A guinea pig's history of biology

Jim Endersby

Book - 2007

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Subjects
Published
Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press 2007.
Language
English
Main Author
Jim Endersby (-)
Item Description
Originally published: London : William Heinemann, 2007.
Physical Description
xii, 499 p. : ill. ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 433-481) and index.
ISBN
9780674027138
  • Preface and acknowledgements
  • 1. Equus quagga and Lord Morton's mare
  • 2. Passiflora gracilis: Inside Darwin's greenhouse
  • 3. Homo sapiens: Francis Galton's fairground attraction
  • 4. Hieracium auricula: What Mendel did next
  • 5. Oenothera lamarckiana: Hugo de Vries led up the primrose path
  • 6. Drosophila melanogaster: Bananas, bottles and Bolsheviks
  • 7. Cavia porcellus: Mathematical guinea pigs
  • 8. Bacteriophage: The virus that revealed DNA
  • 9. Zea mays: Incorrigible corn
  • 10. Arabidopsis thaliana: A fruit fly for the botanists
  • 11. Danio rerio: Seeing through zebrafish
  • 12. OncoMouse: Engineering organisms
  • Bibliography, sources and notes
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Endersby (historian, University of Sussex) provides a delightfully told history primarily of genetic biological research. Early concepts of reproduction and inheritance and the breeding programs in animal and plant husbandry they fostered and from which their data were drawn are embedded in their 19th-century societal context. Both genetics and evolutionary theory are related to these activities with clarity and thoughtfully selected explanations of technical terminology. In 12 chapters (e.g., "Passiflora gracilis: Inside Darwin's Greenhouse," "Hieracium auricula: What Mendel Did Next," "Oenethera lamarckiana: Hugo De Vries Led up the Primrose Path") the reader meets both the investigators and their research organisms. Throughout, it is the investigators and the research process that are emphasized. The unique qualities of the organisms that make them suitable "models" for the task at hand focus attention on the critical questions. The social structures of various scientific communities ("big" versus "small" science) and the sources of financial and intellectual support are authentically presented. There are a few places where novices may find the genetics quite challenging, but this is inescapable in the telling since the investigators encountered the same puzzling data. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels. A. B. Schlesinger emeritus, Creighton University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review

Thanks to the fruit fly, the guinea pig, corn and a handful of other organisms that have helped us unravel one of life's great mysteries inheritance. So begins this history of the past 200 years of biological research, viewed through the lens of 12 life-forms that have been instrumental in answering questions humans had been asking for centuries. The arrival of the fruit fly, probably in a shipment of fruit from Central America, opened the door to millions of experiments on inheritance and opened an early détente with the Soviet Union. That favorite home-aquarium fish, the zebra fish, is the current favorite for researchers studying how genes translate into the building of body parts. And finally, the titular guinea pig was the vehicle for the discovery of vitamin C. Endersby infuses the story of each species' contributions to understanding the pathways of evolution with wonderful details that place the reader squarely in the historical period and lively portraits of the scientists working on the problem. Highly recommended.--Bent, Nancy Copyright 2007 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Like all the sciences, biology is rooted in observation, but in order to tease out the principles of reproduction and genetic inheritance, biologists needed to find plants and animals with fast breeding cycles-hence the popularity of guinea pigs, zebra fish and fruit flies as experimental subjects. Endersby's history explains how such life forms have been put to use by scientists from Charles Darwin's age to the present. But the flora and fauna are just a hook for Endersby, a lecturer in history at the University of Sussex, to talk about the scientists, and he's often at his most winning delving into biographical details, like the friendship between science writer Paul de Kruif and Sinclair Lewis, whom de Kruif advised on science and medicine for the novel Arrowsmith. He's also good at spotlighting small events that had sweeping consequences, like the 1847 repeal of a British tax on glass, which led to more greenhouses, which led to an outburst of botanical observation. Later chapters broach hot-button topics like genetically modified food and the backlash against animal testing. Endersby offers a fresh take and surprising conclusions ("Mendel did not invent modern genetics") on familiar material. 12 b&w illus. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved