The Seeds of Life

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by Edward Dolnick


  * Photosynthesis was not discovered until around 1779. In one crucial experiment, a Dutch doctor named Jan Ingenhousz put a plant and an unlit candle together inside a transparent, closed container. Several days later, he put a match to the candle, which lit at once and burned nicely. Then he repeated the experiment, but this time with a piece of dark cloth covering the container. After several days in blackness, the candle would not light. Ingenhousz concluded—correctly—that when plants absorb sunlight, they breathe out a mysterious substance that sustains candles (and, it would turn out, life).

  * Plutarch explored this puzzle two thousand years ago, in his parable about Theseus’s ship. Theseus was the hero who slew the minotaur. For a thousand years afterward, grateful Athenians preserved his ship, replacing each plank with an identical copy when worms and weather had taken their toll. Eventually not an original board remained. Was the rebuilt ship a new ship altogether, Plutarch asked, or was it still Theseus’s ship? (If it was new, at what point had the old ship vanished? And if it was not new, did it make a difference that Theseus had never set foot aboard “his” ship?)

  * Spallanzani noted indignantly, in the course of his digestion experiments, that eagles, falcons, and dogs “used all their efforts to bite me.” Good for them!

  * Spallanzani was 150 years ahead of his time, but he had missed a crucial insight. He believed that bats have super-acute hearing, which let them detect the buzz from flying insects or the sound of air from their own wings bouncing off nearby surfaces. The true story, which emerged at around the time of World War II, was that bats emit high-frequency peeps and chirps and listen for the echoes. When biologists first gave a talk explaining the bats’ technique, research on radar and sonar was still top secret; the bat researchers were accosted by scientists who were outraged that they had divulged military secrets. But bats had figured it out 50 million years before human engineers.

  * A century later, Louis Pasteur would add a refinement by leaving the flask’s neck open to the air but shaped into an ever-so-thin curve like a swan’s neck. The curved neck played two roles; its shape meant that nothing could fall from the air into the broth, and the opening at its end spoke to the objection that perhaps microorganisms would have arisen spontaneously if they’d had access to fresh air.

  * Spallanzani owed the idea to two French scientists who had tried unsuccessfully to fit frogs with underwear in 1740. Years afterward they told him of their mishaps in a letter. Either the shorts were so loose that the frogs wriggled free or so tight that they could scarcely breathe, let alone mate.

  * In Hamlet, probably written a few years before King Lear, Shakespeare had put a more sardonic twist on the impossible-to-fathom fact that we are dust and return to dust: “Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay / Might stop a hole to keep the cold away. / Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, / Should patch a wall to expel the winter’s flaw!”

  * Though Franklin did not know it, a French scientist had beaten him to the punch by drawing lightning from a storm one month earlier. Franklin had proposed the experiment in print, and the Frenchman, Thomas-François Dalibard, had followed up at once.

  † Many religious believers opposed lightning rods, on the grounds that it was sinful to try to thwart God’s plans. Nollet, the French abbot, warned that it was “as impious to ward off God’s lightnings as for a child to resist the chastening rods of the father.”

  * Joseph Priestley, one of the eighteenth century’s most admired scientists, remarked that “it is not given to every electrician to die in so glorious a manner as the justly envied Richmann.”

  * The ancient Greeks and Romans had known about sting rays (although not about electric eels, which are found in South American rivers). The physician to one Roman emperor recommended standing on a live sting ray as a cure for gout, because the shock numbed the foot and leg all the way up to the knee.

  * Polidori’s contribution to the ghost story contest was The Vampyre, the first novel built around the romantic, murderous adventures of a blood-sucking aristocrat.

  * This was Einstein’s “Annus Mirabilis,” the miraculous year when the twenty-six-year-old patent clerk published four revolutionary papers. One explained Brownian motion, another proposed that light comes in packets called quanta, a third unveiled special relativity, and a fourth announced that E = mc2.

  * Lavoisier’s discoveries could not save him from the guillotine. He was executed in 1794, at age fifty, for his role in a tax-collecting scheme. A judge turned down an appeal to save his life. “The Republic needs neither scientists nor chemists; the course of justice cannot be delayed.” So runs the famous quote, at any rate, though it may be apocryphal. But no one has ever challenged the judgment of Lavoisier’s contemporary, the mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange: “It took them only an instant to cut off his head, but France may not produce another such head in a century.”

  * Roget made no outstanding contributions to science, but he was absorbed, rapt, transfixed, and riveted with lists and order, and the great work of his life was compiling Roget’s Thesaurus.

  INDEX

  Academy of Sciences, 173

  An Account of the Breeding of Worms in Human Bodies (Andry), 152

  Ackerman, Diane, 15

  adultery, 163

  Aeschylus, 16

  aesthetics, 47

  Age of Science, 23, 127

  alchemy, 66

  Aldini, Giovanni, 240–241, 242 (fig.)

  amphibians. See frogs

  Amsterdam, 54

  “An Essay on Man,” Book 1 (Pope), 192

  analogies, 75, 132n, 191, 204

  Harvey and, 85

  silkworms as, 144

  snake venom as, 221

  for women, 168

  anatomists, 2, 54

  autopsy for, 37, 68

  bodies for, 47, 55, 59

  breakthrough for, 125

  Haller as, 185

  Harvey as, 64–69

  language of, 99

  Swammerdam as, 140

  anatomy, 59, 61, 231

  books on, 17

  da Vinci and, 37

  dissection and, 67

  illustrations of, 42, 43, 50, 58, 95

  of muscles, 93

  professor of, 238

  reproduction and, 83, 93

  sex and, 90

  structures and, 191

  of women, 20

  Anatomy Act (1832), 61

  Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Joan Deyman (Rembrandt), 52

  Anatomy Theatre, 53

  Andry, Nicolas, 151, 279n

  An Account of the Breeding of Worms in Human Bodies by, 152

  animalcules, 109

  ejaculation and, 154

  Leeuwenhoek and, 104–107, 216

  theories of, 137

  animals, 47, 251

  anatomy of, 231

  as cold-blooded, 82

  as companions, 65

  eggs from, 87, 98

  electricity by, 230, 238–239

  embryos of, 81

  kingdom of, 137

  as machines, 173

  mating for, 26

  mysteries of, 13

  semen of, 114–122, 149, 153, 253

  species of, 224

  spirit as, 232

  anthropologists, 30

  aphids, 175–178, 178n

  aphrodisiacs, 24–25

  Aquinas, Thomas, 36

  Archimedes, 136

  Arctic, 179

  Aristotle, 31, 39, 64, 76, 165

  biology and, 74

  On Generation by, 32, 282n

  on women, 77

  Aristotle’s Masterpiece (1684), 26, 27 (fig.)

  astronomy, 110, 187, 188, 189

  atheism, 129, 144, 243

  atoms, 133, 249, 259

  Augustine (Saint), 35, 36n

  authority, 70, 217

  deference to, 41

  position of, 179

  automatons, 182

  autopsy, 37, 68

  ba
bies, 14

  parents and, 8, 21

  sex and, 15–22, 29, 37–51, 170

  traits for, 165, 168, 180, 227

  Bacon, Francis, 12

  bacteria, 111

  Baer, Karl Ernst von, 256, 264

  On the Genesis of the Egg of Mammals and of Men, 257

  Baroncelli, Bernardo, 46

  Bassi, Laura, 209

  bats, 210–211

  beliefs

  of scientists, 213

  witches and, 66

  about women, 32, 98

  bestiality, 167n

  the Bible, 31, 32

  biographers, 43

  biologists, 116, 134, 190, 246

  battle among, 263

  facts for, 254

  learning for, 135

  predicament for, 193

  religion and, 128

  in 1700s, 187

  biology, 10, 22, 174, 179, 255

  Aristotle and, 74

  cells and, 117, 135

  connection through, 30

  God and, 35

  journals of, 115

  of plants, 260

  respect for, 240

  state of, 182

  textbooks for, 132

  birds, 83–84, 203, 210

  birth

  defects at, 180

  of hybrids, 168

  Bismarck, Otto von, 261

  Black Jan, 53

  Blanckaert, Steven, 177

  blood, 1, 62n, 116, 222

  cells of, 112

  erections and, 46

  in human body, 67

  loss of, 159

  from menstruation, 45, 74

  semen and, 75, 77, 81, 88

  body, 196

  cells of, 9, 195

  after death, 38

  as machine, 87

  See also human body

  body snatching. See grave robbery

  bones, 56

  Bonnet, Charles, 175, 176

  snails and, 178

  The Book of Nature (Swammerdam), 142

  botanists, 260

  Boyle, Robert, 43, 68n

  as Royal Society founder, 99

  Brown, Robert, 247–248

  Brownian motion by, 258

  nucleus term by, 258

  Brownian motion, 258

  Buffon: A Life in Natural History (Roger), 159

  Buffon, Count de. See Leclerc, Georges-Louis

  Burke, William, 60, 61 (fig.)

  Byron, 243–244

  Canon of Medicine (Avicenna), 72

  capillaries, 86, 87, 112

  castrati, 229

  caterpillars, 143–144

  Catholics, 90

  Celestial Bed, 236–237

  celibacy, 99

  cells, 196

  biology and, 117, 135

  blood as, 112

  body of, 9, 195

  division of, 262–264

  nucleus for, 258, 262

  sperm as, 122, 156, 223

  term by Hooke, 259

  theories for, 117, 135, 259, 261

  Charles I, 1, 2

  chemistry, 244

  children, 72

  connection for, 30

  demons and, 157n

  dissection of, 48

  as preformed, 126

  resemblance of, 198

  spirits and, 28–29

  Christians, 35

  church, 157

  clitoris, 73, 97

  code

  as cosmic, 12

  for genetics, 10

  instructions in, 181

  reading and, 183

  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 193

  Collis, John Stewart, 265

  Columbus, Renaldus, 73

  computers, 183–184, 194

  conception, 51, 61, 77, 200, 237, 259

  development and, 17

  eggs and, 102, 118, 120, 225

  Galen on, 70

  God and, 131

  of life, 85

  sex and, 221

  sperm for, 136

  stories of, 119

  system of, 155

  theories of, 24, 70

  timing for, 8

  Trobrianders, 270n

  understanding of, 252

  consciousness, 15

  contraception, 23n

  techniques for, 24

  Trobrianders and, 30n

  Cooke, James, 156

  Copernicus, 56

  corpses, 57, 95, 241, 242 (fig.), 245

  Cosimo II, 96

  Cosimo III, 96

  cosmos

  code and, 12

  Newton on, 69

  theories of, 186

  creatures, 195

  components of, 249

  discovery of, 107

  as microscopic, 115, 245

  Crick, Francis, 190

  criminals, 52, 61, 241–242

  cultures, 20

  creation myths of, 21

  father’s role in, 30

  sex and, 25

  curiosity, 106

  cabinets for, 143

  electricity as, 231

  sin of, 40

  da Vinci, Leonardo, 18

  anatomy and, 37

  appearance of, 43

  collection of, 51

  death of, 50, 52

  heart and, 62

  Mona Lisa, 49

  studies of, 42

  Darwin, Charles, 129, 165

  on development, 130

  on wasps, 139n

  Darwin, Erasmus, 244–245

  d’Auvermont, Magdeleine, 163

  Davies, Jamie, 195

  de Graaf, Maria, 103

  de Graaf, Regnier, 89, 98

  conception and, 119

  death of, 103

  dormouse testicle and, 91 (fig.), 92

  experiments by, 100

  introduction by, 104

  A New Treatise Concerning the Generative Organs of Women by, 96

  de Maupertuis, Pierre Louis Moreau, 179, 197

  calculations, 180

  The Earthly Venus, 201

  de Medici, Cosimo, 143

  de Medici, Giuliano, 46

  de Vaucanson, Jacques, 182

  death

  body after, 38

  of da Vinci, 50, 52

  of de Graaf, R., 103

  decay and, 193

  of Leclerc, 199–200

  of Richmann, 235

  of Swammerdam, 147

  deer, 3–4

  demonstrations, 228, 232–233

  Descartes, René, 212

  design, 130, 182

  of experiments, 82

  God and, 97, 131

  as intelligent, 129

  of microscopes, 109

  development, 201

  conception and, 17

  course of, 137

  Darwin on, 130

  of embryos, 127, 145, 203

  epigenesis as, 145, 202

  humans and, 18

  insects and, 139, 140

  model of, 196, 202

  Diamond, Jared, 33

  discoveries, 63

  acclaim for, 141

  clitoris and, 73, 97

  creatures and, 107

  through the 1600s, 11

  of sperm, 115, 121, 149

  vocabulary for, 117

  Disputations Touching the Generation of Animals (Harvey), 86

  dissection, 18, 39, 95

  of amphibians and reptiles, 65, 82

  anatomy and, 67

  children and, 48

  criminals and, 52, 61

  human body and, 44, 47

  laws about, 58

  of muscles, 49

  of pets, 84

  as postmortem, 46

  as public, 54

  skills in, 93

  of women, 50, 54

  doctors. See physicians

  doctrines, 134, 167, 171

  as absurd, 91

  as conventional, 157

  as dangerous, 202

  maternal influence as, 162, 163

  Ockham�
��s razor as, 190

  spontaneous generation as, 212, 215–216

  dogs, 121, 222, 256

  Driesch, Hans, 263

  Dumas, Jean-Baptiste, 253

  The Earthly Venus (Maupertuis), 201

  Eden, 41, 106

  eggs, 8, 17, 151, 226

  from animals, 87, 98

  chickens from, 203

  conception and, 102, 118, 120, 225

  defense of, 148

  fertilization and, 220, 223, 263

  flies from, 215

  follicles for, 200

  from frogs, 217–219, 253

  of mammals, 71, 84, 257

  of ostriches, 82, 83

  quota of, 204

  release of, 100, 102

  scientists and, 88

  of sea urchins, 262

  from silkworms, 111

  theories about, 121

  women and, 69, 125

  Egypt, 24

  Einstein, Albert, 249

  ejaculation, 154

  electricity, 242

  as curiosity, 231

  electrocution by, 234

  experiments with, 229–230, 234n

  genitals and, 229

  by humans and animals, 230, 238–239, 240

  Leyden jar for, 233

  sex and, 236

  vital force as, 228

  Elephant Man, 162

  embalming, 48

  embryos, 257, 263

  of animals, 81

  development of, 127, 145, 203

  follicles and, 101

  humans as, 153

  ovists and, 126

  tissue and, 224

  England, 17

  Charles II’s royal library in, 51

  in early 1630s, 1–4

  London in, 57

  epigenesis, 145, 202, 203

  erections, 45–46

  Essay Considering Human Understanding (Locke), 166

  Estonia, 256

  Europe, 42

  Age of Science in, 23

  scientists in, 35

  evolution, 130, 244

  execution

  of Charles I, 2

  hanging and, 53, 58

  experiments, 66, 178, 215, 250, 256

  bats for, 210–211

  contamination of, 248

  as controlled, 268n

  danger and, 235

  of Darwin, E., 244

  by de Graaf, 100

  design for, 82

  dilution for, 222–223

  electricity and, 229–230, 234n

  as follow-up, 239

  frenzy of, 174

  by Galvani, 238

  lenses and, 108

  on life origin, 214

  on self, 235

  simplicity of, 220

  of Spallanzani, L., 230

  tradition of, 253

  water and, 106, 172

  eyes, 138

  Fabric of the Human Body (Vesalius), 55, 56 (fig.), 58, 70

  facts

  for biologists, 254

  of heredity, 171

 

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