. Flexner to P.A. Levene, 9 Sept 1910, in Flexner Collection, Am Phil Soc; cited in Portugal & Cohen, p. 79.
90angry outbursts: Clark W.M. Walter Jones. Science 1935; 81:307–8.
90‘contain a pentose’: Portugal & Cohen, pp. 76–7.
90forbidden even to mention: Clark 1935 (above).
91He called this a ‘nucleotide’: Portugal & Cohen, p. 80; Levene P.A., Mandel J.A. Über die Konstitution der Thymonucleinsäure. Berlin Deutsch Chem Gesell 1908; 41:1905–9.
91what his tetranucleotide looked like: Levene P.A., Jacobs W.A. On nucleic acids. J Biol Chem 1909; 6:xxxvi; Hargittai I. The tetranucleotide hypothesis: a centennial. Struct Chem 2009; 20:753–6.
92Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup: Nostrums and Quackery. Chicago, Ill: American Med Assoc, 1911, p. 318.
Chapter 8: Crystal gazing
93the blue Morpho butterfly: Kinoshita S, Yoshioka S et al. Mechanisms of structural colour in the Morpho butterfly: cooperation of regularity and irregularity in an iridescent scale. Proc Biol Soc 2002;269:1417–1421.
94The Café Lutz: Ewald, pp. 33–4.
94vetoed the idea: Ibid, pp. 293–4.
94While walking home: Ibid, p. 294.
95awarded him the Nobel Prize: ‘If it is possible to evaluate a human discovery according to the fruits which it bears, then there are not many discoveries ranking on a par with that made by von Laue.’ Citation by G. Granqvist, Nobel Physics Prize Committee. Nobel Lectures, Physics 1901–1921. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1967.
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