The

Renaissance of Science

The Story of the Cell and Biology

The Magnificent Scientists and their Fabulous Accomplishments

A Fantastic Dream and Journey into the Past, Present and Future
In the World of Biology

Albert Martini, Ph.D.

 The Renaissance of Science

The Story of the Cell and Biology

The Magnificent Scientists and their Fabulous Accomplishments

A Fantastic Dream and Journey into the Past, Present and Future
In the World of Biology

Albert Martini, Ph.D.

University Professor
Student of Science & Philosophy
The Essence of Knowledge

I
 AND MAN RECEIVED LIFE, MIND AND SOUL
TO THINK, CREATE AND LOVE

The act of creation was and is, a divine act of

love, imagination and intuitiveness.
In the magnificent act of creation we may find
ourselves defining the indefinable.

A science book written, designed, illustrated, edited,

formatted and published by Dr. Albert Martini. Copyright ©
May, 2015. Revised Edition, September, 2015.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means.

Printed by: Abbott Communications Group in Maitland, FL.
http://www.abbottcg.com

ISBN: 978-0-692-48512-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911536

II
 The Renaissance of Science

















The Renaissance Era flourished in Italy, particularly in the beautiful and
historic city of FLORENCE, PROVINCE of TUSCANY, the land of my FATHER.
The Renaissance represents a magnificent period in our intellectual history,
when the human mind awakened and started its fabulous and creative journey.
The Renaissance marks the beginning of MODERN ART in its glorious FORMS
and PERSPECTIVE, and of MODERN SCIENCE with all its CREATIVE LAWS and
PRODIGIOUS MATHEMATICAL CHARACTERIZATIONS of our MAJESTIC NATURE.
The Renaissance was the Age of LEONARDO Da VINCI, MONDINO De LUZZI,
ANDREAS VESALIUS, WILLIAM HARVEY and MARCELLO MALPIGHI.

III
 THE FOUNDERS OF BIOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY

Matthias Schleiden Theodor Schwann Martinus Beijerinck

Louis Pasteur Robert Koch Paul Ehrlich

Carl Linnaeus Charles Darwin Gregor Mendel

IV
 THE STRUCTURE OF THE CELL

Cell Membrane Nucleolus

Nuclear
Membrane Nucleoplasm

Nucleus
(Chromosomes)
Endoplasmic Golgi
Reticulum Complex

Lysosome
Vacuole
Ribosomes Proteins

Mitochondrion Chloroplasts
(Krebs Cycle) (Photosynthesis)
Cytoplasm

The cell is the basic building block of life

V
 NATURE AND ITS PRODIGIOUS CREATIONS

























OUR MINDS AND SOULS, WRAPPED IN THE HUMAN MYSTERY, MAY WITNESS THE
NATURAL AND SUPERNATURAL FORCES OF NATURE, CREATE, EVERYDAY OF
OUR EXISTENCE, WITH EVOLUTIONARY INTUITIVENESS AND DIVINE GRACE,
PRODIGIOUS NEW LIFE AND OUR MAGNIFICENT GREEN PLANET EARTH.

VI
 THE GREATEST FUNDAMENTAL INVENTIONS
CREATED BY MOTHER NATURE

THE ATOM AND ITS CAPACITY TO STORE AND RELEASE
UNIVERSAL ENERGY BY MEANS OF
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES

THE CELL AND ITS CAPACITY TO SUSTAIN INDEPENDENT LIFE BY
MEANS OF UNIQUE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

THE PROCESS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND ITS CAPACITY TO
TRANSFORM SOLAR (LIGHT) ENERGY INTO CHEMICAL AND FOOD
ENERGY BY MEANS OF BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES

LIGHT AND ITS CAPACITY TO TRANSPORT ENERGY AND CHANGE
OUR UNIVERSE BY TRANSFORMING DARKNESS INTO LIGHTNESS
BY THE MIRACLE OF ILLUMINATION

THE PHENOMENON OF ELECTROMAGNETISM AND ITS CAPACITY
TO PRODUCE THE DYNAMIC ELECTRIC CURRENT THAT
ENERGIZES AND POWERS OUR UNIVERSE

THE UNIVERSAL ENERGY, MATTER, SPACE AND TIME, WHICH
CONSTITUTE THE FRAMEWORK OF OUR COSMOS

AND THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL OF ALL OF NATURE’S INTUITIVE
CREATIONS IS THE PROCESS OF UNIVERSAL TRANSFORMATION,
WHERE PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
TRANSFORMS MATTER, ENERGY, SPACE, TIME AND LIFE ITSELF

VII
 FLEUR and ALBERT

Together we created a life based on humility, dedication,
and worthy expectations.

VIII
 DEDICATION

I do indeed, feel genuinely compelled to present an extended dedication,
given that as individuals, we are just specks of dust floating lost and without
purpose or destiny in this great multidimensional universe of ours. However, with
our families, friends and community, we become an institution inspired with
kindness, commitment, dignity and nobility.
This book is especially dedicated with admiration, gratitude and respect to
the MAGNIFICENT SCIENTISTS and their FABULOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS, which
are responsible for the prodigious information and marvelous story that you are
about to read, and hopefully enjoy in your quiet moments of intellectual
contemplation and inspiration.
Also, to the world of SCIENCE and PHILOSOPHY, for bringing to us our
ORIGIN, EVOLUTION and DESTINY, and its innate UNITY, HARMONY and ETERNAL
WISDOM. All embraced in marvelous NATURAL LAWS and lucid MATHEMATICAL
INTERPRETATIONS of a NATURE rich in ENIGMAS, ASYMPTOTES and WISDOM !

This book is also dedicated with unconditional joy and love to:
My beautiful wife, FLEUR, for her love and constant editorial assistance.
My children and grandchildren for bringing joy and meaning to our lives.
My parents, brothers and sisters, for their true blessings.
My teachers and professors for their noble dedication, patience and wisdom.
My students for that eternal inspiration that guided my learning, teaching,
research and devotion to science and philosophy.
I would like to thank Michelle Hettinger for her wonderful help typing this
complex book.
May my thoughts reach you, wherever you are, with all my heartfelt
gratitude, respect and love! And may the majestic firmament of the heavens
remember and glorify you, always !!
THE AUTHOR.

IX
THE SCHOOL AND LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA, THE SOURCE OF
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE DURING THE CLASSIC GREEK ERA

Schools, libraries and museums are indeed

marvelous places to obtain the love of
learning and the wisdom of knowledge
through the Ages.

All students are “A-Students” as long as they
give their honest and utmost effort with
dedication and dignity.

I can hear Vivaldi’s Four Seasons playing
to inspire my mind and soul.

X
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1

ABSTRACT ON THE CONCEPT OF PERSPECTIVE
AND SENSE OF DUTY .................................................................................... 4

THE CONCEPT OF SCIENCE ..................................................................... 5
FUNDAMENTAL AND HISTORIC DEVELOPMENTS
IN THE SCIENCES ....................................................................................... 7

ABSTRACT ON THE ATOM AND ITS ENERGY ......................................... 11

GREAT IDEAS THAT REVOLUTIONIZED
OUR SCIENTIFIC WORLD ........................................................................ 16
DEMOCRITUS (470 - 380 BC) Greek Philosopher .......................................................... 16
NICHOLAS COPERNICUS (1473 - 1543) Polish Astronomer .................................... 17
GALILEO GALILEI (1564 - 1642) Italian Mathematician and Astronomer ......... 18
RENE DESCARTES (1596 - 1650) French Mathematician and Philosopher. ...... 19
ISAAC NEWTON (1642 - 1727) English Scientist and Mathematician .................. 20
ANTOINE LAVOISIER (1743 - 1794) French Chemist .................................................. 23
JOHN DALTON (1766 - 1844) English Chemist ............................................................... 24
JONS J. BERZELIUS (1779 - 1848) Swedish Chemist .................................................... 25
HUMPHRY DAVY (1778 - 1829) English Chemist .......................................................... 25
AMEDEO AVOGADRO (1776 - 1856) Italian Physicist ................................................ 26
DMITRI MENDELEEV (1834 - 1907) Russian Chemist ................................................ 26
FRIEDRICH A. KEKULE (1829 - 1896) German Organic Chemist ........................... 27

XI
JACOBUS VAN’T HOFF (1852 - 1911) Dutch Physical Chemist ............................... 28
WILLIAM H. WOLLASTON (1766 - 1828) English Chemist and Physicist .......... 28
EDWARD FRANKLAND (1825 - 1899) English Chemist ............................................. 29
SVANTE A. ARRHENIUS (1859 - 1927) Swedish Chemist .......................................... 29
FREDERICK SODDY (1877 - 1956) English Chemist .................................................... 30
FRANCIS W. ASTON (1877 - 1945) English Chemist and Physicist ........................ 30
HENRY MOSELEY (1887 - 1915) English Physicist ....................................................... 31
HENRI BECQUEREL (1852 - 1906) French Physicist ................................................... 31
WILHELM K. ROENTGEN (1845 - 1923) German Physicist ...................................... 32
MARIE CURIE (1867 - 1934) French Chemist .................................................................. 32
PIERRE CURIE (1859 - 1906) French Chemist ................................................................ 32

ABSTRACT ON THE GENESIS OF THE QUANTIZED
ATOMIC MODEL ............................................................................................. 33

JOSEPH J. THOMSON (1856 - 1940) English Physicist ................................................ 46
ERNEST RUTHERFORD (1871 - 1937) British Physicist ............................................ 47
NIELS H. BOHR (1885 - 1962) Danish Physicist ............................................................. 48
MAX K. PLANCK (1858 - 1947) German Physicist ......................................................... 49
JAMES CHADWICK (1891 - 1974) English Physicist ..................................................... 49
ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879 - 1955) German Physicist .................................................... 51
ALESSANDRO VOLTA (1745 - 1827) Italian Physicist ................................................. 53
MICHAEL FARADAY (1791 - 1867) English Physicist .................................................. 53
JAMES CLERK MAXWELL (1831 - 1879)
Scottish Mathematician and Physicist ................................................................................. 54
JOSEPH HENRY (1797 - 1878) American Physicist ....................................................... 54
THOMAS ALVA EDISON (1847 - 1931) American Inventor ...................................... 54
NIKOLA TESLA (1856 -1943) American Electrical Engineer .................................... 55
SAMUEL MORSE (1791 - 1872) American Inventor ..................................................... 55
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (1847 - 1922) Scottish-American Inventor ......... 55

XII
MARCHESE MARCONI (1874 - 1937) Italian Electrical Engineer ........................... 55
ERNST A. RUSKA (1906 - 1988) German Electrical Engineer .................................. 56
JAMES HILLIER (1915 - 2007) Canadian-American Physicist .................................. 56
VLADIMIR ZWORYKIN (1889 - 1982) Russian-American Physicist ..................... 56
CHARLES G. BARKLA (1877 - 1944) English Physicist ............................................... 56
MAX VON LAUE (1879 - 1960) German Physicist .......................................................... 56
WILLIAM H. BRAGG (1862 - 1942) English Physicist .................................................. 56
WILLIAM L. BRAGG (1890 - 1971) English Physicist ................................................... 56
HENRY MOSELEY (1887 - 1915) American Physicist .................................................. 56
GYORGY HEVESY (1885 - 1966) Hungarian Chemist ................................................... 57
RUDOLF SCHOENHEIMER (1898 - 1941) German-American Biochemist ......... 57
MIKHAIL TSVETT (1872 - 1919) Russian-Italian Chemist ........................................ 57
RICHARD WILLSTATTER (1872 - 1942) German Chemist ....................................... 57
FRANK H. SPEDDING (1902 - 1984) American Chemist ............................................ 57
ARCHER J. MARTIN (1910 - 2002) English Biochemist .............................................. 57
RICHARD L. SYNGE (1914 - 1994) English Biochemist ............................................... 57
THOMAS GRAHAM (1805 - 1869) Scottish Physical Chemist .................................. 57
ALBERT CLAUDE (1898 - 1983) Belgian-American Cytologist ................................ 57
GEORGE E. PALADE (1912 - 2008) Canadian-American Physiologist .................. 57
CHRISTIAN De DUVE (1917 - 2013) Belgian Cytologist ............................................. 57
EMIL H. FISCHER (1852 - 1919) German Chemist ........................................................ 58
HANS FISCHER (1881 - 1945) German Chemist ............................................................. 58
MELVIN CALVIN (1911 - 1997) American Biochemist ................................................ 60
FREDERICK G. HOPKINS (1861 - 1947) English Biochemist ................................... 60
WILLIAM C. ROSE (1887 - 1985) American Biochemist ............................................. 60
HANS A. KREBS (1900 - 1981) German-British Biochemist ...................................... 61
PHOEBUS A. LEVENE (1869 - 1940) Russian-American Chemist ........................... 61
PETER D. MITCHELL (1920 - 1992) English Chemist .................................................. 61
FREDERICK SANGER (1918 - 2013) English Biochemist ........................................... 61
ERWIN CHARGAFF (1905 - 2002) Austrian-American Biochemist ....................... 62
MAURICE H. WILKINS (1916 - 2004) New Zealand-British Physicist .................. 62

XIII
FRANCIS H. CRICK (1916 - 2004) English Biochemist ................................................. 63
JAMES D. WATSON (1928 -) American Biochemist ....................................................... 63
CLOSING STATEMENTS ........................................................................... 64
SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT ....................................................................................... 67

ABSTRACT ON THE GENESIS OF AN ORDERLY
AND SYSTEMATIC UNIVERSE ..................................................................... 68

THE STORY OF THE CELL AND BIOLOGY ............................ 73
BIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE ........................................................................... 73
BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION AND HIERARCHY OF LIFE ............. 73
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES ............................................................................ 74
THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES OF THE FUTURE .................................. 76
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY ................................... 77

ABSTRACT ON OUR BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH ................. 80

THE EARLY HISTORY OF BIOLOGY ...................................................... 81
THE BIOLOGY OF ANTIQUITY ............................................................... 81
THE BIOLOGY OF THE GREEK AND ROMAN ERA ............................ 83
THALES (624 - 546 BC) Greek Philosopher ....................................................................... 84
PYTHAGORAS (560 - 480 BC) Greek Philosopher ......................................................... 84
DEMOCRITUS (470 - 380 BC) Greek Philosopher .......................................................... 84
EMPEDOCLES (492 - 432 BC) Greek Philosopher .......................................................... 84
EUCLID (325 - 270 BC) Greek Mathematician .................................................................. 85
ARCHIMEDES (287 - 212 BC) Greek Mathematician and Engineer ........................ 85
ERATOSTHENES (276 - 196 BC) Greek Astronomer .................................................... 85
HIPPOCRATES (460 - 370 BC) Greek Physician ............................................................. 87

XIV
ARISTOTLE (384 - 322 BC) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist ................................ 87
THEOPHRASTUS (372 - 287 BC) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist .................... 88
AULUS CORNELIUS CELSUS (25 BC - 50 AD) Roman Encyclopedist ..................... 89
GAIUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS (23 - 79) Roman Scholar .................................................. 89
GALEN (130 - 200) Greek Physician ..................................................................................... 90

THE BIOLOGY AND SCIENCES OF THE MEDIEVAL ERA ................. 90
AVICENNA (980 - 1037) Persian Physician and Biologist ........................................... 91

THE BIRTH OF MODERN BIOLOGY ..................................................... 93
THE RISE OF UNIVERSITIES DURING
THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE .................................................................. 93
JOHANN GUTENBERG (1398 - 1468) German Inventor ............................................. 94
THE INVENTION OF THE PRINTING PRESS
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN HUMAN ANATOMY ................. 95
A NEW SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION ........................................................ 95
HUMAN ANATOMY DURING THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ........... 96
MONDINO De LUZZI (1275 - 1326) Italian Anatomist ................................................ 96
LEONARDO Da VINCI (1452 - 1519) Italian Artist and Scientist ............................ 97
ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514 - 1564) Flemish-Italian Anatomist .............................. 99
GABRIELLO FALLOPIUS (1523 - 1562) Italian Anatomist ........................................ 100
REALDO COLOMBO (1510 - 1559) Italian Anatomist .................................................. 101
BARTOLOMEO EUSTACHIO (1510 - 1574) Italian Anatomist ................................. 102
FABRICIUS AQUAPENDENTE (1537 - 1619) Italian Physician ............................... 102

THE CELL AS THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF LIFE ....... 103

THE CELL THEORY .................................................................................... 105
MATTHIAS J. SCHLEIDEN (1804 - 1881) German Botanist ...................................... 106
THEODOR SCHWANN (1810 - 1882) German Physiologist ...................................... 107

XV
THE CELL THEORY AND CELL DIVISION ............................................ 109
CELL DIVISION AND THE CELL NUCLEUS ........................................... 111
WALTHER FLEMMING (1843 - 1905) German Anatomist ........................................ 112
CELL CLASSIFICATION, ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY .................. 115
CELL CLASSIFICATION ............................................................................. 115
CELL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY ..................................................... 119
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE BY SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION VS VITALISM .................................................................... 124
FRANCESCO REDI (1626 - 1699) Italian Physician ....................................................... 125
LAZZARO SPALLANZANI (1729 - 1799) Italian Microbiologist .............................. 126
LOUIS PASTEUR (1822 - 1895) French Chemist and Microbiologist .................... 127

AN ABSTRACT ON THE ORIGIN OF OUR UNIVERSE
AND LIFE ITSELF ............................................................................................ 129
THE BIG BANG THEORY .......................................................................... 129
THE INCREDIBLE MYSTERY OF OUR COSMOS ................................ 131

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL .............................. 133
SVANTE ARRHENIUS (1859 - 1927) Swedish Chemist ............................................... 134
ALEXANDER I. OPARIN (1894 - 1980) Soviet Biochemist ......................................... 135
STANLEY L. MILLER (1930 - 2007) American Chemist .............................................. 136
THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRST CELL .......................................................... 137
SIDNEY W. FOX (1912 - 1998) American Biochemist .................................................. 137

EMBRYOLOGY AND THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT
OF ORGANISMS .......................................................................................... 139
THE PREFORMATION THEORY VS
THE THEORY OF EPIGENESIS ................................................................ 139

XVI
THE PREFORMATION THEORY .................................................................................. 139
THE THEORY OF EPIGENESIS ..................................................................................... 139
KASPAR FRIEDRICH WOLFF (1733 - 1794) German Physiologist ........................ 141
KARL ERNST VON BAER (1792 - 1876) German-Russian Embryologist ............ 143

MICROBIOLOGY AND THE FANTASTIC

WORLD OF THE VERY SMALL ................................................. 146
DISEASES PREDOMINANT DURING
THE RENAISSANCE ERA .......................................................................... 146
SOME OF THE MOST COMMON DISEASES ............................................................. 147
SOME OF THE MOST DEVASTATING EPIDEMICS IN EUROPE .......................... 149
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY AND MICROSCOPY ..... 151
THE INVENTION OF THE MICROSCOPE AND
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSCOPY ............................................... 152
THE INVENTION OF THE EARLY MICROSCOPES ............................. 154
HANS LIPPERSHEY (1570 - 1619) German-Dutch Optician ..................................... 154
ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632 - 1723) Dutch Microscopist ......................... 155
ROBERT HOOKE (1635 - 1703) English Physicist ......................................................... 157
JOSEPH J. LISTER (1786 - 1869) English Optician ......................................................... 158
GIOVANNI B. AMICI (1786 - 1868) Italian Physicist ..................................................... 159
EARLY DISCOVERIES IN MICROSCOPY AND MICROBIOLOGY ..... 160
MARCELLO MALPIGHI (1628 - 1694) Italian Microscopist and Physiologist. .. 161
ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632 - 1723) Dutch Microscopist ......................... 162
ROBERT HOOKE (1635 - 1703) English Physicist ......................................................... 164
JAN SWAMMERDAM (1637 - 1680) Dutch Naturalist ................................................. 166
NEHEMIAH GREW (1641 - 1712) English Botanist ....................................................... 167
REGNIER De GRAAF (1641 - 1673) Dutch Anatomist .................................................. 168
OTTO FRIEDRICH MULLER (1730 - 1784) Danish Biologist ................................... 169
JAN E. PURKINJE (1787 - 1869) Czech Physiologist ..................................................... 170

XVII
FRIEDRICH GUSTAV HENLE (1809 - 1885)
German Anatomist and Pathologist ....................................................................................... 171
FERDINAND JULIUS COHN (1828 - 1898) German Botanist .................................... 172

THE GOLDEN AGE OF MICROBIOLOGY ............................... 174

THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASES ................................................................. 174
LOUIS PASTEUR (1822 - 1895) French Microbiologist and Chemist .................... 176
LOUIS PASTEUR AND THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASES .................................. 177
THE SOURING OF WINE AND BEER DURING FERMENTATION ........................ 178
THE KILLING OF THE SILKWORMS IN FARMERS FIELDS .................................. 178
THE DEATH OF MOTHERS BY THE CHILDBED FEVER ....................................... 179
PASTEUR AND THE ANTHRAX DISEASE IN SHEEP .............................................. 180
PASTEUR AND THE RABIES DISEASE (HYDROPHOBIA) ................................... 182
ILYA ILICH MECHNIKOV (1845 - 1916) Russian-French Bacteriologist ............. 185
FRIEDRICH AUGUST LOFFLER (1852 - 1915) German Bacteriologist ............. 186
ROBERT HEINRICH KOCH (1843 - 1910) German Bacteriologist ......................... 189
THE PURE CULTURE TECHNIQUE AND THE SOLID MEDIUM ........................... 189
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A PATHOGENIC ORGANISM .................................................. 190
KOCH’S FOUR POSTULATES ....................................................................................... 191
KOCH AND THE ANTHRAX DISEASE ........................................................................ 192
KOCH AND TUBERCULOSIS ......................................................................................... 193
PAUL EHRLICH (1854 - 1915) German Bacteriologist ................................................ 195
EHRLICH, VON BEHRING and DIPTHERIA in CHILDREN .................................. 195
PAUL EHRLICH, SYPHILIS & CHEMOTHERAPY-THE MAGIC BULLET ........... 197
EMIL ADOLF VON BEHRING (1854 - 1917) German Bacteriologist ..................... 200

THE ERA OF VECTOR INSECTS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES ....... 201
VECTOR INSECTS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
IN THE AMERICAS ..................................................................................... 202
THEOBALD SMITH (1859 - 1934) German-American Pathologist ........................ 203

XVIII
PATRICK MANSON (1844 - 1922) Scottish Physician .................................................. 205
CHARLES LEWIS LAVERAN (1845 - 1922) French Physician .................................. 206
RONALD ROSS (1857 - 1932) English Physician ............................................................ 207
HOWARD TAILOR RICKETTS (1871 - 1910) American Pathologist .................... 209
YELLOW FEVER AND MALARIA IN THE HOT
AND WET TROPICS ................................................................................... 211
WALTER REED (1851 - 1902)
American Military Surgeon and Bacteriologist ................................................................. 212
THE PANAMA CANAL, YELLOW FEVER AND MALARIA ................. 214
WILLIAM CRAWFORD GORGAS (1854 - 1920) American Army Surgeon ......... 215
INSECTICIDES, VECTOR INSECTS AND AGRICULTURE .................. 217
PAUL HERMANN MULLER (1899 - 1965) Swiss Chemist .......................................... 217
RACHEL CARSON (1907-1964) Marine Biologist ........................................................... 221
RACHEL CARSON AND HER BOOK SILENT SPRING ............................................. 221

THE ERA OF WONDER DRUGS, SULFA DRUGS
AND ANTIBIOTICS ..................................................................................... 223
GERHARD DOMAGK (1895 - 1964) German Biochemist and Bacteriologist .... 224
DANIELE BOVET (1907 - 1992) Swiss-Italian Pharmacologist ............................... 226
THE NEW ERA OF THE TRUE ANTIBIOTICS ...................................... 228
THE REAL WONDER DRUGS OF THE 20TH CENTURY ..................... 228
ALEXANDER FLEMING (1881 - 1955) Scottish Bacteriologist ................................. 229
HOWARD WALTER FLOREY (1898 - 1968) Australian-English Pathologist .... 233
ERNST BORIS CHAIN (1906 - 1979) German-English Biochemist ......................... 235
SELMAN A. WAKSMAN (1888 - 1973) Russian-American Microbiologist .......... 236
RENE JULES DUBOS (1901 - 1982) French-American Microbiologist .................. 238
BENJAMIN MINGE DUGGAR (1872 - 1956) American Botanist .............................. 239

XIX
VIRUSES, VIRAL DISEASES AND VIRUS VACCINES .......................... 240
HOW SMALL IS A VIRUS? ............................................................................................. 241
LIFE ATTRIBUTES OF BACTERIA AND VIRUSES .............................. 242
EDWARD JENNER, LOUIS PASTEUR & THE VIRUS VACCINES ..... 244
EDWARD JENNER (1749 - 1823) English Physician ..................................................... 245
LOUIS PASTEUR AND THE RABIES VACCINE .................................... 246
CHARLES CHAMBERLAND (1851 - 1908) French Bacteriologist ........................... 249
THE TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE
AND THE DISCOVERY OF VIRUSES ...................................................... 249
DMITRI I. IVANOVSKY (1864 - 1920) Russian Botanist ............................................. 250
MARTINUS WILLEM BEIJERINCK (1851 - 1931) Dutch Botanist .......................... 251

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE VIRUS ......................................... 254
WENDELL MEREDITH STANLEY (1904 - 1971) American Biochemist .............. 256
FREDERICK WILLIAM TWORT (1877 - 1950) English Bacteriologist ................. 259
FREDERICK CHARLES BAWDEN (1908 - 1972) English Plant Pathologist ....... 260
HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT (1910 - 1999) German-American Biochemist. ..... 261
ROBLEY COOK WILLIAMS (1908 - 1995) American Biophysicist ......................... 264
CULTURING THE VIRUS AND THE VIRUS VACCINES ...................... 265
ERNEST WILLIAM GOODPASTURE (1886 - 1960) American Pathologist ......... 268
MAX THEILER (1899 - 1972) South African-American Virologist .......................... 270
CULTURING THE POLIO VIRUS AND THE POLIO VACCINES ........ 271
JOHN FRANKLIN ENDERS (1897 - 1985) American Microbiologist ...................... 272
POLIO EPIDEMICS IN THE USA AND THE POLIO VACCINE ........... 274
JONAS EDWARD SALK (1914 - 1995) American Microbiologist ............................ 275
ALBERT BRUCE SABIN (1906 - 1993) Polish-American Microbiologist ............. 278

XX
THE STORY OF THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION ........... 281
JAN B. VAN HELMONT (1580 - 1644) Flemish Chemist and Physiologist .......... 283
VAN HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT ................................................... 284
JOHN WOODWARD (1665 - 1728) English Scholar and Naturalist ....................... 286
JOHANN RUDOLF GLAUBER (1604 - 1670) German Chemist ................................. 288
JOHN MAYOW (1641 - 1679) English Physiologist ....................................................... 289
JETHRO TULL (1674 - 1741) English Scholar .................................................................. 290
HUMPHRY DAVY (1778 - 1829) English Chemist .......................................................... 291
ARTHUR YOUNG (1741 - 1820) English Agriculturist ................................................. 293
THE NEW CHEMISTRY & THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION ........ 294
ANTOINE LAVOISIER (1743 - 1794) French Chemist .................................................. 295
JOHN DALTON (1766 - 1844) English Chemist ............................................................... 295
JONS J. BERZELIUS (1779 - 1848) Swedish Chemist .................................................... 295
JOSEPH BLACK (1728 - 1799) Scottish Chemist ............................................................. 295
HENRY CAVENDISH (1731 - 1810) English Chemist and Physicist ....................... 296
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY (1733 - 1804) English Chemist .................................................... 296
KARL W. SCHEELE (1742 - 1786) Swedish Chemist ..................................................... 296
DANIEL RUTHERFORD (1749 - 1819) Scottish Chemist ............................................ 296
DMITRI I. MENDELEEV (1834 - 1907) Russian Chemist ............................................ 296
THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION,
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION .............................................. 297
STEPHEN HALES (1677 - 1761) English Botanist and Chemist ............................... 297
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY (1733 - 1804) English Chemist .................................................... 298
JAN INGENHOUSZ (1730 - 1799) Dutch Physician and Plant Physiologist ......... 299
JULIUS VON SACHS (1832 - 1897) German Botanist .................................................... 301
THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION,
PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL CHEMISTRY ....................................... 303
JEAN SENEBIER (1742 - 1809) Swiss Scholar and Plant Physiologist .................. 304

XXI
THEODORE De SAUSSURE (1767 - 1845)
Swiss Chemist and Plant Physiologist ................................................................................... 306
JEAN BAPTISTE BOUSSINGAULT (1801 - 1887) French Chemist ......................... 307

THE NEW ERA OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY ............................. 309
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG (1803 - 1873) German Chemist .................................................. 310
THE ROTHAMSTED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION .... 314
JOHN BENNET LAWES (1814 - 1900) Agricultural Scientist .................................... 316
THE CONCEPT OF SOIL pH AND SOIL ACIDITY-ALKALINITY ...... 318
SOREN P. SORENSEN (1868 -1939) Danish Chemist .................................................... 318
THE ESSENTIAL PLANT NUTRIENTS AND SOIL FERTILITY ......... 318
THE MACRONUTRIENTS AND THE MICRONUTRIENTS ..................................... 318
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES .......... 320

THE STORY OF WILLIAM HARVEY
THE HEART, BLOOD & CIRCULATORY SYSTEM ................ 321
THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM .............................................................................. 321
PRELIMINARY NOTES ON THE ORIGIN OF
OUR CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM .............................................................................. 322
WILLIAM HARVEY (1578 - 1657) English Physician and Anatomist .................... 324
JAN SWAMMERDAM (1637 - 1680) Dutch Naturalist ................................................. 326
RICHARD LOWER (1631 - 1691) English Physician ..................................................... 327
KARL LANDSTEINER (1868 - 1943) Austrian-American Biologist ........................ 328

ABSTRACT ON THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATION AND
CLASSIFICATION ............................................................................................ 331

XXII
THE STORY OF CARL LINNAEUS
AND MODERN TAXONOMY IN BIOLOGY ............................. 333
THE TAXONOMIC UNITS OR LEVELS OF CLASSIFICATION ............................... 335
THE GREEK AND ROMAN TAXONOMY .................................................................... 336
ARISTOTLE (384 - 322 B.C.) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist .............................. 336
THEOPHRASTUS (372 - 287 B.C.) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist .................. 337
PLINY (23 - 79) Roman Scholar .............................................................................................. 337
THE ROLE OF HERBALISTS IN EUROPEAN PLANT ANATOMY ......................... 337
THE EARLY TAXONOMISTS .................................................................... 338
LUCA GHINI (1490 - 1556) Italian Physician and Botanist ................................... 339
ANDREA CESALPINO (1519 - 1603) Italian Taxonomist ............................................ 340
JEAN BAUHIN (1541 - 1631) French-Swiss Naturalist ................................................ 341
CASPAR BAUHIN (1560 - 1624) French-Swiss Naturalist ......................................... 341
JOHN RAY (1627 - 1705) British Botanist and Naturalist ........................................... 342
JOSEPH P. De TOURNEFORT (1656 - 1708) French Botanist ................................. 344

CARL LINNAEUS AND MODERN TAXONOMY IN BIOLOGY ............ 346
CARL LINNAEUS (1707 - 1778) Swedish Botanist and Zoologist ............................ 347
LINNAEUS’ EXPEDITION TO LAPLAND .................................................................... 349
LINNAEUS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS ............................................................................... 349
LINNAEUS PUBLICATIONS .......................................................................................... 352
SYSTEMA NATURAE, PUBLISHED IN 1735 AND 1758 ........................................ 353
SPECIES PLANTARUM, PUBLISHED IN 1753 ......................................................... 354
FLORA LAPPONICA, PUBLISHED IN 1737 .............................................................. 354
CRITICA BOTANICA, PUBLISHED IN 1735 ............................................................. 354
GENERA PLANTARUM, PUBLISHED IN 1735 ......................................................... 354
FUNDAMENTA BOTANICA, PUBLISHED IN 1736 ................................................. 354
CLASSES PLANTARUM, PUBLISHED IN 1737 ........................................................ 354
PHILOSOPHIA BOTANICA, PUBLISHED IN 1751 .................................................. 354

XXIII
THE POST LINNAEAN TAXONOMY ....................................................... 357
JEAN LAMARCK (1744 - 1829) French Naturalist ......................................................... 358
ANTOINE LAURENT De JUSSIEU (1748 - 1836) French Botanist .......................... 362
GEORGES L. CUVIER (1769 - 1832) French Anatomist and Naturalist ................ 364
AUGUSTIN P. De CANDOLLE (1778 - 1841) Swiss-French Botanist ..................... 369
ROBERT BROWN (1773 - 1858) Scottish Botanist ....................................................... 373
RICHARD OWEN (1804 - 1892) English Anatomist and Paleontologist .............. 376
JEAN LOUIS AGASSIZ (1807 - 1873) Swiss-American Naturalist ........................... 379

THE STORY OF CHARLES DARWIN

AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION IN BIOLOGY .............. 383
EARLY IDEAS ON EVOLUTION ............................................................... 384
(BIOLOGICAL, GEOLOGIC AND COSMIC)
EMPEDOCLES (490 - 430 B.C.) Greek Philosopher ........................................................ 385
EPICURUS (341 - 270 B.C.) Greek Philosopher ................................................................ 385
THOMAS AQUINAS (1225 - 1274) Italian Philosopher and Theologian .............. 386
ALFRED WEGENER (1880 - 1930) German Geologist ................................................ 387
PIERRE S. La PLACE (1749 - 1827) French Mathematician and Astronomer ... 388
PRE-DARWIN IDEAS ON BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION ........................ 389
JEAN BAPTISTE LAMARCK (1744 - 1829) French Naturalist .................................. 391
GEORGES L. BUFFON (1707 - 1788) French Naturalist .............................................. 394
THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766 - 1834) English Economist ........................... 396
LORENZ OKEN (1779 - 1851) German Naturalist .......................................................... 398
CHARLES LYELL (1797 - 1875) Scottish Geologist ........................................................ 400
THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY (1825 - 1895) English Biologist ..................................... 403
ASA GRAY (1810 - 1888) American Botanist ................................................................... 406
HERBERT SPENCER (1820 - 1903) English Sociologist .............................................. 407
ERNST H. HAECKEL (1834 - 1919) German Naturalist ............................................... 408
RONALD A. FISHER (1890 - 1962) English Biologist ................................................... 409

XXIV
ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE (1823 - 1913) English Naturalist ................................ 411
ERASMUS DARWIN (1731 - 1802) English Physician and Naturalist ................... 415

CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION .................................................. 417
CHARLES R. DARWIN (1809 - 1882) English Naturalist and Geologist ............... 417
THE FAMOUS VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE TO SOUTH AMERICA ........................ 418
DARWIN’S RETURN TO ENGLAND FROM HIS FAMOUS VOYAGE .................... 423
PREPARATIONS FOR DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION ............................... 424
SOME OF DARWIN’S INITIAL IDEAS ON EVOLUTION ......................................... 426
THE PUBLICATION OF DARWIN’S GREAT BOOK ON EVOLUTION .................. 427
EVALUATION OF THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION ....................................................................... 432

AN ABSTRACT ON THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION ................................. 434
THREE FUNDAMENTAL NATURAL LAWS DERIVED AND
DEDUCED FROM DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION ............................................ 434
THE EVOLUTIONARY TRINITY ....................................................................................... 436
EVOLUTIONISM VS CREATIONISM ............................................................................. 437
A GREAT DILEMMA IN OUR BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION AND HISTORY .............. 437

THE STORY OF GREGOR MENDEL,

GENETICS AND THE LAWS OF HEREDITY .......................... 439
SOME EARLY IDEAS ON GENETICS AND HYBRIDIZATION ........... 440
GENETICS & HYBRIDIZATION DURING THE 18TH CENTURY ....... 441
RUDOLF J. CAMERARIUS (1665 - 1721) German Botanist and Physician .......... 442
EARLY STUDIES ON HYBRIDIZATION DURING
THE SECOND HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY ...................................... 443
JOSEPH G. KOLREUTER (1733 - 1806) German Botanist and Naturalist ........... 445

XXV
KARL FRIEDRICH VON GAERTNER (1772 - 1850) German Botanist .................. 448
CHARLES VICTOR NAUDIN (1815 - 1899) French Botanist and Naturalist ...... 450
FRANCIS GALTON (1822 - 1911) English Anthropologist ......................................... 452

THE ERA OF GREGOR MENDEL’S GENETICS - 19TH CENTURY ..... 456
GREGOR JOHANN MENDEL (1822 - 1884) Austrian Monk and Botanist ........... 456
RESULTS FROM MENDEL’S BREEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH PEA PLANTS 458
GENETICS AFTER GREGOR MENDEL ................................................... 461
KARL WILHELM VON NAGELI (1817 - 1891) Swiss Botanist .................................. 462
HUGO MARIE De VRIES (1848 - 1935) Dutch Botanist and Geneticist ................ 464
THE CONCEPT OF THE GENES .................................................................................... 465
REDISCOVERY OF GREGOR MENDEL’S PAPERS IN THE LATE 1890’S ........... 465
THE MUTATION THEORY ............................................................................................ 466
KARL ERICH CORRENS (1864 - 1933) German Botanist and Geneticist ............. 468
ERICH VON TSCHERMAK (1871 - 1962) Austrian Botanist and Agronomist ... 469
WILLIAM JASPER SPILLMAN (1863 - 1931) American Agronomist .................... 470
WILHELM L. JOHANNSEN (1857 - 1927) Danish Botanist and Geneticist .......... 474
WALTER S. SUTTON (1877 - 1916) American Geneticist and Physician ............ 476
WILLIAM BATESON (1861 - 1926) English Geneticist and Biologist .................... 479
THOMAS HUNT MORGAN (1866 - 1945) American Geneticist,
Embryologist and Evolutionary Biologist ........................................................................... 482
HERMANN JOSEPH MULLER (1890 - 1967) American Geneticist ......................... 488
ALBERT F. BLAKESLEE (1874 - 1954) American Botanist and Geneticist ......... 490
THE MODERN GENETICS OF THE 20TH CENTURY ........................... 491
THE GREEN REVOLUTION ...................................................................... 494
DR. NORMAN BORLAUG (1914 - 2009)
American Geneticist and Agriculturist ................................................................................. 495
THE STORY OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION
IN THE 20TH CENTURY ............................................................................. 495

XXVI
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ............................................................................... 499
PUBLICATIONS WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR .................................... 501
RECOMMENDED LITERATURE .............................................................. 510


THE BEAUTY OF NATURE HAS ATTAINED THE SUBLIME AND IS THE
PRODUCT OF A LONG PROCESS OF EVOLUTION RICH IN WISDOM,
LOVE AND THE CREATIVITY OF MOTHER NATURE AT ITS BEST.

NATURE PRESERVES OUR DREAMS AND HOPES
AND INSPIRES US TO CREATE THE HUMANITY OF THE FUTURE

XXVII
 THE ATOM APPEARED AND THERE WAS MATTER, ENERGY,
SPACE AND TIME, AND THE MAGNIFICENT SCIENCES OF
PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, AND BIOLOGY

Every word and sentence in this book has an innate degree of

amplitude—in terms of definition and interpretation—which
creates, at the end of each paragraph and chapter, a degree of
complexity capable of challenging the most inquisitive minds.
Let us also remember that without numbers, mathematics and
our divine wisdom, our UNIVERSE would vanish into the Infinity of
space and the eternity of time.
And as always, what we do is the incomplete version of what it
could have been, ad infinitum.

XXVIII
 INTRODUCTION

This new book, THE RENAISSANCE OF SCIENCE, THE STORY OF THE CELL
AND BIOLOGY, represents a sequel to my first book, THE RENAISSANCE OF
SCIENCE, THE STORY OF THE ATOM AND CHEMISTRY, which dealt essentially with
the nature of the PHYSICAL WORLD as depicted by the ATOM and the SCIENCES of
CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS. This, in the hands of the PARAGONS OF SCIENCE,
DEMOCRITUS, EMPEDOCLES, COPERNICUS, GALILEO, KEPLER, NEWTON,
DESCARTES, FARADAY, MAXWELL, BOYLE, BLACK, CAVENDISH, PRIESTLEY,
SCHEELE, LAVOISIER, DALTON, BERZELIUS, MENDELEEV, WOLLASTON,
FRANKLAND, DAVY, AVOGADRO, LIEBIG, WOHLER, DUMAS, LAURENT,
BERTHELOT, PASTEUR, KEKULE, VAN’T HOFF, ARRHENIUS, OSTWALD, GIBBS,
SORENSEN, HABER, LEWIS, UREY, STAUDINGER, PREGL, SODDY, ASTON, MOSELEY,
CURIE, THOMSON, RUTHERFORD, BOHR, CHADWICK, PLANCK, FERMI, EINSTEIN,
FISCHER, CALVIN, HOPKINS, ROSE, KREBS, TODD, LEVENE, MITCHELL, SANGER,
PAULING, CHARGAFF, WILKINS, WATSON and CRICK.
THE RENAISSANCE OF SCIENCE, THE STORY OF THE CELL AND BIOLOGY,
represents the interactive history of the BIOLOGICAL WORLD as observed in the
domain of THE CELL and the SCIENCES of BIOLOGY, CYTOLOGY, EMBRYOLOGY,
HISTOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY, ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY,
TAXONOMY, EVOLUTION, GENETICS and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.
In this second book, an effort was made to present the EVOLUTION of the
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES from their early beginnings during the CLASSIC GREEK ERA,
through the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE and SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION of the 15th, 16th
and 17th CENTURIES, and into the beginning of the MODERN SCIENCES and
BIOLOGY during the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st CENTURIES. This was the magnificent
world of ARISTOTLE, THEOPHRASTUS, HIPPOCRATES, PLINY, GALEN, MALPIGHI,
VAN LEEUWENHOEK, HOOKE, VESALIUS, HARVEY, SWAMMERDAM,
LANDSTEINER, VAN HELMONT, INGENHOUSZ, LIEBIG, DAVY, SENEBIER,
BOUSSINGAULT, SCHLEIDEN, SCHWANN, FLEMMING, BACON, PASTEUR, KOCH,

1
EHRLICH, DOMAGK, FLEMING, FLOREY, WAKSMAN, DUGGAR, BEIJERINCK,
STANLEY, SUMNER, FRAENKEL-CONRAT, ENDERS, SALK, SABIN, LINNAEUS,
CUVIER, CANDOLLE, LAMARCK, WALLACE, DARWIN, OWEN, HUXLEY, LYELL, GRAY,
AGASSIZ, MENDEL, De VRIES, MORGAN, BATESON, FISCHER, CALVIN, PERUTZ,
HOPKINS, ROSE, KREBS, LIPMANN, LEVENE, SANGER, PAULING, CHARGAFF,
WILKINS, WATSON and CRICK.
The writing of this book was genuinely, a LABOR OF LOVE inspired by my
desire to honor the SCIENCES and particularly the many SCIENTISTS who gave their
lives with dedication, integrity, imagination and courage, to create the MODERN
SCIENTIFIC MARVELS that society enjoys today!
It was also my sincere hope, while we journeyed through the HISTORY of
BIOLOGY, that we would find a few PRECIOUS NUGGETS of KNOWLEDGE, which
were left behind in the BONE YARDS of our SCIENTIFIC PAST, and perhaps ignored
under the FABULOUS ROCK QUARRIES of our SCIENTIFIC WORLD of TREASURES.
It is IMPERATIVE to REMEMBER that BOOKS allow our MINDS to VENTURE
and WANDER into the INTELLECTUAL and SCIENTIFIC TREASURES DISCOVERED
and CREATED throughout HUMAN HISTORY. BOOKS afford us the magnificent
opportunity to CONVERSE with the BRILLIANT MINDS of the PAST and REJOICE in
their FANTASTIC WISDOM and INTUITIVENESS without LIMITATIONS. BOOKS are
INDEED the REPOSITORIES of the MIND’S SUBLIME KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM.
BOOKS give us our ACCOMPLISHMENTS and our INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE!

2
 The WORDS used in the TITLE of this BOOK were carefully chosen to
represent the CONTENT and PURPOSE of the many IDEAS discussed.
The word RENAISSANCE was used to celebrate and honor the REBIRTH of
the magnificent WORLD OF SCIENCE as we enter with great enthusiasm the 21st
CENTURY, which is bursting with a FABULOUS and UNIMAGINABLE FUTURE!
The word STORY, instead of HISTORY, was selected to allow the LITERARY,
PHILOSOPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LICENSES that would give us the FREEDOM to
explore with enthusiasm the domain of BIOLOGY. This, without the fear of being
dull, oblivious and obtuse, but instead with a sense of JOYFULNESS, FASCINATION
AND ADVENTURE.
The word CELL was chosen to EXALT AND ACKNOWLEDGE OUR GRATITUDE
for such a MAGNIFICENT GIFT that NATURE gave to us, in the hope that MAN will
use it with all the WISDOM that such a loving GIFT deserves! Keep in mind that
remembering is an act of LOVE, in more ways than we may predict!
The word SCIENTIST was singled out to bring to the forefront the
MAGNIFICENT SCHOLARS, to whom we pay tribute and dedicate this book with our
unconditional ADMIRATION, GRATITUDE and RESPECT, for their FABULOUS
ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
The words DREAM and JOURNEY were favored because this book represents
exactly that, a DREAM and JOURNEY into the PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE of the
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. This, with the intention to offer HOPE and FAITH to a
HUMANITY that is TEAMING with GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITIES and TREASURES.
Before starting with the first chapter on THE STORY OF THE CELL AND
BIOLOGY, a brief presentation is given on the meaning of SCIENCE and its
ACCOMPLISHMENTS This, in order to create a perspective that may prove to have
some usefulness in the context of this SCIENTIFIC STUDY.

3
 ABSTRACT ON THE CONCEPT OF PERSPECTIVE AND SENSE OF DUTY

Very often, we may LOOK but not really SEE and we may HEAR but not really
LISTEN, because the elements of PERSPECTIVE AND DUTY have been ignored!
One may look at a magnificent sandy beach and fail to notice a small but
BEAUTIFUL SHELL, simply because the scale of the panorama was not conducive to
the observation of this ENCHANTING LITTLE CREATURE!
Beware, humanity embraces the same dilemma! In the overall scheme and
domain of our immense UNIVERSE, we as INDIVIDUALS, like our little friend the
SHELL, are not significant enough to warrant much attention. In fact, individually,
one is indeed an insignificant speck of dust, existing in our space-time continuum, just
following the laws of nature, as our SUPREME BEING intended.
Our TRUE VALUE resides in our ACCOMPLISHMENTS as they contribute and
benefit our FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND HUMANITY; all of which are INSTITUTIONS that
require our constant and undivided attention, creativity and love! Our
ACCOMPLISHMENTS become the FOUNDATION of our INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE!
It is our COMPELLING AND DIVINE OBLIGATION to pour all our HUMAN
EMOTIONS AND INTELLECTUAL POWERS into our daily endeavors with dignity,
kindness and intuitiveness. This, in order to CREATE all that is MAGNIFICENT,
ALTRUISTIC AND BENEVOLENT, and to become the TRUE and DEDICATED
STEWARDS OF NATURE AND HUMANITY.
In the FINAL ANALYSIS, we must always apply all of our talents and efforts to
DEFINE the INDEFINABLE. This, in an honest attempt to forge the FUTURE OF
TOMORROW with glorious and unparalleled qualities, capable of molding the HOPES
AND DREAMS of our LOVING GENERATIONS TO COME!
The Author

4
 THE CONCEPT OF SCIENCE
The word SCIENCE (from the Latin word SCIENTIA, meaning KNOWLEDGE)
may have several definitions depending on what one intends to emphasize.
A SCIENCE (like BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY or PHYSICS) is a body of knowledge
that has been obtained by a systematic study of the STRUCTURE and BEHAVIOR of
the PHYSICAL CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL and NATURAL WORLD; this, through
OBSERVATIONS, EXPERIMENTATION and MATHEMATICAL FORMULATIONS,
tested by means of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF ANALYSIS.
SCIENCE represents the MAGNIFICENT WORLD of MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS,
CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY and ASTRONOMY, characterized by means of NUMBERS,
FUNCTIONS, FORMULAS, EQUATIONS, REACTIONS, PROCESSES and ORGANISMS, in
order to DEFINE, ORGANIZE and UNDERSTAND the prodigious NATURAL LAWS
that GOVERN our fantastic PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL and BIOLOGICAL UNIVERSE.
The GREEKS from the CLASSIC GREEK ERA, were among the first to initiate
the SCIENTIFIC SEARCH for KNOWLEDGE, without the intrusions and limitations
imposed by religion and mysticism. They called this search PHILOSOPHIA (from the
Greek words PHILOS, meaning LOVE, and SOPHIA, meaning WISDOM) or the LOVE
OF WISDOM, LEARNING and the UNDERSTANDING of NATURE.
Even today, the scholars who obtain a DOCTORAL DEGREE in one of the
MODERN SCIENCES, is given a degree in DOCTOR of PHILOSOPHY, or Ph. D.
In the early days of the RENAISSANCE and the SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION of
the 15th, 16th and 17th CENTURIES, the word SCIENCE was known as NATURAL
PHILOSOPHY.
It is well known in the annals of academia, that many of the BEST CONCEPTS
in SCIENCE began as PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS and HYPOTHESIS, which in time and
with a concerted effort became THEORIES and LAWS.
Let us remember that although many of our BEST SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS
were born from early PHILOSOPHIC IDEAS conceived in the MIDST of INTUITIVE
INSPIRATIONS; some of the OLD CONCEPTS in our past, also represent ANCIENT
FOSSILIZED IDEAS, which are now buried in the PREHISTORIC GRAVEYARDS of

5
NATURAL HISTORY, together with other PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC MISCONCEPTIONS of
early PHILOSOPHERS and ALCHEMISTS.
The WORLD OF SCIENCE has proven to be a vast and magnificent domain of
INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGES and ADVENTURES, which required the creative
imagination of the most intuitive and dedicated SCIENTISTS, tempered by discipline
and courage. A SCIENCE is not a mere COLLECTION OF FACTS (for SCIENTISTS are
not collectors), but the product of the EXPERIMENTAL METHOD OF RESEARCH
where the facts obtained through OBSERVATION and EXPERIMENTATION, have
been analyzed to create working MODELS, THEORIES and LAWS, expressed in
concrete MATHEMATICAL INTERPRETATIONS, which are verifiable.
Furthermore, a SCIENCE should be DYNAMIC and OPEN-ENDED enough, to
allow the acceptance of NEW DEVELOPMENTS, based on the NEW and MODERN
KNOWLEDGE- BASE of the time.
In SCIENCE, we find that BENEATH the SURFACE of EVERY REALITY in
NATURE, there is always a MAGNIFICENT NEW WORLD, where the DEEPER we
SEARCH the more COMPLEX, ASYMPTOTIC and ENIGMATIC that world becomes.
EXAMPLES:
DNA THE CELL

6
 FUNDAMENTAL AND HISTORIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SCIENCES
Through the ANNALS of SCIENCE, we find that many NEW DEVELOPMENTS
were created, which resulted in the EVOLUTION of NEW and FANTASTIC WORLDS.
Some of these NEW DEVELOPMENTS were so FUNDAMENTAL and
REVOLUTIONARY that they even led to the CONCEPTION of completely NEW
SCIENCES.

Some significant examples of such fundamental developments include:
- The evolution from the MEDIEVAL ALCHEMY of TREVISAN and
PARACELSUS into the MODERN CHEMISTRY of LAVOISIER, DALTON, BERZELIUS,
MENDELEEV, CAVENDISH, PRIESTLEY, DAVY, LIEBIG, WOHLER, BERTHELOT,
KEKULE, VAN’T HOFF, WOLLASTON, FRANKLAND, MOSELEY, ARRHENIUS,
OSTWALD, GIBBS, SORENSEN, STAUDINGER, SODDY, ASTON, LEWIS, PAULING,
FISCHER, CALVIN, KREBS, WATSON and CRICK.
- The evolution from the GREEK MATHEMATICS of PYTHAGORAS, EUCLID,
ARCHIMEDES and ERATOSTHENES into the MATHEMATICS of CARDANO,
FIBONACCI, NAPIER, BRIGGS, DESCARTES, NEWTON, LEIBNIZ, GAUSS, EULER,
LOBACHEVSKI, HERMITE, POINCARE, RIEMANN, FERMAT, PASCAL, BERNOULLI,
LaGRANGE, LaPLACE, CANTOR, MAXWELL, MINKOWSKI, HILBERT and RUSSELL.
- The evolution from the GREEK ASTRONOMY of ANAXAGORAS, PTOLEMY,
HIPPARCHUS and ERATOSTHENES into the ASTRONOMY of COPERNICUS, BRAHE,
KEPLER, GALILEO, NEWTON, LaPLACE, HALE, DE SITTER, HUBBLE, BAADE,
LEMAITRE, GAMOW, GOLD, HOYLE, SAGAN and HAWKING.
- The evolution from the ELECTROMAGNETISM of VOLTA, OERSTED,
FARADAY, DAVY, HENRY, OHM, AMPERE and MAXWELL into the
ELECTROMAGNETISM of EDISON, MORSE, GRAHAM-BELL, MARCONI, HERTZ and
TESLA.
- The evolution from the MICROSCOPY (OPTICAL MICROSCOPES) of VAN
LEEUWENHOEK, HOOKE, LISTER and AMICI into the ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
(ELECTRON MICROSCOPES) of RUSKA, HILLIER and ZWORYKIN.

7
 - The evolution from the GREEK and MEDIEVAL ANATOMY of HIPPOCRATES,
CELSUS, PLINY and GALEN into the MODERN ANATOMY of LEONARDO Da VINCI, De
LUZZI, COLOMBO, MALPIGHI, VESALIUS, and HARVEY.
- The evolution from the GREEK TAXONOMY of ARISTOTLE and
THEOPHRASTUS into the MODERN TAXONOMY of RAY, LINNAEUS, CUVIER,
JUSSIEU, CANDOLLE, OWEN and AGASSIZ.
- The changes from the early ideas on EVOLUTION of BUFFON, MALTHUS,
LAMARCK, and SPENCER into the MODERN THEORY OF EVOLUTION BY NATURAL
SELECTION proposed by DARWIN and WALLACE.
- The changes from the early ideas on GENETICS of KOELREUTER,
GAERTNER, NAUDIN and GALTON into the MODERN GENETICS of MENDEL, De
VRIES, SPILLMAN, JOHANNSEN, SUTTON, BATESON, MORGAN, STURTEVANT,
MULLER, BLAKESLEE and BORLAUG.
- The changes from the RENAISSANCE BIOLOGY of MALPIGHI,
LEEUWENHOEK and HOOKE into the BIOLOGY of SCHLEIDEN, SCHWANN,
FLEMMING, LANDSTEINER, BEIJERINCK, STANLEY, SUMNER, FRAENKEL-CONRAT,
ENDERS, CALVIN, LEVENE, SANGER, MORGAN, CHARGAFF, WILKINS, WATSON and
CRICK.
- The changes from the early ideas on SPONTANEOUS GENERATION and
DISEASES of BIOLOGISTS like REDI and SPALLANZANI into the GERM THEORY OF
DISEASES and the development of VACCINES and ANTIBIOTICS by PASTEUR, KOCH,
EHRLICH, BEHRING, DOMAGK, THEILER, FLEMING, WAKSMAN, DUGGAR, SALK and
SABIN.
- The evolution from the ATOMIC THEORY of ANTIQUITY of EMPEDOCLES,
DEMOCRITUS, LEUCIPPUS and ARISTOTLE into the MODERN ATOMIC THEORY of
DALTON, LAVOISIER, BERZELIUS, ARRHENIUS, THOMSON, RUTHERFORD, BOHR,
PLANCK, CHADWICK, MOSELEY and SODDY.
- The evolution from the early ORGANIC CHEMISTRY of WOHLER, DUMAS,
LAURENT, BERTHELOT and PASTEUR into the CHEMISTRY OF THE CARBON ATOM
of KEKULE, VAN’T HOFF and POPE, and the PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY and CHEMICAL

8
THERMODYNAMICS of OSTWALD, GIBBS, ARRHENIUS, MAXWELL, VAN’T HOFF,
LEWIS, PAULING and NERNST.
- The evolution from the early ideas on RADIOACTIVITY of BECQUEREL,
CROOKES, ROENTGEN and the CURIES into the modern concept of RADIOACTIVITY
of RUTHERFORD, SODDY, ASTON, MEITNER, FERMI, OPPENHEIMER and TELLER.
- The evolution from the early BIOCHEMISTRY of VAN HELMONT,
WOODWARD, HALES, PRIESTLEY, DAVY, INGENHOUSZ, SENEBIER, De SAUSSURE
and BOUSSINGAULT into the MODERN BIOCHEMISTRY and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
of FISCHER, CALVIN, PERUTZ, HOPKINS, ROSE, KREBS, TODD, LEVENE, MITCHELL,
SANGER, PAULING, CHARGAFF, WILKINS, WATSON and CRICK.
- The evolution from NEWTONIAN PHYSICS into the MODERN PHYSICS of
EINSTEIN’S RELATIVITY (or the new RELATIVISTIC PHYSICS) and the QUANTUM
PHYSICS of PLANCK, BOHR, BORN, SCHRODINGER, HEISENBERG and DIRAC.
All of these great SCIENTIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS started with the
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION of the 15th, 16th and 17th CENTURIES, when SCIENCE,
PHILOSOPHY and REASON began to REDEFINE our SCIENTIFIC WORLD and our
INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY. These changes led to the MARVELOUS CREATIONS,
which are now EXQUISITELY EVIDENT in our PRODIGIOUS SOCIETY!
Today, SCIENCE and RELIGION are found in two separate and independent
domains; however, there always seems to be an underlying relationship that brings
them together, one way or another. During the RENAISSANCE and even during the
time of DESCARTES and NEWTON, SCIENCE and RELIGION enjoyed a continuity,
which usually led all SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS into the domain of DEVINE WISDOM
to obtain the FINAL and DEFINITIVE ANSWERS.
This SCENARIO is definitely, still TRUE TODAY!
See the following chart, if we wish to find some interesting QUESTIONS and
ANSWERS on the EVOLUTION of OUR UNIVERSE !!!

9
 A THEORY OF UNIVERSAL EVOLUTION AND DEVINE WISDOM


MATTER ENERGY SPACE TIME



STRINGS

ATOMS

STARS


( E = MC2 )


GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY SOLAR ENERGY ATOMIC ENERGY

GRAVITATIONAL FORCE ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE WEAK / STRONG FORCE


( E = MC2 )



(PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND CHEMOSYNTHESIS)



WIND POWER PLANTS AND ANIMALS WATER POWER
MICROBIAL LIFE



PLANT PRODUCTS ANIMAL PRODUCTS PETROLEUM PRODUCTS


THE AUTHOR

10
 ABSTRACT ON THE ATOM AND ITS ENERGY

When I first think of the ATOM, my initial reaction is one of great ambivalence
where I either sense an extreme emotion of boundless and enigmatic admiration and
amazement, or become speechless because the dictionary is not enough to do justice in
describing this prodigious and superlative chunk of MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM.
Given that it is impossible for me to describe our little friend the ATOM with one
sentence, let us then attempt to come close to attaining a definition by presenting a
series of statements that, when woven with the necessary lucidity and wisdom, they
may unveil the true nature of the multifaceted fabric of the ATOM.
The ATOM represents the prodigious and superlative UNIFIED CONCEPT of our
UNIVERSE.
The ATOM is the UNIVERSAL BUILDING BLOCK of our MATTER-ENERGY
CONTINUUM.
The ATOM is the BOUNDLESS and LIMITLESS source of the ENERGY that
powers and drives all faces of our UNIVERSE.
The ATOM is the PERFECT NATURAL MACHINE that functions with
magnificent BALANCE and HARMONY without precluding its capacity to provide
energy levels of UNIMAGINABLE MAGNITUDES when properly provoked.
The ATOM is a fabulous chunk of MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM with an
apparent SELF-SUSTAINING PERPETUAL MOTION, which functions with perfect
lucidity and control at an INSTANTANEOUS SPEED, perhaps the SPEED OF LIGHT.
The ATOM is the embodiment of our SOLAR SYSTEM and it represents a PIECE
OF THE SUN and LIFE itself.
The ATOM may depict an extrapolation and manifestation of our SENSORY
PERCEPTIONS, as follows:
- SPACE-TIME are the COSMIC perceptions of the ATOM.
- MATTER-ENERGY are the SPACE-TIME perceptions of the ATOM.
- ELECTRICITY is the ELECTROMAGNETIC perception of the ATOM.
- LIGHT is the VISUAL and ENERGETIC perception of the ATOM.

11
 - MUSIC is the AUDIAL and HARMONIOUS perception of the ATOM.
- SMELL and TASTE are the SENSORY perceptions of the ATOM.
- FEELINGS and LOVE itself are the INSTINCTIVE and EMOTIONAL
perceptions of the ATOM.
The ATOM has been the most ENIGMATIC, ELUSIVE and INDEFINABLE (in its
totality) SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT in the history of SCIENCE.
As indicated before, the ATOM is the source of the LIMITLESS SUPPLY of the
ENERGY that FUELS and POWERS our entire UNIVERSE.
ALBERT EINSTEIN was blessed with the visionary idea that led him to find this
limitless supply of ENERGY where least expected.
EINSTEIN had the brilliant insight and perception that ENERGY and MATTER
were two aspects of the same ENTITY, or UNITY.
EINSTEIN had the intuitive idea of equating ENERGY and MATTER as a
function of the SPEED OF LIGHT, SQUARED.
In order to find a BOUNDLESS SOURCE OF ENERGY in MATTER, EINSTEIN
needed a large number, and the SPEED OF LIGHT certainly gave him that
astronomical number.
After navigating through the physics of ENERGY, MASS and VELOCITY,
EINSTEIN developed his magnificently simple equation that evolved into the most
famous and popular equation in the history of science.
E = m c2, where E = Energy, m = mass and c2 = (speed of light)2.
C = 6.7 x 108, C2 = 4.489 x 1017 miles/hour
(C, from the Latin word Celeritas, meaning swift)

While MICHAEL FARADAY gave us our ELECTRO/MAGNETISM CONTINUUM in
terms of ELECTRICITY and LIGHT, it was ALBERT EINSTEIN who gave us our
ENERGY/MATTER CONTINUUM in terms of LIGHT and its prodigious speed. This was
truly, the GENIUS of MAN at WORK. EINSTEIN transformed NEWTONIAN PHYSICS
into his RELATIVISTIC PHYSICS, which completely changed the way we understand
our UNIVERSE TODAY.

12
 THE ENERGY OF THE ATOM AND THE NUCLEAR BOMB

After EINSTEIN, a fundamental question still remained unanswered.
Why is there so much energy in an entity as infinitely small as the ATOM?
The answer comes in fours steps:
First: The ATOM is infinitely small, consequently this allows us to find an
infinitely large number of ATOMS per unit of MATTER.
Second: The energy of the ATOM resides in the fact that there is an infinitely
large number of ATOMS per unit of MATTER, and not in that there is much energy in
each individual atom.
Third: If the energy in one ATOM is multiplied by the infinitely large number of
ATOMS per unit of MATTER, then a very large amount of energy is obtained.

13
 Fourth: If the large amount of energy obtained in the third step is multiplied by
the infinitely large amount of MATTER in the UNIVERSE, then a limitless amount of
energy is indeed available to drive every aspect of our UNIVERSE.
The explanation of where this limitless amount of energy in the ATOM is
coming from, led us to think that there is another simple way to calculate the amount
of energy in MATTER, besides EINSTEIN’S equation.
The new equation that we may use to find this limitless amount of ENERGY in
MATTER, may be created with a simple approach from the CHEMISTRY POINT OF
VIEW, as follows:
Energy = (Energy/atom)(atoms/unit of matter) (total matter)
E = (E/atom)(Avogadro’s number)(total matter)
E = (E/atom)(6.022 x 1023 atoms/mole)(total number of moles)
This equation also provides us with a limitless amount of energy in matter.
For example:
If an ATOM releases the energy of 1 million ELECTRON VOLTS, then the total
energy produced by this equation is:
E = (E/atom)(6.022 x 1023 atoms/mole)(total number of moles)
E = (1 x 106 eV/atom)(6.022 x 1023 atoms/mole)(total number of moles)
E = (6.022 x 1023 Million eV/mole) (total number of moles)
The energy thus produced is equivalent to:
E = (6.022 x 1023 Million eV/mole) (total number of moles)
THE UNIVERSAL ENERGY ( UE ) WOULD THEN BE:
UE = (6.022 x 1023 MILLION eV/mole )( N x 106 eV/atom )(M x 106 MOLES)
(UNIVERSAL MASS )
Here again, the boundless amount of energy found with this new equation does
not come from a single atom, but from the fact that there is an infinitely large number
of ATOMS per unit of MATTER, as indicated by Avogadro’s Number, proposed in 1811
by the famous Italian Physicist, AMEDEO AVOGADRO.
Finally, if the large amount of energy derived from the infinitely large number
of ATOMS per unit of MATTER, is then multiplied by the infinitely large amount of

14
matter in our UNIVERSE, the amount of energy available to drive our SOLAR SYSTEM
and our ENTIRE UNIVERSE is so immensely and prodigiously enormous that we do not
actually have the numbers (nomenclature) nor the mathematics necessary to calculate
it and the imagination to deal with it!
Let us go back to EINSTEIN and combine EINSTEIN’S EQUATION, E=MC2, with
!!
LORENTZ’ EQUATION, M= , which indicates that mass increases as a function
!!! ! /! !

of the speed of an object.

By combining these two equations a new formulation is obtained for ENERGY
as a function of SPEED, as follows:
!!
E=MC2 and M= , if E=MC2 then E/M=CONSTANT (speed of light
!!! ! /! !

squared)
If, Ei /Mi = Ef /Mf = K , then Ef =( Ei /Mi )( Mf ) , where, i=initial and f=final.
If in the last equation we substitute Mf with LORENTZ EQUATION, we obtain:
!!
Ef =( Ei /Mi )( Mf ), where Mf =
!!! ! /! !

!!
), if we simplify the terms then, Ef =
!!
Ef = ( Ei /Mi )(
!!! ! /! !
!! ! ! /! !

This new formulation indicates that ENERGY also increases as a function of the
speed of the object.
The question now is: when the ENERGY LEVEL of a speeding object (AN ATOM)
is MAXIMIZED, what takes place then? Does the excess energy turn into MASS and
therefore the object becomes too heavy to attain the speed of light? Or, does the ATOM
EXPLODE and lose its integrity? And is this another indication or proof that the SPEED
of LIGHT is in fact the MAXIMUM COSMIC SPEED LIMIT? Can the SPEED of LIGHT be
surpassed under extreme scenarios?
THE AUTHOR

15
 GREAT IDEAS THAT REVOLUTIONIZED OUR SCIENTIFIC WORLD
It is quite evident that the FUNDAMENTAL DEVELOPMENTS listed in the
previous section were also associated with the MAGNIFICENT IDEAS, which
revolutionized the SCIENTIFIC WORLD and created the FOUNDATION of the
MODERN SCIENCES. All of these FABULOUS IDEAS were the CREATIVE OUTCOME of
a SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION, which allowed SCIENCE and REASON to redefine our
SCIENTIFIC FUTURE with INTUITIVENESS, IMAGINATION and JOYFUL
EXPECTATIONS!
Notwithstanding, it is fundamentally important to keep in mind the BELIEVE
that many SCIENTIFIC IDEAS and QUESTIONS, in their ULTIMATE ANALYSIS, were
LOOKING for ANSWERS, within the domain of DEVINE KNOWLEDGE, which can
only be given by GOD HIMSELF. This is also the rich domain of ENIGMAS,
ASYMPTOTES and the PROFOUND CONVICTION that what we know corresponds to
VERY LITTLE, something like the value of an ATOM in the immensity of our
UNIVERSE.

Some of these FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS included:

DEMOCRITUS (470 - 380 BC) Greek Philosopher.
Postulated the ATOMIC THEORY of ANTIQUITY, which presented the ATOM
as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of MATTER and our UNIVERSE.
The CONCEPT OF THE ATOM is perhaps the most UNIVERSAL and
FUNDAMENTAL idea of the SCIENTIFIC WORLD.
The ATOM represents our most prodigious, enigmatic and unified chunk of
MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM, which contains within its infinitely small domain
the most revealing secrets of our origin, evolution and destiny.
The ATOM is our SOLAR SYSTEM in MINIATURE and the PERFECT NATURAL
MACHINE, which contains the BOUNDLESS ENERGY that powers our entire
UNIVERSE.

16
 NICHOLAS COPERNICUS
PROPOSED THE HELIOCENTRIC THEORY OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
























NICHOLAS COPERNICUS (1473 - 1543) Polish Astronomer.
COPERNICUS proposed the HELIOCENTRIC THEORY of our SOLAR SYSTEM
where the SUN, and not the EARTH, was its CENTER, and around which the planets
orbited.
Later on, JOHANN KEPLER indicated that the orbits followed by the planets
were ELLIPTICAL and not CYLINDRICAL. KEPLER went on to characterize his LAWS
OF MOTION, which NEWTON was later able to represent with his exquisitely simple
and intuitive MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS of MOTION using his new mathematics
of CALCULUS.
With his HELIOCENTRIC THEORY, COPERNICUS demoted the EARTH from
being the center of our SOLAR SYSTEM to just being a simple PLANET orbiting
around the SUN, according to an explicit NATURAL DESIGN.

17
 GALILEO GALILEI
CREATOR OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF EXPERIMENTATION
AND HIS LAWS OF MOTION. THE EXPLORER OF THE HEAVENS























GALILEO GALILEI (1564 - 1642) Italian Mathematician and Astronomer.
Proposed the SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF EXPERIMENTATION and the use of
MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS to characterize the NATURE of his INVESTIGATIONS.
GALILEO REDEFINED our conception of SCIENCE and our UNIVERSE.
GALILEO established the PRINCIPLE of the PENDULUM and characterized
the behavior of FALLING BODIES on FREE-FALL and along an INCLINED PLANE.
GALILEO and LEONARDO Da VINCI were the first to describe the concept of
ACCELERATION, as the INCREASE of VELOCITY with TIME. A concept that
REVOLUTIONIZED SCIENCE with its FORCE and ENERGY.
GALILEO perfected the TELESCOPE and used it for the first time to study the
CELESTIAL BODIES and their CHARACTERISTIC MOTIONS.

18
 RENE DESCARTES
CREATOR OF THE CARTESIAN COORDINATES
AND ANALYTIC GEOMETRY. THE PHILOSOPHER OF SCIENCE

















RENE DESCARTES (1596 - 1650) French Mathematician and Philosopher.
Proposed the CARTESIAN COORDINATES in MATHEMATICS, which united
GEOMETRY and ALGEBRA into the fantastic new science of ANALYTIC GEOMETRY.
This new mathematics became basic in the characterization of MOTION and
CHANGE, together with the MATHEMATICS of CALCULUS.
DESCARTES was the TRUE PHILOSOPHER OF SCIENCE, who believed in a
MECHANISTIC WORLD, which functioned as a well-tuned MACHINE.
He said it best in his great book, DISCOURSE ON METHOD, “ I THINK AND
THEREFORE I AM “.

19
 ISAAC NEWTON
CREATED HIS LAWS OF MOTION AND THE CONCEPT OF UNIVERSAL
GRAVITY, WHICH GAVE OUR UNIVERSE ITS UNITY AND HARMONY.
ONE OF OUR GREATEST SCIENTISTS WHO SCALED THE HEIGHTS OF
ERUDITION WITH MAGNIFICENT FINESSE AND INTUITIVENESS.




















ISAAC NEWTON (1642 - 1727) English Scientist and Mathematician.
Proposed the idea of a MECHANICAL WORLD in which his magnificent LAWS
of MOTION CHARACTERIZED the DYNAMICS in our ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

20
 He presented our SOLAR SYSTEM as a finely tuned MACHINE that moved
according to well-defined LAWS of MOTION, accurately represented by simple
MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS.
NEWTON created the LAW OF UNIVERSAL GRAVITY, as the MAGNIFICENT
FORCE, which CHARACTERIZED the MOTIONS of our SOLAR SYSTEM and our
!! ! !!
ENTIRE UNIVERSE, 𝐹 = 𝑔 !!
. This EQUATION revolutionized the world of

PHYSICS and our conception of the SOLAR SYSTEM. EINSTEIN went one step further
using his THEORY of RELATIVITY and his new conception of the FORCE of GRAVITY
as part of his FOUR- DIMENSIONAL SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM.

OUR MAGNIFICENT SOLAR SYSTEM WITH ALL ITS MYSTERIES

NEWTON created the new science of CALCULUS (this was also accomplished
by GOTTFRIED LEIBNIZ) as the new MATHEMATICS, which characterize MOTION
and CHANGE. Calculus facilitated the QUANTITATIVE UNDERSTANDING of the
CONCEPT of CHANGE in MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY. With
CALCULUS, NEWTON gave SCIENCE a powerful MATHEMATICAL FRAMEWORK on
which many of today’s SCIENTIFIC IDEAS are FORMULATED.
MATHEMATICS has become the LANGUAGE of SCIENCE and NATURE and it
actually DEFINES the very STRUCTURE and DYNAMICS of our UNIVERSE with
incredible INTUITIVENESS and EXQUISITE IMAGINATION and FINESSE.

21
 NEWTON was one of the greatest MATHEMATICIANS in our history and
largely self-taught by way of his own INTUITIVE MATHEMATICAL PERCEPTIONS.
NEWTON wrote PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA, the most brilliant and intuitive
book ever created in the HISTORY of SCIENCE. It was a 500-page manuscript that
took NEWTON almost two years to write. It dealt with his LAWS of MOTION, the
UNIVERSAL LAW of GRAVITY, the INVERSE SQUARE LAW ( F = 1/ r2 ) and their
relationships to our SOLAR SYSTEM and our COSMOS. The INVERSE SQUARE LAW
helped to understand the ELLIPTICAL ORBITS that our PLANETS follow around the
SUN.
He characterized the NATURE of LIGHT as a COLOR SPECTRUM, which
revolutionized our conception of LIGHT as a COMPLEX and DYNAMIC ENTITY,
instead of being just a SIMPLE and PURE WHITE LIGHT, as it was believed.
NEWTON invented a TELESCOPE that served as a MODEL for the creation of
the great TELESCOPES found today in the famous ASTRONOMIC OBSERVATORIES.

ISAAC NEWTON
THE MASTER MIND OF OUR PHYSICAL WORLD

22
 ANTOINE LAVOISIER
THE FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY
AND CREATOR OF THE LAW OF THE CONSERVATION OF MATTER













ANTOINE LAVOISIER (1743 - 1794) French Chemist.
The FOUNDER of MODERN CHEMISTRY and creator of the LAW of the
CONSERVATION of MATTER.
LAVOISIER developed the QUANTITATIVE METHOD of CHEMICAL
ANALYSIS, which allowed him to discover some of the basic properties of MATTER.
LAVOISIER created the new DEFINITIONS, NOMENCLATURE,
METHODOLOGY, and INSTRUMENTATION, which REVOLUTIONIZED the new field
of CHEMISTRY and replaced the ALCHEMY of ANTIQUITY.
LAVOISIER, LAGRANGE and LaPLACE created the METRIC SYSTEM of
WEIGHTS and MEASURES in 1795. This was a Monumental Contribution to Science.
Before LAVOISIER, ALCHEMY was the pseudoscience that pursued answering
some of the most basic questions about MATTER, NATURE and our UNIVERSE.

23
 JOHN DALTON
CREATOR OF THE ATOMIC MODEL
FROM THE CHEMISTRY POINT OF VIEW















JOHN DALTON (1766 - 1844) English Chemist.
Proposed the MODERN ATOMIC MODEL from the CHEMISTRY POINT OF
VIEW, as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF MATTER.
DALTON created the concept of the RELATIVE ATOMIC WEIGHTS in order to
give the CHEMICAL ELEMENTS a QUANTITATIVE IDENTITY.
In his ATOMIC MODEL, each CHEMICAL ELEMENT had its own KIND OF
ATOM with UNIQUE PROPERTIES.
The ATOM was an INVISIBLE, INDIVISIBLE and STABLE CHUNK of MATTER,
which constituted our ENTIRE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. This conception of the ATOM
was drastically changed by the PHYSICISTS of the 20th CENTURY.

24
 JONS J. BERZELIUS
CREATOR OF THE ATOMIC SYMBOLS & THE CHEMICAL FORMULA





















JONS J. BERZELIUS (1779 - 1848) Swedish Chemist.
Creator of the MODERN ATOMIC SYMBOLS of the CHEMICAL ELEMENTS and
the way to construct CHEMICAL FORMULAS, using the ATOMIC SYMBOLS and
NUMBER SUBSCRIPTS to quantify their ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION.
Proponent of the THEORY of CHEMICAL RADICALS as stable entities, now
known as POLYATOMIC IONS.
Prepared a TABLE of the ATOMIC WEIGHTS for the various CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS, which was very accurate by today’s standards.

HUMPHRY DAVY (1778 - 1829) English Chemist.
The founder of ELECTROCHEMISTRY.
DAVY discovered the CHEMICAL ELEMENTS POTASSIUM, SODIUM,
CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, BARIUM, STRONTIUM, BORON and a few other ELEMENTS.
Published one of the first TEXTBOOKS on AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY.

25
AMEDEO AVOGADRO (1776 - 1856) Italian Physicist.
Creator of the AVOGADRO HYPOTHESIS and AVOGADRO’S NUMBER (6.022 x
1023), which was fundamental in the understanding of the ATOMIC WEIGHTS of the
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS and other basic concepts in CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS.

DMITRI MENDELEEV
CREATOR OF THE PERIODIC TABLE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS















DMITRI MENDELEEV (1834 - 1907) Russian Chemist.
The creator of the PERIODIC TABLE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.
The chemical Elements were classified according to their Valence, Atomic
Numbers and Atomic Weights in order to facilitate their Understanding and the
creation of a SYSTEMATIC and LOGICAL ORGANIZATION.
This table became fundamental in the development of MODERN CHEMISTRY,
PHYSICS and BIOLOGY as a source of the basic properties of the CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS.

26
 FRIEDRICH A. KEKULE
FOUNDER OF THE CARBON CHEMISTRY
THE STRUCTURAL FORMULA & THE BENZENE RING























FRIEDRICH A. KEKULE (1829 - 1896) German Organic Chemist.
FOUNDER of the CARBON CHEMISTRY and MODERN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY.
Proponent of the STRUCTURAL FORMULA, which revolutionized ORGANIC
CHEMISTRY and the CHARACTERIZATION and SYNTHESIS of ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS.
Proponent of the CARBON-to-CARBON BONDS and the MULTIPLE CARBON
BONDS. Creator of the LONG HYDROCARBON CHAINS.
Introduced the CARBON RING MOLECULE and discovered the STRUCTURE of
the BENZENE RING.

27
 JACOBUS VAN’T HOFF
PROPONENT OF THE 3-D CARBON TETRAHEDRON
























JACOBUS VAN’T HOFF (1852 - 1911) Dutch Physical Chemist.
Proposed the THREE DIMENSIONAL CARBON TETRAHEDRON, which
became a fundamental unit in MODERN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY and helped to
understand MOLECULAR ASYMMETRY and OPTICAL ACTIVITY found in some
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.

WILLIAM WOLLASTON (1766 - 1828) English Chemist and Physicist.
Proposed the concept of the EQUIVALENT WEIGHT (or COMBINING
WEIGHT), which was necessary to determine the ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION of
CHEMICAL COMPOUND or SUBSTANCE.

28
 EDWARD FRANKLAND
CREATOR OF THE THEORY OF THE VALENCE















EDWARD FRANKLAND (1825 - 1899) English Chemist.
Postulated the theory of the VALENCE (or VALENCE BONDS), which
indicated the COMBINING CAPACITY of each CHEMICAL ELEMENT.
The VALENCE THEORY was used by FRIEDRICH KEKULE in the development
of his STRUCTURAL FORMULAS for the CARBON ATOM. It was also essential to
VAN’T HOFF in creating his THREE DIMENSIONAL CARBON TETRAHEDRON.

SVANTE A. ARRHENIUS (1859 - 1927) Swedish Chemist.
Proponent of the IONIZATION THEORY, which became fundamental in the
understanding of ELECTROCHEMISTRY, the CONCEPT of ELECTROLYTES and NON
ELECTROLYTES, as well as the field of PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY.
Proposed the CONCEPT of CATALYSTS, where certain CHEMICAL ELEMENTS
facilitated CHEMICAL REACTIONS without becoming part of the chemical process.

29
 FREDERICK SODDY
PROPOSED THE CONCEPT OF THE ISOTOPES















FREDERICK SODDY (1877 - 1956) English Chemist.
Proposed the concept of the ISOTOPES, which helped to understand the
presence of various species in a CHEMICAL ELEMENT.
ISOTOPES were members of the same CHEMICAL ELEMENT, with the same
ATOMIC NUMBER (the same number of PROTONS and CHEMICAL PROPERTIES) but
with different ATOMIC WEIGHTS (and different RADIOACTIVE PROPERTIES) due to
a difference in the NEUTRON CONTENT.
The concept of the ISOTOPES was also necessary to understand the evolution
of CHEMICAL ELEMENTS in RADIOACTIVE SERIES.

FRANCIS W. ASTON (1877 - 1945) English Chemist and Physicist.
Inventor of the MASS SPECTROGRAPH, which helped to confirm and expand
the concept of the ISOTOPES. He discovered many new ISOTOPES.

30
 HENRY MOSELEY
PROPOSED THE CONCEPT OF THE ATOMIC NUMBER















HENRY MOSELEY (1887 - 1915) English Physicist.
Proponent of the ATOMIC NUMBER in 1914, which represented the number
of PROTONS in the NUCLEUS of a CHEMICAL ELEMENT and gave the TRUE
IDENTITY to the various CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.
The ATOMIC NUMBER was one of the most FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT in
CHEMISTRY, which helped to organize DMITRI MENDELEEV’S PERIODIC TABLE OF
THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.
The ATOMIC NUMBER and the ATOMIC WEIGHT helped to understand the
PHYSICAL STRUCTURE of the ATOMIC NUCLEUS in terms of its PROTON and
NEUTRON CONTENT.

HENRI BECQUEREL (1852 - 1906) French Physicist.
Discovered the phenomenon of RADIOACTIVITY.

31
 WILHELM ROENTGEN
DISCOVERED THE X-RAYS
WHICH LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF X-DIFFRACTION STUDIES











WILHELM K. ROENTGEN (1845 - 1923) German Physicist.
Discovered the X-RAYS, which became a powerful tool in MEDICINE.
The X-RAYS were also used in the development of the X-RAY DIFFRACTION
TECHNIQUE to characterize the STRUCTURE of MINERALS and complex ORGANIC
MOLECULES.

MARIE CURIE (1867 - 1934) French Chemist.
PIERRE CURIE (1859 - 1906) French Chemist.
The CURIES discovered the RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS RADIUM and
POLONIUM. They also helped to advance the ideas on the phenomenon of
RADIOACTIVITY.

32
 ABSTRACT ON THE GENESIS OF THE QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL

Before embarking on the presentation of the early developments of what was to
become the prodigious chemistry of the 20th century, it is imperative to unveil the new
and fantastic UNIVERSAL PHYSICAL ENTITY (the ATOM ) that began to emerge, with
supreme splendor, in the scientific horizon of the century. An entity that was to
delineate the domain of the PHYSICAL SCIENCES with exquisite intuitiveness and
complexity. We are referring to the SUPERLATIVE PERFORMER, DIRECTOR and
CREATOR of the MAJESTIC SYMPHONY of our UNIVERSE, the NEW QUANTIZED
ATOMIC MODEL!
The concept of the ATOM as the basic BUILDING BLOCK of MATTER, owes its
origin to the fertile and creative minds of the early GREEK PHILOSOPHERS in the
Classic Greek Era, when humility and egolessness did not impair the vision of these
early RATIONALISTS and SCIENTISTS.
DEMOCRITUS, from the simple village of Abdera, holds the honor of being
among the first proponents of an ATOMIC MODEL, in the 5th century before the
Christian Era. Actually, DEMOCRITUS is regarded as one of the most successful of the
Greek Natural Philosophers, due to his uncanny accuracy and vision to predict what
was to become the SCIENCE of the MODERN WORLD.
DEMOCRITUS’ ATOMIC THEORY, a philosophical theory, presented the ATOM
(named after the Greek word meaning indivisible) as a tiny and invisible PARTICLE, so
small that nothing smaller was conceivable, hence they were indivisible. The ATOM
was ETERNAL, UNCHANGEABLE and INDESTRUCTIBLE. Besides the ATOMS, only the
VOIDS (spaces between them) existed in NATURE.
All these qualities placed the ATOM as a very UNIQUE and PROFOUND ENTITY,
located in a very special place in the UNIVERSAL scheme of things, with almost GOD-
LIKE IDENTITY.
From a modern perspective, only the concept of the VOIDS (or ethereal spaces)
raised the obvious question that has puzzled the most brilliant minds to this day: What
occupies the VOIDS? Is there such a thing as a SPACE occupied by NOTHING (or
VACUUM); or is this NOTHING the world of SUBATOMIC and SUB-SUBATOMIC

33
PARTICLES; or is this NOTHING the world of the DARK MATTER and ENERGY; or is this
NOTHING part of the STRING THEORY or part of a QUANTUM ENTITY without a
definition?
According to DEMOCRITUS and his contemporaries, everything we saw and did
not see, consisted of COMBINATIONS or BUNDLES of similar or dissimilar ATOMS. The
apparent differences among VISIBLE OBJECTS were determined by the different
PATTERNS or STRUCTURES created by the arrangement and rearrangement of these
invisible ATOMS.
DEMOCRITUS differentiated the ATOMS according to their PHYSICAL
PROPERTIES (properties that could be observed).
For example:
The ATOMS of WATER were smooth and round to allow the easy flow of liquids
and their adaptability to the size and shape of the container.
The ATOMS of FIRE were thorny and prickly to allow them to cause the pain of
burning.
The ATOMS of EARTH were rough and jagged to allow them to hold together
and create hard and stable substances.
DEMOCRITUS’ ATOMIC THEORY was so profound and creative that it remained
in the Science books for many centuries (over 20 centuries) until the English Chemist,
JOHN DALTON, proposed in 1803 his MODERN ATOMIC THEORY, which had in fact a
very strong resemblance to DEMOCRITUS’ ATOMIC THEORY.
There were however, some basic and important differences between DALTON’S
and DEMOCRITUS’ theories (besides the fact that both scientists had last names
starting with the letter D). DEMOCRITUS had essentially proposed a PHILOSOPHICAL
THEORY based on LOGISTICAL RATIONALIZATIONS and PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.
DALTON, on the other hand, had proposed a SCIENTIFIC, or CHEMICAL THEORY based
on several decades (more specifically about 150 years) of CHEMICAL
EXPERIMENTATION.
There was another important difference between these two ATOMIC
THEORIES. DEMOCRITUS differentiated his ATOMS based on PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
that were QUALITATIVE in NATURE. DALTON differentiated his ATOMS based on their

34
RELATIVE ATOMIC WEIGHTS, which were definitely a QUANTITATIVE PROPERTY that
could be calculated with mathematical precision.
There was one strong similarity between these two ATOMIC THEORIES.
DALTON’S ATOM, like DEMOCRITUS’ ATOM, also consisted of INVISIBLE, INDIVISIBLE
and STATIC PARTICLES that were SOLID, FEATURELESS, STABLE and UNIFORM.
However, this STATIC ATOMIC MODEL was going to undergo a DRAMATIC
TRANSFORMATION, with unimaginable and perplexing changes that were going to
mesmerize and fascinate the most brilliant minds of the 20th century.
DALTON’S perception of a STATIC ATOM as a SOLID and RELATIVELY PASSIVE
BUILDING BLOCK of MATTER was going to evolve into the most DYNAMIC,
INTERACTIVE and ENIGMATIC SUBMICROSCOPIC CHUNK of MATTER, capable of
producing all kinds of POWERFUL RADIATIONS and BUNDLES of ENERGY of
magnitudes that became self evident during the first explosion of the ATOMIC BOMB in
1945. This last event went far beyond our wildest IMAGINATION, as predicted by
ALBERT EINSTEIN in his famous equation, E = M C2 !
The creation and development of this new and fantastic ATOMIC MODEL of the
20th century, took place by way of several EVOLUTIONARY STEPS, as follows:
The brilliant English Physicist, J. J. THOMSON, working at the CAVENDISH
LABORATORY with the CROOKES’ VACUUM TUBE (invented by WILLIAM CROOKES in
1876) was able to identify the CATHODE RAYS (so named by the German Physicist
EUGEN GOLDSTEIN in 1876) as consisting of NEGATIVELY CHARGED PARTICLES
(later called ELECTRONS. So named by the Irish Physicist GEORGE J. STONEY in 1891),
which were much smaller than the ATOM itself, and represented the minimum unit of
electric charge.
THOMSON had just discovered the first and the new SUBATOMIC
(NEGATIVELY CHARGED) PARTICLE, the ELECTRON, which he presented to the
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY in 1897. With the discovery of the ELECTRON, THOMSON
had started the new ERA of SUBATOMIC PARTICLES and had initiated the new field of
ATOMIC and SUBATOMIC PHYSICS.

35
 With this information on the existence of a SUBATOMIC PARTICLE, the
ELECTRON, THOMSON had begun to develop an incipient conception of what was to
become the new ATOMIC MODEL from the PHYSICS point of view.
THOMSON’S ATOM was no longer a SOLID CHUNK of MATTER, but a
SUBMICROSCOPIC ENTITY with at least one kind of SUBATOMIC PARTICLE, entangled
in some fashion, within its structure.
The young and brilliant Physicist, ERNEST RUTHERFORD, working with J. J.
THOMSON at the CAVENDISH LABORATORY, was able to take the next giant steps in
the development of the new ATOMIC MODEL. This was his brilliant discovery of the
NUCLEUS and the positively charged particles, the PROTONS, during the next few
years.
RUTHERFORD was a dynamic and intuitive Experimentalist who, through a
series of methodic experiments with the ATOM and its RADIATIONS, was able to unveil,
step by step, the true structure of the ATOM and to create the FIRST APPROXIMATION
of what was to become the new ATOMIC MODEL of the 20TH CENTURY. Furthermore,
his new ATOMIC MODEL was to serve as the basis for further improvements on the
ATOMIC MODEL by brilliant Physicists, including: NIELS BOHR, MAX PLANCK, JAMES
CHADWICK, HENRY MOSELEY and ARNOLD SOMMERFELD.
The visionary work of ERNEST RUTHERFORD might inspire us to say that
RUTHERFORD had the kind of intuitiveness that compared to that of the great
MICHAEL FARADAY in the field of ELECTROMAGNETISM and that of the FATHER of
MODERN PHYSICS, ALBERT EINSTEIN in the realm of RELATIVITY.
In the late 1890’S, RUTHERFORD became interested in the new and exciting
field of RADIOACTIVITY, discovered by HENRI BECQUEREL in 1896, while
experimenting with URANIUM and its RADIATIONS (URANIC RAYS).
Like PIERRE and MARIE CURIE, RUTHERFORD suspected that the RAYS given
off by RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS like URANIUM (discovered by MARTIN KLAPROTH in
1789) and THORIUM (discovered by J. J. BERZELIUS in 1829) as well as RADIUM and
POLONIUM (discovered by PIERRE and MARIE CURIE in 1898) were not of one kind,
but consisted of several kinds of RAYS with different properties.

36
 Through his experiments with CROOKES’ TUBE and similar equipment,
RUTHERFORD was able to identify, in 1899, two kinds of RADIATIONS coming from
RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS that were affected (deflected) by a MAGNETIC FIELD. He
called the POSITIVELY CHARGED RADIATIONS, ALPHA RAYS (now called ALPHA
PARTICLES) and the NEGATIVELY CHARGED RADIATIONS, BETA RAYS (now called
BETA PARTICLES). The BETA PARTICLES turned out to be J. J. THOMSON’S
NEGATIVELY CHARGED ELECTRONS. Later on in 1900, the French Physicist PAUL
VILLARD, discovered another type of RADIATION similar to the X-RAYS (discovered by
W. ROENTGEN in 1895) that were not affected by a MAGNETIC FIELD. RUTHERFORD
named these new radiations, GAMMA RAYS.
RUTHERFORD, working with the German Physicist, HANS W. GEIGER, was able
to prove (between 1906 and 1909) conclusively that the POSITIVELY CHARGED ALPHA
PARTICLES were in fact, HELIUM NUCLEI (HELIUM ATOMS without ELECTRONS).
Later on, RUTHERFORD determined that the simplest POSITIVELY CHARGED
PARTICLES were those obtained from the HYDROGEN ATOM, which corresponded to
the FUNDAMENTAL POSITIVELY CHARGED PARTICLES, which he had discovered and
had named PROTONS.
RUTHERFORD’S discovery of the POSITIVELY CHARGED PROTONS in the early
1900’S was of paramount importance in the development of the new ATOMIC MODEL.
Up to this point in time, the new ATOMIC MODEL already had TWO of its FOUR
BASIC COMPONENTS (SUBATOMIC PARTICLES), i.e. THOMSON’S NEGATIVELY
CHARGED and very small ELECTRONS and RUTHERFORD’S POSITIVELY CHARGED
and very large PROTONS. (The size ratio between an ELECTRON and a PROTON is
1/1837).
The Professor, THOMSON, and his New Zealand Student, RUTHERFORD, were
getting closer and closer to their ultimate objective, their new ATOMIC MODEL.
One of the most decisive and significant moments in the history of ATOMIC
PHYSICS appeared between 1906, 1908 and 1911. RUTHERFORD had the incredibly
intuitive and perceptive idea of firing ALPHA PARTICLES at a very thin sheet of GOLD
(only one fifty-thousandths of an inch thick) to try to ascertain, somehow, the
submicroscopic and enigmatic structure of our little friend, the elusive ATOM.

37
 During this experiment, RUTHERFORD observed two very significant events:
One – Most of the POSITIVELY CHARGED ALPHA PARTICLES passed through
the GOLD sheet as if nothing was there. And that is exactly what it was, because the
ATOM consisted mostly of a vast amount of EMPTY SPACE. (It should be added that
this apparent EMPTY SPACE, might be essential in maintaining the ATOM’S
INTEGRITY).
Two – Very few of the POSITIVELY CHARGED ALPHA PARTICLES were very
strongly deflected at RIGHT ANGLE (or even more), as if they had encountered a
POSITIVELY CHARGED and MASSIVE CHUNK OF MATTER. And that is exactly what
had occurred. The ALPHA PARTICLES had collided with a POSITIVELY CHARGED
MASSIVE OBJECT capable of strongly rejecting and deflecting them. RUTHERFORD,
very appropriately, had concluded by 1911 that the ALPHA PARTICLES had collided
with what was to become the NUCLEUS of the ATOM, a POSITIVELY CHARGED chunk
of MATTER containing the POSITIVELY CHARGED PROTONS. EUREKA! RUTHERFORD
had found the NUCLEUS. THOMSON and RUTHERFORD were almost at their point of
destiny!
Now, the new MODEL of the ATOM had THREE of its FOUR BASIC
COMPONENTS (SUBATOMIC UNITS). A CENTRAL UNIT, the NUCLEUS, containing most
of the ATOMIC MASS and consisting of the POSITIVELY CHARGED and very large
PROTONS, and then a CLOUD of NEGATIVELY CHARGED and very small ELECTRONS,
wandering somehow, around the POSITIVELY CHARGED NUCLEUS.
Here, we have a marvelous example of a scenario where the WHOLE ENTITY
(the ATOM) was definitely worth much more than the SUM OF ITS PARTS!
Our elusive and enigmatic little ATOM was more than just a NUCLEUS,
PROTONS and ELECTRONS. Our prodigious ATOM was starting to look more like a
GOD! It was becoming a miniature replica of our own SOLAR SYSTEM, i.e. a CENTRAL
SUN orbited by the various PLANETS along distinct ORBITS and without falling apart!
The ATOM was almost exactly that, a POSITIVELY CHARGED NUCLEUS orbited by a
CLOUD of NEGATIVELY CHARGED ELECTRONS, along distinct ORBITS, without
colliding and without disintegrating or falling apart.

38
 This unified ATOM was possible by virtue of the innate attraction between the
POSITIVE and NEGATIVE CHARGES of the PROTONS and ELECTRONS, respectively,
and by the VAST AMOUNT of EMPTY SPACE that was the PREDOMINANT CHARACTER
in the STRUCTURE of the ATOM.
In 1911, ERNEST RUTHERFORD presented to the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY his
MODERN ATOMIC MODEL from the PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW, with a well-deserved
sense of joy and pride. A model that was indeed well received by the world at large!
The young and brilliant Student from down yonder, ERNEST RUTHERFORD,
had after all, taken the right decision when he chose to pick SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
from the ATOM, rather than to pick POTATOES from his father’s fields in New Zealand!
ERNEST RUTHERFORD received the 1908 NOBEL PRIZE in CHEMISTRY and his
Professor J. J. THOMSON received the 1906 NOBEL PRIZE in PHYSICS for their
marvelous accomplishments.
Notwithstanding, the MODERN ATOMIC MODEL was not yet complete. Our
little friend, the ATOM, was too subtle, elusive and enigmatic to reveal the true nature
of its structure and dynamics so soon, and without a monumental effort on the part of
aspiring brilliant Physicists!
The decisive and definitive move in the development of the new ATOMIC
MODEL was accomplished by the young and brilliant Physicist from the LOWLANDS of
Europe (the land of CANALS and WINDMILLS), NIELS HENRIK BOHR, who worked
with J. J. THOMSON and later with ERNEST RUTHERFORD at the CAVENDISH
LABORATORY.
NIELS BOHR was familiar with RUTHERFORD’S new ATOMIC MODEL proposed
in 1911. He was also acquainted with the new QUANTUM THEORY, advanced in 1900
by the German Physicist MAX PLANCK. Here, PLANCK had suggested that ENERGY, like
MATTER, came in BUNDLES or PACKETS, which he named QUANTUM OF ENERGY
(from the Latin word QUANTUS, meaning quantity or amount).
BOHR had the intuitive and brilliant idea of integrating RUTHERFORD’S
ATOMIC MODEL with PLANCK’S QUANTUM THEORY, in order to create his new
QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL with a more specific structure and mechanics, or MODUS
OPERANDI.

39
 This new parameter of QUANTUM ENERGY, allowed BOHR to explain what was
happening in the SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES of the CHEMICAL ELEMENTS, relative to
the ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRA that ATOMS were producing when heated or
energized.
These SPECTRAL LINES produced by ATOMS (CHEMICAL ELEMENTS) were
first discovered in 1814, by the German Physicist JOSEPH VON FRAUNHOFER, while
studying the SUN LIGHT SPECTRUM produced by PRISMS. The German Chemists,
ROBERT BUNSEN and GUSTAV KIRCHHOFF, were able to amplify the knowledge on
LIGHT SPECTRA with the TECHNIQUE OF SPECTROSCOPY that they had invented in
1859-1860.
With this brilliant scientific stroke, BOHR had created by 1913, his new
QUANTIZED MODEL OF THE ATOM. In BOHR’S MODEL, the ORBITS occupied by the
ELECTRONS were located at FIXED DISTANCES from the NUCLEUS and had specific
ENERGY LEVELS, or QUANTUM OF ENERGY, which also identified the QUANTUM
ENERGY of the ELECTRONS.
BOHR went on to propose that the ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATIONS (in the
form of PHOTONS of ENERGY) produced by ATOMS (SPECTRUM) were created only
when ELECTRONS changed ORBITS, which meant that their ENERGY STATUS, or
QUANTUM LEVEL had also changed. In addition, this indicated that when ELECTRONS
changed ORBITS, they emitted or absorbed specific, or fixed amounts of ENERGY,
consisting of WHOLE QUANTUM. (And therefore there was no fractionation of ENERGY
LEVELS.)
Furthermore, BOHR proposed that when an ELECTRON jumped to a new
ORBIT, further away from the NUCLEUS, the ATOM ABSORBED the exact ENERGY
(PHOTONS) needed to induce this jump; and when an ELECTRON moved to an ORBIT
closer to the NUCLEUS, the ATOM EMITTED the ENERGY (PHOTON) no longer
required (the ENERGY DIFFERENCE between the two ORBITS). In other words, ATOMS
did not ABSORB or EMIT RADIATIONS as long as the ELECTRONS maintained their
ORBITS. In contrast, the ELECTRONS changed ORBITS only when a given QUANTUM
OF ENERGY was attained (when the ELECTRON was in an excited state.).

40
 BOHR went on to propose that when an ATOM had multiple ELECTRONS, they
had to exist in SHELLS.
One of BOHR’S most intuitive ideas (especially in the field of CHEMISTRY) was
that the ELECTRON CONTENT of the OUTER MOST ORBIT, or SHELL, was the most
significant factor in determining the CHEMICAL PROPERTIES of the various
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS (or how ATOMS reacted and combined with each other). This
also included the kinds of CHEMICAL BONDS that developed between various ATOMS
or CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.
The child prodigy and Austrian-American Physicist, WOLFGANG PAULI used in
1925 this concept to reinforce the virtues of MENDELEEV’S PERIODIC TABLE. He
indicated that the reason why the ELEMENTS in the first COLUMN, or GROUP
(LITHIUM, SODIUM, POTASSIUM, RUBIDIUM and CESIUM) had similar CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES was because they had a single ELECTRON (a VALENCE of one) in the
OUTERMOST ORBIT. The same scenario appeared with the ELEMENTS in the second
COLUMN, which had a VALENCE of two, and so on.
The concept of the ATOMIC NUMBER, proposed in 1914 by the brilliant English
Physicist, HENRY MOSELEY, was another supportive factor in MENDELEEV’S
PERIODIC TABLE and in BOHR’S marvelous new QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL.
In his new QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL, BOHR had proposed CIRCULAR
ELECTRON ORBITS. It was the German Physicist, ARNOLD SOMMERFELD, who
proposed in 1916 the idea of using ELLIPTICAL ORBITS in BOHR’S new ATOM. In so
doing, SOMMERFELD went on to apply ALBERT EINSTEIN’S RELATIVITY THEORY to
BOHR’S ATOM and its speeding ELECTRONS.
It is most interesting to see EINSTEIN’S RELATIVITY THEORY and PLANCK’S
QUANTUM THEORY become integrated into the marvelous structure and mechanics of
BOHR’S prodigious new QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL.
It was ALBERT EINSTEIN who gave us our ENERGY/MATTER CONTINUUM in
terms of LIGHT (E=MC2). This was the GENIUS of MAN at work. EINSTEIN also changed
NEWTONIAN PHYSICS into his RELATIVISTIC PHYSICS, which transformed the way we
understand our UNIVERSE today.

41
 It was fantastically amazing that BOHR’S new ATOMIC MODEL was then used
to explain SPECTROSCOPIC ATOMIC DATA, and that in turn SPECTROSCOPY was used
to characterize the INTERNAL STRUCTURE of our enigmatic ATOM.
In 1932, the brilliant English Physicist, SIR JAMES CHADWICK, made the
marvelous discovery of the last missing link, or chip, in the ATOMIC PUZZLE.
CHADWICK had found the FOURTH elusive SUBATOMIC PARTICLE, the NEUTRON.
With the discovery of the NEUTRON, the new ATOMIC MODEL from the
PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW had finally been COMPLETED and had attained its UNIFIED
STRUCTURE and BEHAVIOR.

THE COMPLETE ATOM
THE NUCLEUS WITH ITS PROTONS AND NEUTRONS
AND THE ORBITS WITH THEIR ELECTRONS

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 The discovery of the NEUTRON was extremely significant in ATOMIC and
PARTICLE PHYSICS for two main reasons: The NEUTRON was ELECTRICALLY
NEUTRAL and it had an ATOMIC MASS of ONE, similar to that of the PROTON.
The puzzling question, or questions, that were beginning to create a very
discordant note pertaining to the NUCLEUS in the ATOM, where two:
First question. In a NEUTRAL ATOM, the number of PROTONS (POSITIVE
CHARGES) in the nucleus had to be the same as the number of ELECTRONS (NEGATIVE
CHARGES) on the orbits in order to maintain a BALANCED and NEUTRAL CHARGE.
However, if that was the case, then the PROTONS in the NUCLEUS were not enough to
account for the NUCLEAR MASS. Consequently, there was a need for the NUCLEUS to
contain another SUBATOMIC PARTICLE that had a mass similar to that of the
PROTON, but without a CHARGE. This SUBATOMIC PARTICLE was precisely the
NEUTRON, which had those characteristics. With the NEUTRON, the MASS and the
CHARGES in the NUCLEUS and in the whole ATOM could now be easily explained and
fully justified.
For example, the HELIUM NUCLEUS provided us with a typically disconcerting
scenario, unless the NEUTRON was included in the explanation. The HELIUM NUCLEUS
had a CHARGE equal to two PROTONS, but a MASS equal to four PARTICLES, each with
a MASS of ONE. The two PROTONS could only account for a MASS of TWO. Then what
could account for the other two units of MASS without increasing the POSITIVE
CHARGES in the NUCLEUS? The answer came in lucid colors from our new member of
the NUCLEAR FAMILY, the NEUTRON. Two NEUTRONS with a MASS of TWO and with
NO CHARGES provided the magic answer!
This is in fact what the HELIUM NUCLEUS had, TWO PROTONS providing the
TWO POSITIVE CHARGES needed to NEUTRALIZE the TWO NEGATIVE CHARGES of the
two ORBITING ELECTRONS. The TWO PROTONS plus TWO NEUTRONS present,
provided the MASS of FOUR that was required. EUREKA, this part of the puzzle was
finally solved.
The second question was. How could the NUCLEUS in the ATOM, having only
POSITIVELY CHARGED PROTONS, keep from exploding and maintain its integrity?
Presumably, our new SUBATOMIC PARTICLE, the NEUTRON provided the answer.

43
Apparently, with its relatively large MASS and no CHARGES, the NEUTRON could
supply just enough BUFFER CAPACITY in the NUCLEUS to keep the PROTONS from
repelling each other, and thus maintain the needed integrity of the ATOM.
The NEUTRON could also offer another fabulous service. Being ELECTRICALLY
NEUTRAL, the NEUTRON could be used as a SUBATOMIC BULLET to bombard the
large NUCLEI of certain CHEMICAL ELEMENTS and provoke NUCLEAR FISSION and
the release of large amounts of NUCLEAR ENERGY in accordance to ALBERT
EINSTEIN’S famous equation, E = M C 2.
In 1938, OTTO HAHN and LISE MEITNER created the first NUCLEAR FISSION of
the URANIUM ATOM, using NEUTRONS as SUBATOMIC BULLETS.
In 1942, the Italian Physicist, ENRICO FERMI, built the first ATOMIC REACTOR
and created the first NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION with URANIUM-235; also using
NEUTRONS as NUCLEAR BULLETS to start the NUCLEAR FISSION CHAIN REACTION.
All these efforts culminated with the creation, in 1945, of the first ATOMIC
BOMBS (FAT MAN and LITTLE BOY) by the LOS ALAMOS PROJECT, under the brilliant
leadership of the American Physicist, ROBERT OPPENHEIMER.
NIELS BOHR was among the first to predict that the rare RADIOISOTOPE,
URANIUM-235 (discovered in 1935 by ARTHUR J. DEMPSTER) would be an excellent
RADIOACTIVE CHEMICAL ELEMENT to use for NUCLEAR FISSION.
NIELS BOHR received the 1922 NOBEL PRIZE in PHYSICS, for the creation of his
magnificent QUANTIFIED ATOMIC MODEL. In 1957 BOHR was also given the first
ATOM FOR PEACE AWARD.
Whether or not, we now have the true and final ATOMIC MODEL, remains to be
determined by the brilliant Scientists of the 21st century.
With the proposal in 1900 of the QUANTUM THEORY by MAX PLANCK, the
creation in 1927 of the UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE by WERNER HEISENBERG, and the
constant release of new and fantastic theories, including the STRING THEORY of our
UNIVERSAL MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM, it has become very evident that there are
actually more questions than answers, relative to the elusive and enigmatic entity of
the ATOM. As long as the intuitive and creative minds of brilliant Scientists continue at
work, there will always be more questions than answers.

44
 I am afraid that the definitive and ultimate ATOMIC MODEL still awaits in the
future, ready to challenge our human imagination and creativity with even more
perplexing and unimaginable predicaments. The nature of the ATOM is that complex.
In this context, we may add that in synthesis, the differences between an
ELEMENT, an ISOTOPE and an ATOM may be illustrated as follows:
The atoms in an ELEMENT, all have the same ATOMIC NUMBER (or the same
number of PROTONS in their nuclei) and therefore all of the ATOMS have the same
chemical identity and properties.
The ATOMS in an ELEMENT may have different ATOMIC WEIGHTS (or different
number of NEUTRONS in their nuclei) and this creates the different ISOTOPES in an
ELEMENT with the same chemical properties but different nuclear properties or
radioactive properties.
The ATOMS in an ELEMENT may all have the same ATOMIC NUMBER and the
same ATOMIC WEIGHT but the INDIVIDUAL ATOMS may still exhibit small variations
in their ATOMIC WEIGHTS due to different amounts of PACKING or BINDING ENERGY
in their nuclei. This is what gives the INDIVIDUAL ATOMS some of their UNIQUENESS
The ATOMS in an ELEMENT may all have the same ATOMIC NUMBER and the
same ATOMIC WEIGHT but the INDIVIDUAL ATOMS may still exhibit some variation in
their ELECTRON and BOND CONFIGURATION, which gives the INDIVIDUAL ATOMS an
added level of UNIQUENESS, as well as their PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL and BIOCHEMICAL
CAPABILITIES.
In the last analysis the ATOMIC WEIGHT of an ELEMENT as given in the
PERIODIC TABLE represents the AVERAGE ATOMIC WEIGHT of many of their
CONSTITUTING INDIVIDUAL ATOMS.
The Author

45
JOSEPH J. THOMSON (1856 - 1940) English Physicist.
Discovered the NEGATIVELY CHARGED SUBATOMIC PARTICLE, the
ELECTRON of the ATOM. With the ELECTRON, THOMSON started the new field of
PARTICLE PHYSICS and transformed the ATOM into a more COMPLEX ENTITY and
into a WORLD of its own.


ATOMIC MODEL
FROM THE PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW























THE ATOM IS THE FABULOUS CHUNK OF MATTER-ENERGY
CONTINUUM THAT REPRESENTS A PIECE OF THE SUN AND THE
EMBODIMENT OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

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 ERNEST RUTHERFORD
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF ATOMIC PHYSICS
PROPOSED THE FIRST ATOMIC MODEL FROM
THE PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW















ERNEST RUTHERFORD (1871 - 1937) British Physicist.
One of the FOUNDERS of MODERN ATOMIC PHYSICS.
Discovered the NUCLEUS and proposed his THEORY of the NUCLEAR ATOM.
Discovered the PROTONS, which gave the NUCLEUS its IDENTITY as a
POSITIVELY CHARGED STRUCTURE in the ATOM.
Proposed the first ATOMIC MODEL from the PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW, which
NIELS BOHR used in the creation of his NEW QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL.
RUTHERFORD’S ATOM consisted of a NUCLEUS with POSITIVELY CHARGED
PROTONS orbited by NEGATIVELY CHARGED ELECTRONS
The ATOM was no longer a SOLID CHUNK OF STABLE MATTER but a
DYNAMIC ENTITY consisting of PROTONS and ELECTRONS.

47
 NIELS H. BOHR
PROPONENT OF THE QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL
FROM THE PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW















NIELS H. BOHR (1885 - 1962) Danish Physicist.
One of the FOUNDERS of MODERN ATOMIC PHYSICS.
Proponent of the QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL from the PHYSICS POINT OF
VIEW. BOHR created his new ATOMIC MODEL by UNITING RUTHERFORD’S ATOMIC
MODEL with PLANCK’S QUANTUM MECHANICS.
The QUANTIZED ATOMIC MODEL helped to explain the SPECTRUM produced
by an ELEMENT and the ENERGY EXCHANGES that took place when ELECTRONS
moved between ORBITS with specific QUANTA of ENERGY. If an ELECTRON moved
AWAY from the NUCLEUS the ATOM ABSORBED ENERGY and VICE VERSA.
With BOHR’S QUANTIZED ATOM the SPECTRUM became the FINGER PRINT
of each CHEMICAL ELEMENT.

48
 MAX PLANCK
THE CREATOR OF THE QUANTUM THEORY
WHICH REVOLUTIONIZED THE WORLD OF PHYSICS















MAX K. PLANCK (1858 - 1947) German Physicist.
Proponent of the QUANTUM THEORY, which suggested that ENERGY, like
MATTER, came in CHUNKS or BUNDLES of ENERGY (or QUANTA) with DISCRETE
VALUES. PLANCK’S QUANTUM THEORY resulted in the DEVELOPMENT of the NEW
QUANTUM MECHANICS, which REVOLUTIONIZED the WORLD of PHYSICS in the
20th CENTURY.

JAMES CHADWICK (1891 - 1974) English Physicist.
Discovered the neutral SUBATOMIC PARTICLE, or NEUTRON of the ATOM.
The discovery of the NEUTRON completed the STRUCTURE of our MODERN
ATOMIC MODEL and helped to explain the existence of the chemical ISOTOPES as
well as the difference between the ATOMIC NUMBER and the ATOMIC WEIGHT.

49
 THE ENERGY OF THE ATOM (E = MC2)
HOW CAN SOMETHING SO SMALL CONTAIN SO MUCH ENERGY???

50
 ALBERT EINSTEIN
THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
THE FOUNDER OF MODERN PHYSICS















ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879 - 1955) German Physicist.
The FOUNDER of MODERN PHYSICS who gave SPACE and TIME a NEW and
FANTASTIC IDENTITY, which PHYSICISTS are still trying to UNDERSTAND. With his
THEORY of RELATIVITY, EINSTEIN made SPACE-TIME a 4-DIMENSIONAL
CONTINUUM with very UNIQUE PROPERTIES and the FABRIC of the UNIVERSE.
Proposed the SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY, where he developed the
relationship between ENERGY, MATTER and LIGHT, with his equation, E = MC2.
Proposed the GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY, where he dealt with the
FORCE of GRAVITY and its FUNCTION and PERFORMANCE in our COSMOS.
EINSTEIN gave GRAVITY its IDENTITY as a UNIVERSAL FORCE that HELD
our UNIVERSE together. GRAVITY was defined by the GEOMETRY of our SPACE.

51
 ALESSANDRO VOLTA
INVENTED THE BATTERY & CREATED THE ELECTRIC CURRENT



















VOLTA DEMONSTRATES HIS BATTERY & ELECTRIC CURRENT
TO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

52
ALESSANDRO VOLTA (1745 - 1827) Italian Physicist.
Invented the ELECTRIC BATTERY and created the ELECTRIC CURRENT (or
DYNAMIC ELECTRICITY) in 1800, which completely revolutionized the scientific
world.
ELECTRICITY and the ELECTRIC CURRENT provides the ENERGY that

powers most of our modern inventions, including the TELEGRAPH, TELEPHONE,

RADIO, TELEVISION, RADAR, MOVIE PROJECTORS, ELECTRIC LIGHTS, ELECTRIC

MOTORS and the marvelous world of ELECTRONICS and COMPUTERS.

MICHAEL FARADAY
PROPONENT OF THE CONCEPT OF ELECTROMAGNETISM













MICHAEL FARADAY (1791 - 1867) English Physicist.
Proposed a theory in which he unified ELECTRICITY and MAGNETISM into
the phenomenon of ELECTROMAGNETISM as a FUNDAMENTAL source of ENERGY.
LIGHT was established as an ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE.
It was JAMES C. MAXWELL who proved MATHEMATICALLY that FARADAY
was correct and that ELECTRICITY and MAGNETISM were two aspects of the SAME
UNITY.

53
JAMES CLERK MAXWELL (1831 - 1879) Scottish Mathematician and Physicist.
Proponent of the KINETIC ENERGY of GASES, indicating that MOLECULES in
GASES moved in all directions and at all velocities.
Created the MATHEMATICS to explain the CONCEPT of
ELECTROMAGNETISM, which proved that FARADAY was correct in his assumptions.

JOSEPH HENRY (1797 - 1878) American Physicist.
Created the ELECTRIC MOTOR and the ELECTROMAGNET.

THOMAS ALVA EDISON
SUCCESS IS 1% INSPIRATION and 99% PERSPIRATION
THE CREATOR OF THE ELECTRIC LIGHT














THOMAS ALVA EDISON (1847 - 1931) American Inventor.
The MASTER INVENTOR of the WORLD.
The creator of the ELECTRIC LIGHT and many other MAGNIFICENT
INVENTIONS. EDISON POPULARIZED the use of the DIRECT ELECTRIC CURRENT as
a SOURCE of ENERGY.

54
 NIKOLA TESLA
DEVELOPED THE MODERN ALTERNATING ELECTRIC CURRENT













NIKOLA TESLA (1856 -1943 ) American Electrical Engineer.
Developed the modern concept of the ALTERNATING ELECTRIC CURRENT,
which became more PRACTICAL than the DIRECT CURRENT proposed by EDISON.

SAMUEL MORSE (1791 - 1872) American Inventor.
Created the TELEGRAPH and the MORSE CODE.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (1847 - 1922) Scottish-American Inventor.
Invented the TELEPHONE, or TALKING WIRE.

MARCHESE MARCONI (1874 - 1937) Italian Electrical Engineer.
Inventor of the WIRELESS RADIO COMMUNICATION.

55
 ERNST RUSKA’S A MODERN
ELECTRON MICROSCOPE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE












ERNST A. RUSKA (1906 - 1988) German Electrical Engineer.
JAMES HILLIER (1915 - 2007) Canadian-American Physicist.
VLADIMIR ZWORYKIN (1889 - 1982) Russian-American Physicist.
These three previous scientists invented, individually, the ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE, which penetrated and brought to light the MAGNIFICENT
SUBMICROSCOPIC WORLD that has fascinated the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ever
since.

CHARLES G. BARKLA (1877 - 1944) English Physicist.
MAX VON LAUE (1879 - 1960) German Physicist.
WILLIAM H. BRAGG (1862 - 1942) English Physicist.
WILLIAM L. BRAGG (1890 - 1971) English Physicist.
HENRY MOSELEY (1887 - 1915) American Physicist.
These five previous scientists characterized the nature of X-RAYS and
created, individually, the X-RAY DIFFRACTION TECHNIQUE, which helped to
characterize the structure of many COMPLEX MOLECULES and MINERALS.

56
GYORGY HEVESY (1885 - 1966) Hungarian Chemist.
RUDOLF SCHOENHEIMER (1898 - 1941) German-American Biochemist.
These two previous scientists developed, individually, the RADIOISOTOPE
TRACING TECHNIQUE, which facilitated many GREAT DISCOVERIES in the fields of
CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.

MIKHAIL TSVETT (1872 - 1919) Russian-Italian Chemist.
RICHARD WILLSTATTER (1872 - 1942) German Chemist.
FRANK H. SPEDDING (1902 - 1984) American Chemist.
ARCHER J. MARTIN (1910 - 2002) English Biochemist.
RICHARD L. SYNGE (1914 - 1994) English Biochemist.
These five previous scientists developed CHROMATOGRAPHY as an
ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE, which helped to isolate and characterize the NATURE of
many complex molecules, especially the MAGNIFICENT MOLECULES of LIFE, DNA
and RNA.

THOMAS GRAHAM (1805 - 1869) Scottish Physical Chemist.
FOUNDER of COLLOIDAL CHEMISTRY.
Pioneered the studies on DIFFUSION, DIALYSIS and OSMOSIS as
ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES, which contributed significantly to the understanding of
some of the most important PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL and BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES.

ALBERT CLAUDE (1898 - 1983) Belgian-American Cytologist.
GEORGE E. PALADE (1912 - 2008) Canadian-American Physiologist.
CHRISTIAN De DUVE (1917 - 2013) Belgian Cytologist.
These three previous scientists pioneered the use of the ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE in the study of the STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY of the CELL.

57
 THE CELL UNDER THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

EMIL H. FISCHER (1852 - 1919) German Chemist.
Characterized the chemical structure of SUGARS and PURINES.
Characterized the chemical structure of AMINO ACIDS and PROTEINS.

HANS FISCHER (1881 - 1945) German Chemist.
Characterized the chemical structure of the HEME MOLECULE.
Characterized the chemical structure of the CHLOROPHYLL MOLECULE.

58
 THE CHLOROPHYLL MOLECULE
WITH ITS CENTRAL Mg ATOM

59
 MELVIN CALVIN
CHARACTERIZED THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS















MELVIN CALVIN (1911 - 1997) American Biochemist.
Characterized the entire process of PHOTOSYNTHESIS, which is one of the
most fundamental and magnificent BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES of LIFE in our
PLANET. This was truly a prodigious accomplishment in the field of BIOCHEMISTRY.

FREDERICK G. HOPKINS (1861 - 1947) English Biochemist.
WILLIAM C. ROSE (1887 - 1985) American Biochemist.
These two previous scientists developed the concepts of ESSENTIAL AMINO
ACIDS and VITAMINS.
ROSE identified that there were 8 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS for HUMANS
and calculated their MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENTS.

60



















HANS A. KREBS (1900 - 1981) German-British Biochemist.
Characterized the KREBS’ CYCLE as one of the most significant ENERGY
PRODUCING PROCESSES, in the form of ATP, within the MITOCHONDRIA of CELLS.

PHOEBUS A. LEVENE (1869 - 1940) Russian-American Chemist.
First to identify the NUCLEIC ACIDS, RNA and DNA.
Identified the NUCLEOTIDES as the BUILDING BLOCKS of NUCLEIC ACIDS.

PETER D. MITCHELL (1920 - 1992) English Chemist.
Identified the MITOCHONDRIA as the ENERGY FACTORY in CELLS.
Characterized the ENERGY TRANSFER MECHANISM in CELLS and the
production of ATP with its HIGH ENERGY PHOSPHATE BONDS.

FREDERICK SANGER (1918 - 2013) English Biochemist.
Characterized and synthesized the INSULIN molecule.
Determined the AMINO ACID SEQUENCE in PROTEIN MOLECULES.
Determined the NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE in the DNA MOLECULE.

61
 ERWIN CHARGAFF
THE FOUR NITROGENOUS BASES IN THE NUCLEIC ACIDS

ERWIN CHARGAFF (1905 - 2002) Austrian-American Biochemist.
Characterized the four NITROGENOUS BASES in THE NUCLEIC ACIDS, which
helped CRICK and WATSON in the creation of their DOUBLE HELIX DNA MOLECULE.

MAURICE H. WILKINS (1916 - 2004) New Zealand-British Physicist.
Used X-RAY DIFFRACTION to characterize the CHEMICAL STRUCTURE of the
DNA MOLECULE, which became very useful to CRICK and WATSON in their
development the DOUBLE HELIX DNA MOLECULE.

62
 FRANCIS H. CRICK
CREATED WITH JAMES WATSON THE MODEL OF THE
DOUBLE HELIX DNA MOLECULE

















FRANCIS H. CRICK (1916 - 2004) English Biochemist.
JAMES D. WATSON (1928 - ) American Biochemist.
These two previous scientists developed the model of the DOUBLE HELIX
DNA MOLECULE, which created a NEW REVOLUTION in GENETICS and in the
BIOLOGICAL WORLD at large, as a fantastic source of BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION.
DNA is the MOLECULE of LIFE, which CONTROLS the MAGNIFICENT
PROCESS of HEREDITY.

63
 CLOSING STATEMENTS
As I think about the sciences of PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY, I feel
compelled to express, with sincere conviction, that MATHEMATICS is not only the
language of the sciences and nature, but a kind of intellectual and scientific poetry
written in numbers. MATHEMATICS allows scientists to express with sublime beauty
the complicated nature of the sciences with astonishing simplicity, brevity and
exactitude. MATHEMATICS EMBRACES and DEFINES with GREAT EXACTITUDE and
INTUITIVENESS the very ESSENCE and MEANING of NATURE, LIFE and our
UNIVERSE.
Here we have a long sentence, which one of my perceptive students has named
a “MARTINI-ISM”, designed to hopefully add to the text some degree of entertainment
and perspective.
I am also reminded that at the end of the day, when the night comes and we
find ourselves alone with our thoughts in the solitude of our space and time, it is not
the wealth and possessions we have, but the intellectual, moral and spiritual
experiences that give substance and meaning to our lives.
Let us add that the sciences of PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY are
fundamentally responsible for creating the fantastic developments that have elevated
and enriched our environment from the PRIMITIVE COMMUNITIES of ANTIQUITY and
the MIDDLE AGES, to the CIVILIZED COMMUNITIES of the RENAISSANCE and the
MARVELOUS and FANTASTIC CITIES of the 21st CENTURY. The cities of today are
rejoicing with conveniences in COMMUNICATION, TRANSPORTATION,
COMPUTATIONAL and ANALYTICAL POWERS, MEDICINE, NUTRITION, EDUCATION
and ENERGY SOURCES, which have surpassed our scientific expectations beyond our
wildest imagination. We are in fact at the threshold of creating and discovering the
almost unattainable and unimaginable ideas and entities hidden in the depths of
MATTER and NATURE.

64
 Think of it for a moment, during the last decades we have evolved,
From a simple society with:
Hammers and saws, pony express communication, horse-pulled wagons, ox-
pulled plows, canoe navigation and transportation, pigeon messengers and alchemistic
science and medicine.
To a modern society with:
A communication system of telegraphs, telephones, radios, televisions, cell
phones and computers.
A transportation system of ships, submarines, trains, automobiles, airplanes
and rockets leading to our dream of space travel.
A gamut of scientific wonders in the form of electron microscopes, x-ray
machines, radioactive isotopes, sophisticated analytical instruments, robots and an
array of motors and engines to do our work fast, tireless and conveniently.
And most significantly we enjoy a variety of sources of energy and electricity in
the form of coal, natural gas, petroleum oil, nuclear reactors, hydroelectric plants,
windmills and the fantastic solar energy collectors of the future!
The HUMAN DILEMMA of the future is, what do we do with our SCIENTIFIC
CREATIVITY versus the HUMANITY of SOCIETY?
Many of our SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS are without a doubt, a PRODIGIOUS
ASSET TO MANKIND; however, our scientific creativity must make a paramount effort
to maintain a healthy equilibrium with our FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL NEEDS and the
development of the HUMANITIES, in order to keep SCIENCE and SOCIETY in BALANCE
and HARMONY!
We do not want for our ultimate success to be the devastation of our HUMAN
and ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITIES, and in the end, MAN’S SELF-DESTRUCTION.
Fortunately, we are born with a DIVINE AND POWERFUL GIFT, as embodied in
the following sentence: what the HUMAN MIND CAN CREATE, the HUMAN
CHARACTER CAN CONTROL for the benefit of HUMANITY.
The author has created this book, THE RENAISSANCE OF SCIENCE, THE STORY
OF THE CELL AND BIOLOGY, with the sincere hope that this TRUE LABOR OF LOVE

65
also TRANSLATES in the reader’s mind, into the LOVE FOR LEARNING and the desire
to strive for KNOWLEDGE, DIGNITY, DEDICATION and COMPASSION.
Keep in mind that HUMANITY, NATURE and TIME are among the MOST
PRECIOUS GIFTS that we poses and we must CHERISHED THEM with GREAT ZEST and
PASSION.
I guess TEACHERS never die, they just keep on sharing their HOPES and
DREAMS!
The Author


THIS IS HUMANITY, NATURE AND TIME AT ITS BEST
THIS IS SCIENCE AND SOCIETY IN BALANCE AND HARMONY

THIS IS OUR UNIVERSE EXPRESSED IN TERRESTRIAL FORMS.

66
 SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT

VELOCITY ( Km/hr ) TIME REQUIRED TO COVER ONE Km

Km/hr Km/hr hr/Km hr/Km

1 100 100 1

10 101 10-1 0.1

100 102 10-2 0.01

1000 103 10-3 0.001

10000 104 10-4 0.0001

100000 105 10-5 0.00001

1000000 106 10-6 0.000001

10000000 107 10-7 0.0000001

100000000 108 10-8 0.00000001

1000000000 109 10-9 0.000000001

WHEN THE VELOCITY OF AN OBJECT APPROACHES INFINITY, THEN THE TIME
REQUIRED BY THE OBJECT TO COVER A UNIT-DISTANCE APPROACHES ZERO
OR A NOTHINGNESS. WHAT HAPPEN TO THE CONCEPTS OF TIME AND SPACE
(AS WELL AS ENERGY AND MATTER) AT THIS POINT ?? HERE WE HAVE
ANOTHER OF THOSE EVER-PRESENT ASYMPTOTES!!

67
 ABSTRACT ON THE GENESIS OF AN ORDERLY AND SYSTEMATIC
UNIVERSE

Since the DAWN OF HISTORY and the THINKING HUMAN BEING,
PHILOSOPHERS and SCIENTISTS came to the realization that there was indeed a
NATURAL and FUNDAMENTAL ORDER in structure and function, which guided our
magnificent UNIVERSE with exquisite SIMPLICITY, UNITY and HARMONY.
The PHILOSOPHERS and SCIENTISTS of the CLASSIC GREEK ERA were among
the first to leave us a FABULOUS LEGACY, which testified with great creativity to their
awareness of a world that exhibited an incredible organization, which was self evident
at all levels of abstraction and observation.
We could venture to suggest that the development of the SCIENCES was
possible and owes its prodigious success to this innate and marvelous SENSE OF
ORGANIZATION in NATURE, which complies with the deceptively simple NATURAL
LAWS and MATHEMATICAL FORMULATIONS and their GREAT POWER and
BEAUTIFUL PRECISION.
ENERGY and MATTER are observed in NATURE, following an ORDERLY and
SYSTEMATIC PERIODICITY and SYMMETRY, which have surprised SCIENTISTS at
every turn. The behavior and performance of PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL and BIOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS also occur in accordance to NATURAL LAWS and accurate MATHEMATICAL
INSTRUCTIONS that provide the wisdom of scientific guidance.
The orderly and systematic organization of NATURE may follow an ORDER of
SIMPLICITY as observed in the motions of our SOLAR and PLANETARY SYSTEM, or an
ORDER of COMPLEXITY as evident in the QUANTIZED PERFORMANCE of our ATOMIC
MODEL. Regardless of the level of organization, it is always DISCERNABLE by the USE
of the RATIONAL SCIENTIFIC METHOD of INQUIRY.
The organization observed in NATURE always requires a careful ANALYSIS of
the various SYSTEMS in order to simplify and uncover their exact STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION, and to reach and isolate the BASIC UNITS in their makeup or constitution.

68
 These kinds of studies have led SCIENTISTS to find the BASIC BUILDING
BLOCKS of MATTER and LIFE. We now know that ATOMS are the BUILDING BLOCKS
of MATTER and that CELLS are the BUILDING BLOCKS of LIVING ORGANISMS.
The following flow chart shows an oversimplified and logical sequence in the
GENESIS of ENERGY, MATTER, LIFE and the COSMOS.

𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 (𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 & 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟) 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦/𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑢𝑚

𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝐴𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠

𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑥 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 (𝐼𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 & 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐)

𝐼𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑠

𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐹𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 (𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔)

𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑠 𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑠

𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑦 𝐶𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠

𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 & 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟

As it becomes evident in the above flow chart, our UNIVERSE appears to be
cyclic in nature, depicting the concept of INFINITY as having neither beginning nor
end. This cycle begins with ENERGY and MATTER, and it ends with the ENERGY and
MATTER, contained within the COSMIC DOMAIN of the UNIVERSAL SPACE-TIME
CONTINUUM.
It is frequently asked, if there is a SUPREME BEING who was involved and
responsible for the creation of our orderly and fantastic UNIVERSE, and if our
UNIVERSE is the manifestation of that SUPREME BEING? Here again, we observe a
CYCLIC SCENARIO.
This question is commonly answered with another question, and many other
questions. How can the marvels of NATURE and our UNIVERSE be explained and

69
justified by the occurrence of FORTUITOUS AND RANDOM events that, given enough
TIME, were able to eventually create our fabulous organized and enigmatic WORLD?
There are great many PARADOXES AND PREDICAMENTS, which have been
difficult to explain with any degree of certainty. Many brilliant and intuitive Scientists
have struggled for centuries with these ENIGMATIC SCENARIOS and they usually come
up with more QUESTIONS than ANSWERS!
A very unique and well-known example is that of the brilliant Physicist, ALBERT
EINSTEIN and his attempt to find a UNIFIED THEORY, which could embrace all the
FORCES of NATURE and also explain the true character of our ENERGY/MATTER and
SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM. EINSTEIN did not find in fact, his UNIFIED THEORY.
There are other unique and enigmatic scenarios that could be presented, for
example:
How can the ATOM maintain its integrity and perform in such an apparent,
peaceful manner? And at the same time be able to hold, in its infinitely small nucleus,
the fantastic ENERGY POTENTIAL, which has been observed in the chain-reaction
explosion of the NUCLEAR BOMB, following EINSTEIN’S EQUATION, E = MC2 ?
How can our SOLAR SYSTEM maintain its integrity and its constant planetary
motions without either exploding away into the COSMOS, or collapsing into the SUN
due to its powerful gravitational attraction? How can this predicament be explained
by simply using the gravitational force, which to this day is still poorly understood?
It is interesting and comforting to notice that the EARTH continues to make a
full 360° rotation on its axis every 24 hours, and that the MOON orbits the EARTH
approximately every 30 days, and that the EARTH orbits the SUN every 365 days. It is
actually quite remarkable that these events remain constant and that we can count on
them to keep track of many other related events such as the tides of the oceans, the
changes in daily and monthly weather, the changes in the seasons of the year, the
success or failure of our crops and winter sports, the winter storms and spring floods,
etc.
There are an infinite number of paradoxes and dilemmas associated with the
concept of the ASYMPTOTIC LIMIT, which has fascinated and challenged the best
mathematicians throughout the centuries.

70
 Good examples of ASYMPTOTIC LIMITS are:
The ZENO’S PARADOX on how many times we can divide a line, given that there
are an infinite number of divisions and that the number of divisions to be performed
are always greater than the number of divisions already created?
Can we increase the number of sides of a POLYGON and in the end create a
perfect circle?
There are in fact many examples of these ASYMPTOTIC LIMITS, which are
fantastically fascinating, but quite a challenge when it comes to formulating a credible
answer!
The concept of the ASYMPTOTIC LIMITS is closely related to the concept of
INFINITY and ETERNITY. In other words, how FAR is the INFINITY of SPACE, and how
LONG is the ETERNITY of TIME? These questions are ASYMPTOTES in themselves,
because such issues are questionable and approachable, but never attainable or
realizable.
The concept of the HOLY TRINITY (FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT) is an
ecclesiastic conception, which represents an enigmatic dilemma with deep mystical
implications and at the same time provides a semblance of order and peace in our
lives.
The concept of the TRINITY is a very powerful idea, which also becomes self-
evident in NATURE. It seems to appear in all disciplines of SCIENCE and HUMANITY, if
we look for it with a discerning eye and a portion of intuitiveness and faith.
The following diagram represents an honest and simple attempt to find the
CONCEPT OF TRINITY in SCIENCE and HUMANITY.

71
 THE CONCEPT OF TRINITY

Divine Trinity Father Holy Spirit Son
Universal Trinity Space Energy/Matter Time
Supernatural Trinity Origin Evolution Destiny
Solar Trinity Sun Light Atom
Planetary Trinity Sun Gravity Planets
Energy/Matter Continuum Energy Light Matter
Scientific Trinity Philosophy Science Understanding
(Theory) (Laws) (Humanity)
Physical Trinity Atmosphere Ocean Earth
(Gas) (Liquid) (Solid)
Life Trinity Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen
(CO2) (H2O) (Air)
Chemical Trinity Atoms Chemical Bonds Molecules
Biological Trinity DNA RNA Cells
(Blueprint) (Messenger) (Structure)
Evolutionary Trinity DNA Environment Time
(Source) (Selection)
Mathematical Trinity Numbers Functions Equations
Artistic Trinity Notes Colors/Shapes 3-D
(Music) (Paintings) (Sculpture)
Human Trinity Soul Emotions Mind
(To create) (To feel) (To think)

The concept of TRINITY is enigmatic, supernatural, mystical, universal,

rational, emotional, artistic, physical, chemical, biological, mathematical and human,
with a prodigious intuitiveness that is, in its final analysis, a DIVINE ENTITY.
THE AUTHOR

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 THE STORY OF THE CELL AND BIOLOGY

BIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
BIOLOGY as a SCIENCE represents the STUDY OF LIFE. In other words,
BIOLOGY is the SCIENCE that concerns itself with the SCIENTIFIC STUDIES of
LIVING ORGANISMS (MICROORGANISMS, PLANTS and ANIMALS) and all their
MAGNIFICENT ATTRIBUTES. These attributes include STRUCTURE (ANATOMY and
MORPHOLOGY), FUNCTIONS (PHYSIOLOGY), BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOPHYSICS,
TAXONOMY, GENETICS, EVOLUTION and ECOLOGY.
From a different perspective, BIOLOGY may be regarded as the SCIENCE that
deals with CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, PROTEINS, ENZYMES, COENZYMES,
HORMONES, VITAMINS, NUCLEIC ACIDS (DNA and RNA), PHOTOSYNTHESIS,
RESPIRATION, KREBS CYCLE, GROWTH (CELL DIVISION, ENLARGEMENT and
DIFFERENTIATION), REPRODUCTION (SEXUAL and ASEXUAL), ADAPTATION, as
well as with CELLS, TISSUES, ORGANS, SYSTEMS and POPULATIONS.
BIOLOGY is the magnificent SCIENCE that studies the DYNAMIC and
ENIGMATIC BIOLOGICAL ENTITIES and PROCESSES that have challenged the most
intuitive and creative minds in the HISTORY of MANKIND.

BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION AND HIERARCHY OF LIFE
In the study of LIFE and LIVING ORGANISMS, biologists have followed a
BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION, which in its general form is depicted by the following
HIERARCHY.
THE ATOM - The basic building block of nature and the universe.
THE MOLECULE - A group of ATOMS with unique properties and functions
THE MACROMOLECULES -The BIOMOLECULES, which serve as the framework for
all the processes of life.
THE ORGANELLES - The basic components of the CELL with functions, which are
fundamental in the creation, development and activities of the LIVING CELL.

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THE CELL - The basic unit of life.
THE TISSUES - Groupings of CELLS with unique ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY.
THE ORGANS - Groups of TISSUES with specific functions in living organisms.
THE ORGAN SYSTEMS - Group of ORGANS with FUNCTIONS that coordinate and
sustain LIFE.
THE ORGANISM - A living ORGANISM (MICRO and MACROSCOPIC) with the capacity
to subsist independently (or quasi-independently) in the environment.
THE POPULATION - A group of ORGANISMS of the same species.
THE COMMUNITY - A group of interacting and coexisting populations.
THE ECOSYSTEM - A group of living ORGANISMS and POPULATIONS interacting
with each other and the environment.
THE BIOSPHERE - All life and all ECOSYSTEMS, forming a GIANT LIVING ORGANISM
that we call our BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH.

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Biology (from the Greek word meaning BIO or LIFE and LOGOS or STUDY) is
a MULTIFACETED SCIENCE that consists of a gamut of DISCIPLINES that are studied
separately under the various BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES.
Some of the major BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES are listed below, with a short
definition. This should help us create some perspective on the magnitude and
complexity that we find in the domain of the BIOLOGICAL WORLD.
BOTANY - The study of PLANTS.
ZOOLOGY - The study of ANIMALS.
MICROBIOLOGY - The study of MICROORGANISMS.
BACTERIOLOGY - The study of BACTERIA.
MYCOLOGY - The study of FUNGI.
VIROLOGY - The study of VIRUSES.
PARASITOLOGY - The study of PARASITES.
ENTOMOLOGY - The study of INSECTS.

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CYTOLOGY - The study of LIVING CELLS, with emphasis on their STRUCTURE,
PHYSIOLOGY, ORGANELLES and FUNCTIONS.
HISTOLOGY - The study of the ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY of TISSUES.
EMBRYOLOGY - The study of EMBRYOS or EARLY LIFE.
ANATOMY - The study of the MICROSCOPIC and MACROSCOPIC organization of
MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS.
MORPHOLOGY - The study of the FORM and STRUCTURE of living ORGANISMS.
PHYSIOLOGY - The study of the FUNCTIONS of living ORGANISMS.
CARDIOLOGY - The study of the HEART and its FUNCTIONS.
NEUROLOGY - The study of the BRAIN and the NERVOUS SYSTEM.
PSYCHOLOGY - The study of HUMAN-MENTAL BEHAVIORS.
GENETICS - The study of HEREDITY (GENOTYPES and PHENOTYPES),
HYBRIDIZATION and all its INTERACTIVE PROCESSES.
IMMUNOLOGY - The study of the IMMUNE SYSTEM.
PATHOLOGY - The study of the NATURE of DISEASES.
EPIDEMIOLOGY - The study of the incidence of DISEASES within POPULATIONS.
PHARMACOLOGY - The study of DRUGS.
TOXICOLOGY - The study of TOXINS or POISONS.
PALEONTOLOGY - The study of PRE-HISTORIC LIFE by means of FOSSILS.
ECOLOGY - The study of the interactions of LIVING ORGANISMS with each other and
with their ENVIRONMENT.
BIOCHEMISTRY - The study of LIFE at the CHEMICAL LEVEL, or the CHEMISTRY of
LIVING ORGANISMS.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY - The study of LIFE at the level of MACROMOLECULES,
particularly PROTEINS, NUCLEOPROTEINS and NUCLEIC ACIDS (DNA and RNA).
MEDICINE - The study of HEALTH, INJURIES, DISEASES and their management.
VETERINARY SCIENCE - The study of ANIMAL MEDICINE.
AGRICULTURE - The study of CROP and LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION.

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 THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES OF THE FUTURE
We as scientists are very fortunate to be living at a time when almost every
aspect of the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES is unfolding to enlighten us with a multitude of
new and magnificent discoveries on the fabulous secrets of the CELL and LIFE itself.
The great and fast progress that we observe in the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES,
although prodigious in scope and depth, also creates a significant challenge and a
need to constantly update and reevaluate our KNOWLEDGE BASE to maintain a
continuous perspective of our SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS and FUTURE.
In BIOLOGY, the concepts of EVOLUTION (proposed by CHARLES DARWIN),
GENETICS (proposed by GREGOR MENDEL) and TAXONOMY (proposed by CARL
LINNAEUS) brought about a new SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION in the 19th Century that
radically changed our conception of the BIOLOGICAL WORLD.
This was also observed in the SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION created in the 16th
Century by NICOLAS COPERNICUS with his HELIOCENTRIC THEORY, where the
SUN, and not the EARTH, was the center of our PLANETARY SYSTEM.
The THEORY of EVOLUTION demoted MAN as a DIVINE CREATION and the
HELIOCENTRIC THEORY demoded the EARTH as the CENTER OF OUR UNIVERSE.
These two REVOLUTIONS represented a significant triumph of the SCIENTIFIC
WORLD over the ECCLESIASTIC WORLD.
DARWIN’S EVOLUTION and MENDEL’S GENETICS became fundamental and
unifying ENTITIES in the LIFE SCIENCES. Both of these WORLDS were dynamic in
character and constantly evolving, thus creating new scientific challenges at every
turn and at every level of scrutiny.
Without question or hesitation one may emphasize that DARWINIAN
EVOLUTION and MENDELIAN GENETICS provided a meaningful and comprehensive
perspective in the understanding of the complexity of LIFE and the LIFE SCIENCES.
The modern concepts of EVOLUTION and ECOLOGY and the impact of NEW
TECHNOLOGIES on man and the environment, have also provided serious
challenges in the study of the BIOLOGICAL WORLD.

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 The new and progressive SCIENCES of BIOCHEMISTRY, CELL BIOLOGY,
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY and MOLECULAR GENETICS, have become the GIANTS of the
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES as the groundbreaking disciplines of the BIOLOGICAL
WORLD.

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY is the study of the CELL and LIFE itself at the
MOLECULAR LEVEL of magnification. In other words, it is the study of how the
MOLECULES OF LIFE control the functions of the CELL, LIFE and ORGANISMS.
The study of the CELL and its ORGANELLES at the MOLECULAR LEVEL opens
new HORIZONS into the BIOLOGICAL SECRETS of the CELL in terms of STRUCTURE,
PHYSIOLOGY and BIOCHEMISTRY.
The study of LIFE at the MOLECULAR and CELLULAR LEVELS, expands our
understanding of the CHEMISTRY of LIFE in terms of:
- The functions of the MACROMOLECULES of LIFE.
- ENZYME KINETICS and ENZYME-VITAMIN interactions.
- ENERGY FLOW MECHANISMS like the KREBS CYCLE.
- GENE STRUCTURE, ORGANIZATION and REGULATION.
- How CELLS perform the necessary functions of LIFE.
- How CELLS SENSE the environment and their MECHANISMS of RESPONSE.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY also deals with MICROBIOLOGY in terms of:
- The EVOLUTIONARY behavior of BACTERIA and VIRUSES at the GENE level.
- HOST-PARASITE interactions at the MOLECULAR LEVEL to elucidate the
MECHANISMS of infectious DISEASES and their CONTROL.
- The use of GENETIC ENGINEERING to alter the behavior of microorganisms.
In DNA ANALYSIS - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY is advancing the study of DNA to
better understand EVOLUTION, GENETICS, FORENSIC SCIENCE and the study of
FOSSILS.

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 BIOCHEMISTRY and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY are at the forefront of new
discoveries that expose the innermost secrets of the CELL, which are used in various
ways, such as:
- To produce vast amounts of once rare and useful DRUGS.
- To facilitate the production of VACCINES.
- To develop easy tests for a number of DISEASES.
- To warn parents of potential DISEASES that their children may inherit.
- To trace the complicated pathways of EVOLUTION.
The new BIOLOGICAL and BIOCHEMICAL REVOLUTION may provide the
breakthroughs necessary to conquer many of the CHALLENGING OBJECTIVES that
have eluded several generations of outstanding scientists, such as:
- The cure of serious DISEASES like CANCER, DIABETES and OBESITY.
- The management of continuous POLLUTION problems in our environment.
- The WORLD’S FOOD and ENERGY CRISIS.
- The clear understanding of GENETICS, EVOLUTION and the ORIGIN of LIFE.
The great scientific advances such as the invention of the ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE and the development of X-RAY DIFFRACTION, RADIOISOTOPE
TRACING TECHNIQUE and CHROMATOGRAPHY, have made significant and fantastic
contributions to the BIOLOGICAL WORLD.
All these progressive sciences have advanced significantly during the last 50
years and are opening new windows into the intimate world of the CELL, CELL
ORGANELLES, MACROMOLECULES and the secrets of LIFE itself.

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 OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET EARTH
A NATURAL RHAPSODY OF COSMIC SOUNDS WITH DIVINE
DETERMINATION AND A MAGNIFICENT AND SUBLIME PURPOSE.

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 ABSTRACT ON OUR BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH
Our beautiful green planet EARTH is, as far as we know, a very unique, complex
and dynamic PLANET with a BIOSPHERE teaming with LIFE. A LIFE that is possible by
virtue of the SUN, as a relentless and powerful source of ENERGY, and of the
magnificent PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS as the TRANSFORMER of SOLAR ENERGY
into the BIOCHEMICAL ENERGY of GREEN CELLS and the FOOD ENERGY of PLANTS.
Imagine, if you will, if our PLANET EARTH had been a few miles closer to the
SUN, we would not have a BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET, but a very HOT PLANET
consisting of DESERTS, EXPLODING VOLCANOES, BUBBLING LAVA FLOWS and
BLISTERING CLOUDS of VAPORS rich in noxious and burning SUBSTANCES.
If our PLANET EARTH had been a few miles further away from the SUN, we
would not have a BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET, but a FROZEN PLANET covered with
SNOW and ICE (and maybe a few POLAR BEARS that could feed on ICE alone.
Ha,ha,ha).
Our PLANET EARTH, embraced with NATURE’S INTONATIONS, has created
with DIVINE DETERMINATION and SUBLIME PURPOSE, the most FANTASTIC LIFE
FORMS that fill our ECOSYSTEMS with HARMONY, PEACE and BEAUTY.
We must be at all times, the FAITHFUL and DEDICATED STEWARDS of such a
MAGNIFICENT NATURAL CREATION, our BEAUTIFUL PLANET EARTH, with which we
have been BLESSED, among our NATURAL TREASURES and HERITAGE.
We do have another magnificent treasure, THE NIGHT SKY!
The NIGHT SKY is TIME in MOTION in the form of COSMIC LIGHTS.
The NIGHT SKY is where THE ORIGIN, EVOLUTION AND DESTINY of our
COSMOS and our LIVES reside in the form of ATOMS, COSMIC DUST, STARS and
GALAXIES. The STARS are the CELESTIAL and MYSTICAL FLOWERS that BLOOM in the
MIDST and INFINITY of the NIGHT SKY to ADORN the GLORIOUS and DIVINE
GARDENS of GOD and our MAGNIFICENT UNIVERSE.
THE AUTHOR

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 THE EARLY HISTORY OF BIOLOGY
BIOLOGY, or the study of life, first takes into account the study of the LIVING
CELL as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of LIFE; however, BIOLOGY also acknowledges,
more and more, the role of our magnificent ATOM, as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK
of our MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM, NATURE and our UNIVERSE.
Any factor that affects the STATUS of LIFE and the LIVING CELL, also
interacts at some level with the CHEMICAL FABRIC of LIFE, as represented by the
ATOM and MOLECULES of LIFE, with emphasis on the PROTEINS and NUCLEIC
ACIDS (DNA & RNA).
The deeper we search for the origin and functions of life and the living cell,
the more we find to our astonishment, that these MOLECULES of LIFE give us in the
last analysis, the answers, or at least some indications of where the truth may lie.
This kind of scientific search has led us to the development of the new sciences of
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY and BIOCHEMISTRY.
The new field of QUANTUM PHYSICS, which emerged after ALBERT
EINSTEIN, under the brilliant leadership of MAX PLANCK, NIELS BOHR, MAX BORN
and WERNER HEISENBERG, has brought our PHYSICAL and BIOLOGICAL WORLDS
closer together, and more in tune with the MYSTIC VIEWS of HINDU GURUS on the
nature of MATTER, ENERGY and LIFE itself.

THE BIOLOGY OF ANTIQUITY
The early history of BIOLOGY first emerged when the first HOMO SAPIENS
started to make an effort to CURE THE SICK of various DISEASES and to mend the
INJURIES INFLICTED BY WARS and other violent natural phenomena, such as
VOLCANISM, EARTHQUAKES, FLOODS and STORMS.
Paleontological studies of HUMAN and ANIMAL REMAINS dating back to
some four thousand years before the Christian era and the mummies of ancient
Egypt, have revealed a great deal of bone deformations and of the possible existence
of diseases like TUBERCULOSIS, SYPHILIS, LEPROSY, ARTHRITIS, MALNUTRITION
and PARASITIC INFECTIONS.

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 The human bones found from the PALEOLITHIC, MESOLITHIC AND
NEOLITHIC periods strongly suggest that the average lifespan of humans was about
30 to 40 years.
All studies seem to suggest that men lived longer than women, mainly due to
the complications with pregnancies and childbirth. Chronic malnutrition and the
everyday dangers of life also explain the low average life expectancy.
Other Paleontological studies also suggest that humans were compelled to
find the cure for various ailments in herbs, nuts, seeds and a variety of minerals.
The studies of human activity in the Mesopotamia (regarded as the cradle of
civilization in the Middle East) around the year 3000 B.C. also appear to indicate
that the fertile alluvial soils between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, contributed to
a more healthy and creative population.
The civilization that emerged in the Mesopotamia had a powerful influence
on the development of agriculture and other sciences. These developments also
spread to the neighboring cultures of the Hebrews, Greeks, Muslims and Europeans.
Much of the ancient Egyptian science and medicine came to us mainly from
the writings of Greek and Roman scholars, such as: HOMER, HERODOTUS, THALES,
HIPPOCRATES, ARISTOTLE, THEOPHRASTUS, CELSUS, PLINY and GALEN.
The discovery of the ROSETTA STONE in 1799 and of the seven known
medical PAPYRUSES were significant in deciphering the abundant historical records
found in the RUINS and TOMBS of ancient Egypt.
It was found that Egyptian PHYSICIANS used a variety of medical plants such
as the CASTOR PLANT and the OPIUM POPPY. They also used MOLDY BREAD to heal
open wounds because of the presence of anti-infection molds. Just as PENICILLIUM
is used today as a source of the antibiotic PENICILLIN. Minerals and metals were
also used by Egyptian PHYSICIANS, including: ANTIMONY, COPPER, ALUMINUM,
IRON and CARBON from wood.

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 THE BIOLOGY OF THE GREEK AND ROMAN ERA
The history of BIOLOGY started long before BIOLOGY BECAME A SCIENCE,
when man began to cure the sick and injured by means of MAGICAL and RELIGIOUS
RITUALS and PRACTICES.
Our early knowledge of ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY began with the
BUTCHERS who cut animals to cook and bring to the family table. The more curious
men could not help to observe the ANATOMY of various animals and to speculate on
the FUNCTIONS of the different TISSUES and ORGANS.
The EMBALMING of MUMMIES in Egypt was performed by priests and
curators that had a working knowledge of human ANATOMY and ALCHEMY.
Nevertheless, as long as PHILOSOPHERS believed in the SUPERNATURAL and
that GODS and DEMONS were in control of our destiny, the progress of BIOLOGY
and the other SCIENCES was slow and full of misconceptions, which seriously
impaired their logical and scientific thinking.
The PHILOSOPHERS of the CLASSIC GREEK ERA were among the first to
break away from MYSTICAL and RELIGIOUS rituals and to take seriously the
observation and study of NATURE as it appeared in front of their eyes, and without
the restrictions imposed by ILLOGICAL and RITUALISTIC IDEAS.
The GREEK PHILOSOPHERS had the courage and conviction to open the gates
of HUMAN CREATIVITY and IMAGINATION to confront and pursue the fascinating
MYSTERIES of NATURE with the characteristic intuitiveness of the SCIENTIFIC
MIND.
For centuries, virtually everything that was known about GREEK SCIENCE
AND MEDICINE came to us by way of the legends and epic poems of HOMER, such as
the ILIAD and the ODYSSEY.
HOMER was the brilliant Greek poet and writer who, although blind, was able
to understand MAN and HUMANITY better than any other Greek Scholar.
More factual information from the Greeks appeared in 1870 when HEINRICH
SCHLIEMANN discovered the RUINS OF TROY following clues from HOMER’S EPICS.

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In 1900, SIR ARTHUR EVANS also provided new insight on Greek knowledge with
the discovery of the RUINS of THE ISLAND OF CRETE.
The best knowledge on GREEK SCIENCE came with the advent of the CLASSIC
GREEK ERA and the PRODIGIOUS CREATIVITY of the Greek philosophers and
scientists, including:

THALES (624 - 546 BC) Greek Philosopher.
THALES of MILETUS, who is considered the FOUNDER of GREEK SCIENCE,
proposed that the fundamental stuff making up our UNIVERSE was WATER. An idea
that surfaced again during the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE and with JAN VAN HELMONT
in the 17th Century.

PYTHAGORAS (560 - 480 BC) Greek Philosopher.
PYTHAGORAS of SAMOS, who established the THEORY OF NUMBERS,
believed that NUMBERS and GEOMETRY were the key to the understanding of our
UNIVERSE. He is most famous for proposing the PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM and is
also credited with using the word PHILOSOPHER for the first time.

DEMOCRITUS (470 - 380 BC) Greek Philosopher.
DEMOCRITUS of ABDERA, who proposed the first ATOMIC THEORY of
ANTIQUITY, believed that the ATOM was the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of all
MATTER in our UNIVERSE and that the ATOM was invisible, indivisible and
indestructible.

EMPEDOCLES (492 - 432 BC) Greek Philosopher.
EMPEDOCLES of SICILY believed that our UNIVERSE was made up of the
FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS: EARTH, WATER, AIR and FIRE. ARISTOTLE was the next
Greek Philosopher who also believed that our UNIVERSE consisted of these FOUR
BASIC ELEMENTS.
This kind of CHEMISTRY remained in our SCIENTIFIC BOOKS until the
ALCHEMY of the RENAISSANCE ERA appeared and finally when ROBERT BOYLE and

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ANTOINE LAVOISIER started to develop the NEW CHEMISTRY of the 17th and 18th
centuries.

EUCLID (325 - 270 BC) Greek Mathematician.
EUCLID of ALEXANDRIA wrote the famous textbook on GEOMETRY, THE
ELEMENTS, which became a classic in MATHEMATICS for several centuries.

ARCHIMEDES (287 - 212 BC) Greek Mathematician and Engineer.
ARCHIMEDES of SICILY is regarded as the greatest scientist and
mathematician of the CLASSIC GREEK ERA and is frequently compared to SIR ISAAC
NEWTON for his great talents.
ARCHIMEDES discovered the PRINCIPLE OF BUOYANCY and the PRINCIPLE
of the LEVER. He is credited to have said, “Give me a place to stand on and I will
move the world.” He was also the first to calculate the value of the constant, PI (π).

ERATOSTHENES (276 - 196 BC) Greek Astronomer.
ERATOSTHENES of the ALEXANDRIAN MUSEUM and LIBRARY calculated the
EARTH’S CIRCUMFERENCE and prepared a map of the known world at that time.

The GREEK-ROMAN SCHOLARS that contributed the most to the beginning of
BIOLOGY and MEDICINE were HIPPOCRATES, ARISTOTLE, THEOPHRASTUS,
CELSUS, PLINY and GALEN, as follows:

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 GALEN AND HIPPOCRATES
THE FOUNDERS MEDICINE

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HIPPOCRATES (460 - 370 BC) Greek Physician.
HIPPOCRATES was a GREEK PHYSICIAN born on the island of COS. Virtually
nothing concrete is known about his life. Some traditions indicate that he was a
student of DEMOCRITUS, the founder of the ATOMIC THEORY during the CLASSIC
GREEK ERA.
He was among the early GREEK PHILOSOPHERS to follow the
RATIONALISTIC and REALISTIC THINKING that contributed to the development of
the GREEK SCIENCES.
HIPPOCRATES is regarded as the FOUNDER of MODERN MEDICINE and the
FOUNDER of the GREEK SCHOOL of MEDICINE. He is also the creator of the
HIPPOCRATIC CODE OF ETHICS, which students of MEDICINE have to recite upon
graduation.
GREEK SCIENCE and MEDICINE reached its summit at the time of
HIPPOCRATES and the other philosophers of the CLASSIC GREEK ERA.
HIPPOCRATES represents the PERSONIFICATION of MEDICINE as a rational,
factual and secular SCIENCE, instituted for the benefit and compassion of
HUMANITY.
HIPPOCRATES appeared in the 5th Century BC to bring us the MEDICAL
knowledge and wisdom that had been collected for centuries and which paved the
way for the development of the fantastic MEDICAL SCIENCE that we enjoy today.
The MEDICAL WRITINGS of HIPPOCRATES continued to have significant
influence on the science and medicine of ALEXANDRIA and ROME, and into the
MIDDLE AGE.

ARISTOTLE (384 - 322 BC) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist.
ARISTOTLE was one of the most prolific GREEK PHILOSOPHERS and
NATURALISTS of the CLASSIC GREEK ERA, and a teacher of ALEXANDER THE
GREAT. He believed in DEMOCRITUS’ ATOMIC THEORY. He also supported the idea
that our world consisted of the FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS, EARTH, WATER, AIR and
FIRE, which EMPEDOCLES had proposed.

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 ARISTOTLE moved to ATHENS to study with PLATO at the ACADEMY, where
he became PLATO’S most outstanding pupil. After PLATO’S death, ARISTOTLE
founded his own school, the LYCEUM.
The development of BIOLOGY and the other sciences reached a climax during
the time of ARISTOTLE and his famous school in ATHENS. His books on BIOLOGY
are considered among his best writings. They were eventually translated into Latin
and other European languages and made a significant contribution to the sciences
for several centuries and into the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE.
During his lifetime, ARISTOTLE made a concerted effort to develop the ideas
on ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION and other aspects of ANIMAL LIFE. For this reason, he
may be regarded as the FOUNDER of THE SCIENCE of ZOOLOGY (the study of
ANIMAL LIFE).

THEOPHRASTUS (372 - 287 BC) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist.
THEOPHRASTUS was born in LESBOS, and moved to ATHENS at an early age
to study under PLATO at the ACADEMY, and then under ARISTOTLE at the LYCEUM.
PLATO’S ACADEMY and ARISTOTLE’S LYCEUM may be regarded as the first
UNIVERSITIES in our WESTERN CIVILIZATION.
After ARISTOTLE’S retirement, THEOPHRASTUS became the DIRECTOR of
the LYCEUM until his death 35 years later. The LYCEUM was supposed to have had
as many as 2000 students. After ARISTOTLE’S death, THEOPHRASTUS inherited
ARISTOTLE’S library.
THEOPHRASTUS continued with ARISTOTLE’S studies on BIOLOGY, with
emphasis on PLANT LIFE and PLANT CLASSIFICATION. For this reason,
THEOPHRASTUS may be regarded as the FOUNDER of the SCIENCE of BOTANY (the
study of PLANT LIFE). Only two BOTANICAL STUDIES of THEOPHRASTUS have
survived the passage of time.
The works of ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS and other GREEK
PHILOSOPHERS and SCIENTISTS became part of the famous MUSEUM and LIBRARY
of the SCHOOL of ALEXANDRIA. Later on, this knowledge went to EUROPE with the
SLAMIC INVASION of SPAIN in the 15th Century.

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AULUS CORNELIUS CELSUS (10 BC - ?) Roman Encyclopedist.
CELSUS was a member of one of the most blue-blooded families of Rome, and
an outstanding PHYSICIAN.
CELSUS wrote eight books on MEDICAL SCIENCE in elegant Latin, which
eventually earned him the title of the CICERO of MEDICINE. Much of his writings
included the works of HIPPOCRATES and for this reason he was also called the
ROMAN HIPPOCRATES.
Some of CELSUS studies on MEDICINE were rediscovered in 1426 and a new
edition was printed in 1478; just in time to become part of the ITALIAN
RENAISSANCE of BIOLOGY and MEDICINE, and in time for CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS to take some of these wonderful books to AMERICA.
The Latin terminology used by CELSUS in his writings, did become part of
MODERN MEDICINE. Such terminology includes names like CARTILAGE,
VERTEBRAE, ABDOMEN, TONSILS, UTERUS, etc.
It is said that the great Swiss physician and alchemist PARACELSUS (1493 -
1541) adopted his name in honor of CELSUS, which means beyond CELSUS, or
better than CELSUS.

GAIUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS (23 - 79) Roman Scholar.
The best-known natural historian of the ROMAN ERA was PLINY (as he is
commonly known).
PLINY, the man with a UNIVERSAL MIND and CURIOSITY, was a compulsive
worker, who wrote a 37-volume book on NATURAL HISTORY. This was a summary
of ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE, presumably coming from two thousand ancient books
written by nearly 500 authors, including ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS. Much of
his work concerned ZOOLOGY and the ANIMAL WORLD.
PLINY was an ANTHROPOCENTRIC, who measured everything in terms of
MAN and MAN’S NEEDS
His books, although sometimes inaccurate, did serve the purpose of
maintaining a sense of wonder and majesty of the NATURAL WORLD during the
MEDIEVAL ERA and into the beginning of the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE.

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GALEN (130 - 200) Greek Physician.
GALEN was among the last of the BIOLOGISTS of the GREEK-ROMAN ERA
who received much of his education by travelling throughout the eastern provinces
of the ROMAN EMPIRE. He even visited the famous medical school and library of
ALEXANDRIA.
Around the year 161, GALEN settled in ROME where he spent most of his life
as a COURT PHYSICIAN and as a PHYSICIAN for the GLADIATOR SCHOOL, under the
EMPEROR MARCUS AURELIUS.
GALEN’S best studies were on ANATOMY, based on his many dissections of
HUMANS and ANIMALS. He described in detail the MUSCLES of the HUMAN BODY
and the functions of various ORGANS including, the HEART, the URINARY SYSTEM
and the SPINAL CORD.
The MEDICAL STUDIES of GALEN and HIPPOCRATES were the ultimate
MEDICAL AUTHORITY for Europeans until the time of VESALIUS in ANATOMY and
HARVEY in PHYSIOLOGY and the CIRCULATION SYSTEM of the BLOOD.

THE BIOLOGY AND SCIENCES OF THE MEDIEVAL ERA
During the MEDIEVAL ERA (or the DARK AGES) BIOLOGY and the SCIENCES
in general, did not have the opportunity to advance due to the lack of SCIENTIFIC
INTEREST and to the RESTRICTIONS imposed by the RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY.
During the latter part of the ROMAN EMPIRE, CHRISTIANITY became the
dominant religion, which firmly believed that the ULTIMATE TRUTH could only be
found in the HOLY BIBLE and other writings of the CLERGY.
CHRISTIANITY dismissed and ignored the LOGICAL and SCIENTIFIC
APPROACH that had been instituted by the GREEK-ROMAN PHILOSOPHERS and
SCIENTISTS. Consequently the religious views and restrictions that were imposed,
worked as an impediment to the revival and development of the marvelous
scientific knowledge that had been inherited from the CLASSIC GREEK ERA. The
desire to investigate and develop new SCIENTIFIC IDEAS and to explore the

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fantastic world of NATURE took a secondary place in the inquisitive minds of
philosophers and scholars, but only because this kind of new thinking was heresy.
On the other hand, the ARABS and the ISLAMIC WORLD had translated and
preserved the SCIENTIFIC WRITINGS of the CLASSIC GREEK ERA and brought them
to Europe.
The BIOLOGY and SCIENCE of HIPPOCRATES, ARISTOTLE, THEOPHRASTUS,
PLINY and GALEN found its way into Europe by way of the translations into Latin
and other European languages by dedicated religious and secular scholars.
The Italian scholar GERARD de CREMONA (1114 - 1187) translated into
Latin the works of HIPPOCRATES, ARISTOTLE, GALEN and others.
The Italian Philosopher and Theologian, SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS (1225 -
1274) made a great effort to reconcile ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY with the
CHRISTIAN FAITH and DOCTRINES. AQUINAS was a rationalist who agreed with the
SCIENTIFIC THINKING that emerged during the CLASSIC GREEK-ROMAN ERA.

AVICENNA (980 - 1037) Persian Physician and Biologist.
The most important of the Muslim biologists was AVICENNA. His Persian
name was Abu-Ali al-Husain Ibn-Abdullah Ibn-Sina.
AVICENNA (his European name) wrote several books on biology and
alchemy. His most important writings were those on MEDICINE, based on the
studies of HIPPOCRATES, GALEN and CELSUS. His books were translated into Latin
in the 12th Century and they became important medical textbooks in Europe, until
the time of the English physician WILLIAM HARVEY in the 17th Century.

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 THE ITALIAN UNIVERSITY
THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
THE BIRTH OF MODERN SCIENCE DURING THE RENAISSANCE

THE ITALIAN UNIVERSITIES WERE FAMOUS FOR THEIR LIBERAL
AND SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION FREE OF RELIGIOUS RESTRICTIONS.
STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER ITALY AND OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE
AND THE WORLD SOUGHT THIS KIND OF EDUCATION.

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 THE BIRTH OF MODERN BIOLOGY
THE RISE OF UNIVERSITIES DURING THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Monastic or religious institutions did not initially establish the SCIENTIFIC
AND MEDICAL EDUCATION because their philosophy was contrary to, or not
compatible with the SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF STUDY and the NATURAL CAUSES of
HUMAN AILMENTS and DISEASES.
The development of the MODERN SCIENCES and MEDICINE began in the
early UNIVERSITIES established in Southern Italy. The UNIVERSITY of SALERNO
was most prominent, particularly in the MEDICAL SCIENCES, which were strongly
influenced by the writings of HIPPOCRATES and GALEN. The new UNIVERSITY OF
SALERNO produced several MEDICAL TREATISES that became the authority in the
MEDICAL WORLD.
The UNIVERSITIES in Northern Italy flourished and attracted scholars and
students from all over Europe. These UNIVERSITIES included those located in
Bologna, Padua, Florence, Ferrara and Pavia.
Other great UNIVERSITIES in Europe made significant contributions, such as
CAMBRIDGE and OXFORD in England, the SORBONNE and MONTPELLIER in France
and GOTTINGEN and HEIDELBERG in Germany, to mention just a few.
The publishing houses in Florence and Venice became some of the best in all
of Europe.
The advent of the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE in the 15th Century gave birth to
great scientific advances due to the new intellectual philosophy that provided the
ACADEMIC FREEDOM and TOLERANCE that ENERGIZED the SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY into an ERA of IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY.
The Florentine artist and architect, GIORGIO VASARI (1511 - 1574), is
credited with being the first to use the word “RINASCITA”, or REBIRTH
(RENAISSANCE) to identify this marvelous new ERA of ARTISTIC and SCIENTIFIC
PROGRESS, which grew exponentially in THREE DIMENSION and TECHNICOLOR!

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 JOHANN GUTENBERG
INVENTOR OF THE PRINTING PRESS




















JOHANN GUTENBERG (1398 - 1468) German Inventor.
The invention of the PRINTING PRESS by JOHANN GUTENBERG in the
1450’S, the availability of PAPER and INK and the LATIN TRANSLATIONS of
important SCIENTIFIC STUDIES and BOOKS, lighted the flame that illuminated the
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY of the RENAISSANCE and the AGE OF REASON.
The marvelous INVENTION of the PRINTING PRESS was responsible for the
magnificent expansion of EDUCATION, which made available the glorious and

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progressive knowledge found in the NEW and FABULOUS SCIENTIFIC BOOKS that
mesmerized the SCIENTISTS of the RENAISSANCE ERA and our modern world.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN HUMAN ANATOMY
A NEW SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
The development of HUMAN ANATOMY by the Italian ANATOMISTS in the
UNIVERSITIES of the RENAISSANCE, created in the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY an
awareness of the marvelous new world of BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS.
In the year 1543, two scientists started a NEW SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION that
changed our conception of the BIOLOGICAL and PHYSICAL WORLDS.
ANDREAS VESALIUS published his book “De Corporis Humani Fabrica” (The
Structure of the Human Body) that illustrated HUMAN ANATOMY with magnificent
perfection. This TREATISE was regarded as one of the greatest books ever published
in the history of science and represented the beginning of MODERN ANATOMY.
With his book, VESALIUS started the development of MODERN MEDICINE
and our understanding of the CIRCULATORY SYSTEM of the BLOOD, the NERVOUS
SYSTEM and the ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY of our TISSUES and ORGANS. These
ideas were later expanded with prodigious talent by HARVEY, GOLGI, RAMON Y
CAJAL, SCHLEIDEN, SCHWANN, FLEMMING and many others.
NICOLAS COPERNICUS published his book on the HELIOCENTRIC THEORY,
which placed the SUN, and not the EARTH, as the CENTER of our PLANETARY
SYSTEM. PLANET EARTH had just being demoded to a simple planet orbiting the
SUN, instead of being the CENTER of our UNIVERSE.
With his book, COPERNICUS started the development of MODERN
ASTRONOMY and our understanding of the SOLAR SYSTEM, the LAWS of
PLANETARY MOTION and the FORCE of GRAVITY. GALILEO, BRAHE, KEPLER and
NEWTON expanded all these concepts with great VIRTUOSITY.
Three more FANTASTIC BOOKS may also be added to this famous roster,
which revolutionized the world of science: NEWTON’S PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA

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HOOKE’S MICROGRAPHIA and DARWIN’S THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF
NATURAL SELECTION.

HUMAN ANATOMY DURING THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
The story of HUMAN ANATOMY was one of the first of the MODERN
SCIENCES to develop during the RENAISSANCE ERA. This by virtue of the liberation
of POST-MORTEM HUMAN DISSECTIONS, which had to be performed in order to
answer legal questions concerning the causes of death.
The famous LAW SCHOOL of the UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA was
instrumental in leading this new movement on HUMAN DISSECTIONS, in spite of the
reservations expressed by the ECCLESIASTIC COMMUNITY.
The MEDICAL SCHOOLS at the UNIVERSITIES of BOLOGNA and SALERNO
became leaders in the development of the new SCIENCE of HUMAN ANATOMY.
The 13th and 14th Centuries marked the end of the MEDIEVAL ERA and the
beginning of the remarkable NEW ERA of the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE, in the
beautiful and historic city of FLORENCE. The RENAISSANCE flourished in the 15th
and 16th Centuries with the fabulous THREE DIMENSIONAL ART of LEONARDO Da
VINCI, MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI and RAPHAEL Da URBINO, and the MODERN
SCIENCE of GALILEO GALILEI with all his creative LAWS of MOTION and
magnificent MATHEMATICAL INTERPRETATIONS.

MONDINO De LUZZI (1275 - 1326) Italian Anatomist.
MONDINO De LUZZI, son of an APOTHECARY, studied MEDICINE at the
UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA and after graduating in 1290 he joined the faculty there
in 1306.
MONDINO taught ANATOMY by performing his own DISSECTIONS of the
HUMAN BODY instead of having an assistant doing them for him a few feet away. In
this way he could describe and teach the HUMAN ANATOMY as it was being
observed, and not as it was indicated in old and inaccurate textbooks.

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 The science of DISSECTION that had been started by the Greek physician,
GALEN, was reintroduced in Italy by MONDINO with his outstanding anatomical
demonstrations in the classroom.
In 1316, MONDINO published the first book in history to be devoted entirely
to HUMAN ANATOMY. His book was the best available until the time of the great
anatomist, ANDREAS VESALIUS.
MONDINO De LUZZI was considered the greatest anatomist of the ITALIAN
RENAISSANCE and the FOUNDER OF MODERN HUMAN ANATOMY.

LEONARDO DA VINCI
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF HUMAN ANATOMY
THE GREATEST OF THE RENAISSANCE MEN














LEONARDO Da VINCI (1452 - 1519) Italian Artist and Scientist.
LEONARDO Da VINCI was born in Vinci, near Florence.
We usually think of LEONARDO as the SUPREME ARTIST that painted the
famous MONA LISA and the LAST SUPPER, but he was much more than that. He was

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the MAGNIFICENT RENAISSANCE MAN that mastered the SCIENCES and
ENGINEERING as well as his ART, far beyond the scope and expectations of his time.
The ITALIAN RENAISSANCE introduced the concept of PERSPECTIVE in the
THREE DIMENSIONAL ART. LEONARDO embraced this new and powerful form of
ART to illustrate HUMAN ANATOMY with great precision and beauty. His
ANATOMICAL STUDIES are still considered MASTERPIECES.
The development of MODERN HUMAN ANATOMY, which began with
MONDINO De LUZZI and LEONARDO Da VINCI in the 15th Century, was advanced in
the 16th Century by outstanding ANATOMISTS working in various ITALIAN
UNIVERSITIES. Such ANATOMISTS included: ANDREAS VESALIUS, GABRIELLO
FALLOPIUS, REALDO COLOMBO, BARTOLOMEO EUSTACHIO and FABRICIUS
AQUAPENDENTE.
THE HUMAN ANATOMY
FIRST ILLUSTRATED DURING THE RENAISSANCE
BY THE GREAT ITALIAN ANATOMISTS

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 ANDREAS VESALIUS
ONE OF THE GREAT ANATOMISTS OF THE RENAISSANCE
PUBLISHED THE STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY
























ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514 - 1564) Flemish-Italian Anatomist.
ANDREAS VESALIUS came from a long line of PHYSICIANS. He studied
MEDICINE at the University of Louvain (Belgium) and in Paris, following the old
teachings of the Greek Physician, GALEN.
VESALIUS moved to Italy looking for a more liberal and modern education,
where HUMAN DISSECTIONS were allowed without ECUMENICAL RESTRICTIONS.
He obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from the University of Padua in 1537.
VESALIUS taught ANATOMY at the Universities of Pavia, Bologna and Pisa. He
reintroduced MONDINO’S practice of doing his own dissections and showing the
true anatomy of the HUMAN BODY, as opposed to the old ideas found in out-of-date

99
textbooks. MONDINO had made the dissections of the HUMAN BODY an accepted
and respected practice. VESALIUS became an outstanding lecturer who attracted
many brilliant students.
VESALIUS demonstrated that men and women had the same number of RIBS.
Men did not have a missing rib as GENESIS (OLD TESTAMENT) had indicated and
where EVE had been created out of one of ADAM’S RIBS.
VESALIUS published in 1543 one of the greatest books in scientific history,
“De CORPORIS HUMANI FABRICA” (THE STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY). This
was the first accurate book on HUMAN ANATOMY and it marked the beginning of
MODERN ANATOMY, which put an end to GALEN’S OLD ANATOMY.
His book was a great success because of the many accurate and beautiful
illustrations of the HUMAN ANATOMY. The PRINTING PRESS had already been
created by JOHANN GUTENBERG and made it possible to print and distribute
thousands of copies of this marvelous book all over Europe.
VESALIUS book made a significant contribution to revolutionize and promote
the field of MODERN BIOLOGY.

GABRIELLO FALLOPIUS (1523 - 1562) Italian Anatomist.
GABRIELLO FALLOPIUS first entered the Church after his father died, but
subsequently he abandoned the RELIGIOUS LIFE to study SCIENCE and ANATOMY.
FALLOPIUS was another outstanding ANATOMIST who followed the steps of
his teacher ANDREAS VESALIUS. Eventually he became a professor at the University
of Padua in 1551, as the successor to the anatomist REALDO COLOMBO, a rival of
VESALIUS. He continued to teach HUMAN ANATOMY following the tradition of
his teacher VESALIUS.
FALLOPIUS is best known today for his description of the INNER EAR and the
FALLOPIAN TUBES, which carry his name.
He died of TUBERCULOSIS, that great killer of young people in those days.

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 REALDO COLOMBO
FIRST TO DEMONSTRATE THE PULMONARY CIRCULATION OF THE
BLOOD AND A FORERUNNER OF WILLIAM HARVEY















REALDO COLOMBO (1510 - 1559) Italian Anatomist.
REALDO COLOMBO, son of an Apothecary, was educated in Milan and also
became an Apothecary until he accepted a position as an apprentice to a Venetian
SURGEON.
COLOMBO went to study MEDICINE at the University of Padua and obtained
his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1541. He was then appointed professor of anatomy at
Padua, where he succeeded ANDREAS VESALIUS. Although friendly to VESALIUS at
first, he became a rival who could not accept VESALIUS’ NEW ANATOMY.
COLOMBO is best known for being the first to demonstrate the PULMONARY
CIRCULATION of the BLOOD, and he is regarded as an important forerunner of
WILLIAM HARVEY, in the study of the CIRCULATION SYSTEM.

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BARTOLOMEO EUSTACHIO (1510 - 1574) Italian Anatomist.
BARTOLOMEO EUSTACHIO, the son of a physician, also followed his father’s
footsteps and became a physician in 1540.
He was another of the physicians who became interested in HUMAN
ANATOMY and followed GALEN’S OLD IDEAS, thus becoming an adversary of
VESALIUS.
EUSTACHIO’S ANATOMICAL ILLUSTRATIONS were to some degree more
accurate than those of VESALIUS.
His most successful studies were on the NERVOUS SYSTEM, the ADRENAL
GLANDS, the KIDNEY and the EAR. The EUSTACHIAN TUBES in the EAR were named
in his honor. He also pioneered the study on the STRUCTURE of TEETH.
In 1562, he was appointed Professor of Medicine in the COLLEGIO della
SAPIENZA in ROME, a post that he held until his death.

FABRICIUS AQUAPENDENTE (1537 - 1619) Italian Physician.
FABRICIUS AQUAPENDENTE obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1559 at the
University of Padua, and in 1565 he became Professor of Surgery at that institution.
AQUAPENDENTE discovered the ONE-WAY VALVES in the VEINS and
accurately described their functions in a book he published in 1603.
He was a student of GABRIELLO FALLOPIUS, whom he succeeded at the
University of Padua in 1565. Later on he became a Professor of WILLIAM HARVEY.
AQUAPENDENTE also published 1612 an exhaustive study of the CHICK
EMBRYO.
After his studies with AQUAPENDENTE, WILLIAM HARVEY returned to his
native country, England, where he started his magnificent career as a PHYSICIAN
and a RESEARCHER in HUMAN ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY with emphasis on the
study of the HEART and the CIRCULATORY SYSTEM of the BLOOD.

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 THE CELL AS THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF LIFE
It is most interesting that our SCIENTIFIC WORLD is rich in paradoxical and
enigmatic concepts and ideas, which at a first glance appear inexplicable, but after
careful scrutiny they become clear, logical and attuned to our experiences.
The CELL THEORY, or the idea that all LIVING ORGANISMS consisted of
LIVING CELLS as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE, is one of those unique
stories, which at first appeared incredible, but upon analysis it became the only
natural and logical answer.
It is also incredibly odd that until recent times, we knew very little about our
own bodies. In fact, it was only a few hundred years ago when we learned about the
existence of our CIRCULATORY SYSTEM of the BLOOD and about the essential
functions of our VITAL ORGANS. It was only a few decades ago when we
characterized the structure and functions of the most fundamental molecules of life,
like the PROTEINS, NUCLEIC ACIDS, ENZYMES, CO-ENZYMES and VITAMINS.
Ever since pre-historic times when man began to dissect animals and
humans, is when we started to become aware of the existence of our TISSUES and
ORGANS.
The ancient Greeks went so far as to dissect animals and humans with the
deliberate purpose of learning about our ANATOMICAL COMPOSITION. The word
ANATOMY, which means to CUT-UP, was created to name these practices.
The Italian Anatomists of the RENAISSANCE did outstanding studies in an
effort to understand our ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY, and they were able to unveil
much of the knowledge that we have today.
Notwithstanding, our knowledge of the LIVING CELL as the BASIC BUILDING
BLOCK OF LIFE was still hidden among the mysteries and treasures of the
BIOLOGICAL WORLD. The LIVING CELL was not about to unveil its prodigious
nature without the genuine dedication of intuitive and worthy scientists.
The invention of the MICROSCOPE in the 17th Century, introduced biologists
to the new world of MICROORGANISMS and to the MICROSCOPIC STUDIES of
TISSUES, ORGANS and other vital components of the MACROSCOPIC WORLD.

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 The MICROSCOPE unveiled the BIOLOGICAL WORLD at a more basic level of
organization in LIVING ORGANISMS, which eventually brought us to the discovery
and recognition of the LIVING CELL and the creation of the CELL THEORY.
The Italian Physiologist, MARCELLO MALPIGHI (1628 - 1694), the FOUNDER
OF THE SCIENCE OF MICROSCOPY, was one of the first BIOLOGISTS to use the
MICROSCOPE to explore the mysteries of the BIOLOGICAL WORLD. He was the first
to identify, in 1660, the CAPILLARY VESSELS (from the Latin world meaning HAIR-
LIKE) which were the last of the important components of our CIRCULATORY
SYSTEM OF THE BLOOD to be found.
The Dutch Microscopist, ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632 - 1723) another
FOUNDER OF MICROSCOPY, also used his SINGLE LENS MICROSCOPES to study the
FANTASTIC MICROSCOPIC WORLD with magnificent intuitiveness and imagination.
The Dutch Naturalist, JAN SWAMMERDAM (1637-1680) used the
MICROSCOPE to study the ANATOMY of INSECTS (he is regarded as the FOUNDER of
ENTOMOLOGY). He also determined that the BLOOD was not a UNIFORM RED
LIQUID, as it was believed, but a FLUID with numerous tiny RED BODIES, or
CORPUSCLES (the RED BLOOD CELLS).
The English Botanist, NEHEMIAH GREW (1641 - 1712) used the microscope
to study the REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS of PLANTS and recognized the POLLEN
GRAINS as the equivalents to the SPERMS in the animal kingdom.
The Dutch Anatomist, REGNIER De GRAAF (1641 - 1673) also used the
MICROSCOPE to study the REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS (TESTICLES and OVARIES) in
ANIMALS.
The English Physicist ROBERT HOOKE (1635-1703) was fascinated with this
new invention, the MICROSCOPE, and used it to perform many outstanding studies.
In 1665, he published his great book entitled MICROGRAPHIA, which was a
MASTERPIECE in MICROSCOPY, containing some of the most beautiful drawings
ever made of the MICROSCOPIC DOMAIN.
The most significant single observation that HOOKE made was that of a thin
SLICE OF CORK. He noticed that the CORK TISSUE was made up of a fine pattern of

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TINY RECTANGULAR CHAMBERS, which he called CELLS (meaning SMALL ROOMS).
These CELLS were empty since cork is dead tissue.
Later on, other MICROSCOPISTS found similar CELLS in LIVING TISSUE, but
these CELLS contained a FLUID, which was named PROTOPLASM (meaning FIRST
FORMED) in 1839 by the Czech Physiologist, JAN EVANGELISTA PURKINJE (1787 -
1869) and by the German Botanist, HUGO VON MOHL (1805 - 1872).
Eventually, the word PROTOPLASM was used to name the FLUID within all
LIVING CELLS.

THE CELL THEORY
It is amazing that it took about 200 years after ROBERT HOOKE had observed
the first DEAD CELLS in CORK TISSUE, for the CELL THEORY to evolve and to be
presented to the BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY. The LIVING CELL was finally
recognized as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of LIFE and ALL LIVING ORGANISMS, by
MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN (in 1838) and THEODOR SCHWANN (in 1839). These two
BIOLOGISTS had the honor of introducing the SCIENCE of CYTOLOGY (the study of
CELLS), which initiated the BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION that still exists today.
It is equally incredible that the CELL THEORY stayed hidden in the domain of
BIOLOGY and MICROBIOLOGY even after all the MICROSCOPIC STUDIES that had
been performed by ROBERT HOOKE, MARCELLO MALPIGHI, ANTON VAN
LEEUWENHOEK and many others in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
It was certainly comforting to see that the world of BIOLOGY and
MICROBIOLOGY of the 19th Century finally became enlightened with the marvelous
CELL THEORY of LIFE.
The CELL THEORY was to BIOLOGY what the ATOMIC THEORY was to
PHYSICS and CHEMISTRY.

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 MATTHIAS JAKOB SCHLEIDEN
ONE OF THE PROPONENTS OF THE CELL THEORY


























MATTHIAS JAKOB SCHLEIDEN (1804 - 1881) German Botanist.
MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN, son of a physician, was trained as a lawyer, but
found his calling in the field of BOTANY, while working under the German
Physiologist JOHANNES MULLER (1801 - 1858).
He received his Doctoral Degree from the University of Jenna in 1839 and
became a very successful lecturer and writer in the sciences.
SCHLEIDEN developed a special interest in the study of PLANT TISSUE under
the new invention, the MICROSCOPE.
In 1838, SCHLEIDEN proposed his CELL THEORY for PLANTS in which he
presented the LIVING CELL as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of LIFE.

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 SCHLEIDEN placed particular importance on the FUNCTIONS of the CELL
NUCLEUS in connection with CELL DIVISION. The CELL NUCLEUS had already been
discovered by ROBERT BROWN (1773 - 1858) a few years earlier.
SCHLEIDEN was also among the first German Biologists to accept DARWIN’S
THEORY of EVOLUTION.

THEODOR SCHWANN
ONE OF THE PROPONENTS OF THE CELL THEORY

























THEODOR SCHWANN (1810 - 1882) German Physiologist.
THEODOR SCHWANN obtained his Medical Degree in 1834 and then served
as an assistant to the German Physiologist, JOHANNES MULLER, who was also a
teacher of MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN.

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 SCHWANN performed some early experiments, which tended to disprove the
doctrine of SPONTANEOUS GENERATION of LIFE. His work also showed that
FERMENTATION was a LIVE PROCESS (or a BIOCHEMICAL PROCESS) as the French
Chemist and Microbiologist LOUIS PASTEUR (1822 - 1895) went on to demonstrate
a few years later.
JONS J. BERZELIUS (1779 - 1848), FRIEDRICH WOHLER (1800 - 1882) and
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG (1803 - 1873), all CHEMISTS at heart, believed that
FERMENTATION was basically a CHEMICAL PROCESS, which did not involve any
LIVING ORGANISM.
In 1839, SCHWANN elaborated his CELL THEORY (as he called it himself) in
ANIMALS, and indicated that PLANTS and ANIMALS alike were all composed of
LIVING CELLS.
SCHWANN also proposed that each CELL contained certain ESSENTIAL
COMPONENTS, such as a NUCLEUS and a surrounding MEMBRANE.
The CELL THEORY was accepted and extended by KARL VON NAGELI (1817 -
1891), KARL THEODOR VON SIEBOLD (1804 - 1885), RUDOLF VON KOLLIKER
(1817 - 1905), KARL GEGENBAUR (1826 - 1903) and RUDOLPH VIRCHOW (1821 -
1902), all notable scientists.
The CELL THEORY became a magnificent landmark in the HISTORY of
BIOLOGY, comparable to the ATOMIC THEORY in CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS.
The idea that the CELL could be the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of LIFE was
very impressive and daring. First of all, it had to be proven that a SINGLE CELL was
capable of having an INDEPENDENT LIFE and of performing all the necessary VITAL
FUNCTIONS, just as the CELL did as part of a CONGLOMERATE of CELLS, or a
MULTICELLULAR LIVING ORGANISM.
In the mid-1800’s the German Zoologist, KARL THEODOR VON SIEBOLD was
able to prove that the PROTOZOA (a SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISM) was capable of
having an INDEPENDENT LIFE. In 1845, SIEBOLD published a book in which he
showed that each PROTOZOA was surrounded by a MEMBRANE and could in fact
perform all the ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS of LIFE. This meant that the PROTOZOA

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could ingest food, digest it, assimilate it and discard the wastes. It could also grow
and reproduce by dividing into two.
The new science of EMBRYOLOGY (study of the EMBRYO) also supported the
new CELL THEORY.
The Russian Biologist, KARL ERNST VON BAER (1792 - 1876) was able to
show, in 1827, that the MAMMALIAN EGG (a SINGLE CELL) also developed into an
INDEPENDENT LIVING ORGANISM (the CHICK). During the next few years, BAER
published (1861) a two-volume book on this subject, thus founding the NEW
SCIENCE of EMBRYOLOGY.
The Swiss Physiologist, RUDOLF ALBERT VON KOLLIKER also pointed out, in
the 1840’s, that the EGG, the SPERM and the FERTILIZED OVUM (or ZYGOTE) were
all SINGLE CELLS. The FERTILIZED OVUM, which resulted from the union of the EGG
(from the FEMALE) and the SPERM (from the MALE) went on to develop into the
EMBRYO and then the NEW ORGANISM.

THE CELL THEORY AND CELL DIVISION
The CELL THEORY became fundamental in the understanding of LIVING
CELLS and LIVING ORGANISMS (MICRO and MACROSCOPIC) and their PROCESS OF
PROPAGATION, or REPRODUCTION by CELL DIVISION.
In around 1860, the German Pathologist, RUDOLF VIRCHOW made a simple
statement that started a MINI-REVOLUTION in the world of GENETICS and
BIOLOGY. In this statement, VIRCHOW said “ALL CELLS ARISE FROM CELLS”, and he
went on to show that the CELLS in a TISSUE had been created by DIVISION of the
ORIGINAL CELLS.
After the studies by BAER, KOLLIKER and VIRCHOW, it became clear and
obvious that all LIVING ORGANISMS, even the largest ones, began life as a SINGLE
CELL. Therefore, even DINOSAURS! owed their existence to that diminutive entity,
the LIVING CELL. AIN’T that IRONIC!!

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 It was also determined that larger organisms did not have larger cells than
smaller organisms, the larger organisms simply had MORE CELLS. All CELLS are
usually MICROSCOPIC in size, with a few exceptions like the chicken eggs.
The typical PLANT and ANIMAL CELL has a diameter that varies between 5
and 40 micrometers (microns), which is not quite visible to the human eye. We can
just barely see with the naked eye an object that is about 100 micrometers across.
During the next few years, it also became understood that although the CELL
was small, it was not just a droplet (or a microscopic chunk of matter) of
FEATURELESS PROTOPLASM. The CELL was in fact a VERY COMPLEX LIVING
ORGANISM that consisted of several SUBCELLULAR STRUCTURES, or ORGANELLES,
which performed all the fundamental and essential functions of life.
It was soon shown that all the functions performed by the ORGANELLES
were the VITAL FUNCTIONS that constituted LIFE ITSELF.
These functions of life included processes like: FOOD INGESTION, FOOD
SYNTHESIS (like PHOTOSYNTHESIS in the CHLOROPLAST), FOOD
TRANSFORMATION and ENERGY RELEASE (like the KREBS’ CYCLE in the
MITOCHONDRIA), WASTE RELEASE and CELL DIVISION for the purpose of
PROPAGATION, and GROWTH (which includes CELL DIVISION, ENLARGEMENT and
DIFFERENTIATION).
All this new and fantastic knowledge about the CELL and LIFE was attained
through the work of brilliant, creative and dedicated CHEMISTS, BIOCHEMISTS,
MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS, CYTOLOGISTS, GENETICISTS, etc.
This new knowledge was also possible due to the fantastic new discoveries
and inventions such as: ELECTRICITY, MICROSCOPES, ELECTRON MICROSCOPES, X-
RAY DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS, RADIOISOTOPE TRACING TECHNIQUES,
CHROMATOGRAPHY, ELECTROPHORESIS and the understanding of processes like
DIFFUSION, OSMOSIS and DIALYSIS.
This new and fantastic world of CYTOLOGY, BIOLOGY and the SCIENCES in
general was created largely during the 19th and 20th Centuries, and continues today
with great vigor, creativity and fascination.

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 CELL DIVISION AND THE CELL NUCLEUS
In 1831, the Scottish Botanist ROBERT BROWN (1773 - 1858) observed with
his MICROSCOPE that PLANT CELLS had a SMALL BODY (about a tenth of the size of
the total cell volume) and that this STRUCTURE was actually a REGULAR FEATURE
in ALL CELLS. BROWN named this SMALL BODIES in the CELL, NUCLEUS (from the
Latin word meaning LITTLE NUT).
ROBERT BROWN was also the scientist who discovered the phenomenon
called BROWNIAN MOVEMENT, where PARTICLES (like POLLEN GRAINS)
suspended in water exhibited (under the MICROSCOPE) a random and irregular
motion. The phenomenon of BROWNIAN MOVEMENT was not explained until the
Scottish Mathematician and Physicist JAMES CLERK MAXWELL (1831 - 1879) and
the Austrian Physicist LUDWIG E. BOLTZMANN (1844 - 1906) developed,
independently, their KINETIC THEORY of GASES in about 1860.
Since SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN introduced their CELL THEORY only a
generation earlier, research on the structure and physiology of CELLS had been very
slow partly because the CELLS and their ANATOMY were quite transparent under
the MICROSCOPE.
With the development of SYNTHETIC DYES by the English Chemist, SIR
WILLIAM HENRY PERKIN (1838 - 1907) and the German Chemists JOHANN
BAEYER (1835 - 1917), KARL J. GRAEBE (1841 - 1927) and AUGUST VON
HOFMANN (1818 - 1892) it was then possible to STAIN the CELLS, CELL
ORGANELLES and MICROORGANISMS in order to study them under the
MICROSCOPE.
The German Anatomist, WALTHER FLEMMING and the German
Microbiologists, PAUL EHRLICH (1854 - 1915) and ROBERT KOCH (1843 - 1910)
were among the first to develop STAINING METHODS to study the MICROSCOPIC
WORLD under the MICROSCOPE.

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 WALTHER FLEMMING
FIRST TO DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF CELL DIVISION, MITOSIS





























WALTHER FLEMMING (1843 - 1905) German Anatomist.
WALTHER FLEMMING obtained his Medical Degree in 1868 and then served
as an assistant to the German Physiologist, WILHELM F. KUHNE (1837 - 1900). In
1876, FLEMMING became a Professor of Anatomy at the University of Kiel, a
position that he held the rest of his life.
After SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN had presented their CELL THEORY, little
research had been done on CELLS because they were very transparent under the
microscope. With the advent of SYNTHETIC DYES and the development of

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METHODS to STAIN CELLS and MICROORGANISMS, scientists began to study the
new and fantastic MICROSCOPIC WORLD with great enthusiasm in the late 1800’s.
FLEMMING was one of the first anatomists to STAIN CELLS and to observe
that the NUCLEUS had a unique AFFINITY for a certain DYE, which allowed him to
make more distinct MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS, particularly during the process
of CELL DIVISION.
In 1882, FLEMMING published his book entitled CELL SUBSTANCE, NUCLEUS
AND CELL DIVISION, where he described the ENTIRE PROCESS of CELL DIVISION.
With this MAGNIFICENT DISCOVERY of CELL DIVISION the WORLD of GENETICS
EXPLODED with great virtuosity and the result was the fabulous field of GENETICS
that we have today.
FLEMMING observed that the NUCLEUS had a component that became
STAINED very strongly. He called this material CHROMATIN (from the Greek word
meaning COLOR). By following the movement of the CHROMATIN he was able to
observe the VARIOUS STAGES of CELL DIVISION. The German anatomist, WILHELM
VON WALDEYER (1836-1921) gave these CHROMATIN THREADS the name of
CHROMOSOMES in 1888.
FLEMMING called the process of CELL DIVISION, MITOSIS (from the Greek
word meaning THREADS) because of the prominent role played by the THREAD-
LIKE CHROMOSOMES in this process.
FLEMMING observed that during CELL DIVISION, the CHROMOSOMES
DOUBLED in number and when the CELL started to DIVIDE into the TWO
DAUGHTER CELLS, half of the CHROMOSOMES went to one cell and the other half
went to the other cell. In this way, the DAUGHTER CELLS ended with the SAME
NUMBER of CHROMOSOMES as the initial MOTHER CELL.
When the GENETIC STUDIES of the Austrian Botanist, GREGOR MENDEL
(1822 - 1884) were published in 1865 and 1869 and later rediscovered by the
Dutch Botanist, HUGO De VRIES (1848 - 1935) in 1886, the information given by
FLEMMING on CELL DIVISION became very useful in interpreting MENDEL’S
GENETIC LAWS of HEREDITY.

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 It was also determined that the CELLS of each SPECIES of PLANTS and
ANIMALS had a FIXED and CHARACTERISTIC NUMBER of CHROMOSOMES, which
was fundamental in identifying the various SPECIES. HUMAN CELLS have 23 PAIRS
of CHROMOSOMES.
The Belgian Cytologist, EDUARD VAN BENEDEN (1846 - 1910) expanded on
the work by FLEMMING. In 1885-1887 BENEDEN demonstrated that the NUMBER
of CHROMOSOMES in the various CELLS of the BODY was CONSTANT.
Furthermore, BENEDEN discovered that the SEX CELLS (EGGS and SPERMS)
only had HALF of the CHROMOSOMES because during CELL DIVISION the
CHROMOSOMES did not double in number. This way when the EGG and SPERM
united the RESULTING CELL (the ZYGOTE) had the CORRECT NUMBER of
CHROMOSOMES (DOUBLE the number of CHROMOSOMES in the SEX CELLS). This
meant that in the NEW ORGANISM one of EACH PAIR of CHROMOSOMES came from
the MOTHER (via the EGG) and the other came from the FATHER (via the SPERM).
The process of CELL DIVISION in SEX CELLS was called MEIOSIS (from the
Greek word meaning TO MAKE LESS). This information was also very useful in
interpreting MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY.
The German Botanist EDUARD A. STRASBURGER (1844 - 1912) was also one
of the pioneers in the field of CYTOLOGY. In 1882, he created the term
NUCLEOPLASM to name the PROTOPLASM within the NUCLEUS and the term
CYTOPLASM to name the CELL PROTOPLASM outside the NUCLEUS.
STRASBURGER studied in 1888, the behavior of PLANT CELLS during CELL
DIVISION (or MITOSIS). He also studied the behavior of SEX CELLS during CELL
DIVISION (or MEIOSIS) and indicated that these SEX CELLS only had HALF of the
NUMBER of CHROMOSOMES found in the BODY CELLS, as BENEDEN had indicated.
Today, except for VIRUSES, it is recognized that ALL LIFE is based on the
LIVING CELL as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of LIFE.

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 CELL CLASSIFICATION, ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

CELL CLASSIFICATION
When studying LIVING CELLS at the various levels of BIOLOGICAL
ORGANIZATION, it is observed that there are two distinct kinds of cells, the
PROKARYOTES and EUKARYOTES.

PROKARYOTE CELLS (meaning PRO or BEFORE and KARYON or NUCLEUS)
The PROKARYOTE CELLS are characterized most notably by the fact that
their NUCLEI are not surrounded by an outer membrane and their hereditary
material, always found in the NUCLEUS, is not organized into the distinct PROTEIN-
CONTAINING CHROMOSOMES.
In other words, the PROKARYOTES do not have a well-defined NUCLEUS
separated from the rest of the cell by a distinct MEMBRANE.
The PROKARYOTES include the BACTERIA and the BLUE-GREEN ALGAE and
they represent a more primitive stage in the evolution of life.
The BACTERIA are UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS without CHLOROPHYLL.
They may be classified according to shape into: COCCI (spheres), BACILLI (rods),
and SPIRILLA (spirals).
The evolution from PROKARYOTES to the first EUKARYOTES, was one of the
big evolutionary steps or transitions, second only to the origin of life itself.

EUKARYOTE CELLS (meaning EUKO, or TRUE, and KARYON or NUCLEUS)
The EUKARYOTE CELLS on the other hand, do have a true NUCLEUS, or a
well-defined NUCLEUS, separated from the rest of the cell by a special MEMBRANE,
or NUCLEAR ENVELOPE.
The HEREDITARY MATERIAL is contained in the NUCLEUS in well-organized
CHROMOSOMES and the cells also have other specialized structures.
The EUKARYOTES include all the other living organisms and their cells are
generally larger than the PROKARYOTE cells.

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 A second fundamental distinction in the world of cells concerns their
CARBON and ENERGY sources, which creates two other kinds of cells, the
AUTOTROPHS and the HETEROTROPHS.

AUTOTROPHIC CELLS AND ORGANISMS
AUTOTROPHIC CELLS do not require any kind of ORGANIC MATTER as a
source of CHEMICAL ENERGY. They get their CARBON from the CARBON DIOXIDE in
the air and their energy from the SUN by way of the process of PHOTOSYNTHESIS
(PHOTOSYNTHETIC CELLS) or by OXIDIZING INORGANIC SUBSTANCES
(CHEMOSYNTHETIC CELLS). With the exception of certain BACTERIA all
AUTOTROPHIC CELLS and ORGANISMS are PHOTOTROPHS (they perform
PHOTOSYNTHESIS) and they require free OXYGEN from the AIR (they are AEROBIC
CELLS or ORGANISMS).

HETEROTROPHIC CELLS AND ORGANISMS
HETEROTROPHIC CELLS require ENERGY-RICH ORGANIC COMPOUNDS,
which are synthesized by other cells or organisms (frequently by PHOTOTROPHS).
This means that they get both, their CARBON and their ENERGY from ORGANIC
SUBSTANCES and they are AEROBIC ORGANISMS (they require free oxygen).
Living cells may also be classified into AEROBIC CELLS and ANAEROBIC
CELLS. The AEROBIC CELLS require FREE OXYGEN from the air for their
RESPIRATION and OXIDATION REACTIONS. The ANAEROBIC CELLS are more
versatile in that they can utilize the combined oxygen present in more complex
molecules for their RESPIRATION and OXIDATION REACTIONS. This means that
these CELLS can LIVE and FUNCTION in the absence of AIR or where the air
(oxygen) supply is limited.
At the most general level of classification, Living organisms may be classified
into five general groups: the PROKARYOTES (single-celled organisms), the
EUKARYOTES, or PROTISTS (mostly single-celled organisms), the FUNGI
(multicellular organisms), PLANTS and ANIMALS.

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 All PLANTS (with a few exceptions) are PHOTOSYNTHETIC and
AUTOTROPHIC organisms. All ANIMALS and FUNGI are HETEROTROPHIC
organisms.
Most of the cells in PLANTS and ANIMALS have a diameter between 10 and
20 micrometers, which is about the smallest object that the naked eye can see
clearly. The smallest detectable size that the naked eye can see is about 0.1 mm, or
100 um.


THE WORLD OF THE CELL WITH ALL ITS COMPLEXITY & BEAUTY

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 THE STRUCTURE OF THE CELL


Cell Membrane Nucleolus

Nuclear
Membrane Nucleoplasm
Golgi
Nucleus Complex
(Chromosomes)
Endoplasmic
Reticulum

Lysosome
Vacuole
Ribosomes Proteins

Mitochondrion Chloroplasts
(Krebs Cycle) (Photosynthesis)
Cytoplasm

The cell is the basic building block of life

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 CELL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
All cells in living organisms are basically very comparable, containing similar
STRUCTURES and ORGANELLES, ENZYME SYSTEMS and GENETIC MATERIALS.
The main difference between PLANT and ANIMAL cells is that PLANT cells
have a CELL WALL and CHLOROPLASTS where PHOTOSYNTHESIS takes place.
ANIMAL CELLS only have a CELL MEMBRANE and do not have CHLOROPLASTS.
The more complex EUKARYOTIC CELLS found in most living organisms
consist of the following SUBCELLULAR STRUCTURES and ORGANELLES.
A cell basically consists of a CELL MEMBRANE, the CYTOPLASM (containing
various ORGANELLES, including the MITOCHONDRION and the CHLOROPLASTS)
and the CENTRAL NUCLEUS, which contains the GENETIC MATERIAL, or
CHROMOSOMES.
The following definitions given for the different SUBCELLULAR STRUCTURES
and ORGANELLES are very general and they may not represent the ultimate
definitions known today, due to the ongoing, in-depth research in MOLECULAR and
CELLULAR BIOLOGY.

CELL WALL
The CELL WALL is found outside the CELL MEMBRANE, mostly in PLANT
CELLS. It is rigid and largely composed of CELLULOSE.

CELL MEMBRANE
The CELL MEMBRANE may consist essentially of PHOSPHOLIPIDS,
CHOLESTEROL and PROTEIN MOLECULES and it is essentially designed to contain
the CELL COMPONENTS and to allow the various EXCHANGE FUNCTIONS.
The MEMBRANES of a cell, including those surrounding the various
ORGANELLES, have a similar structure and their differences are essentially
determined by their functions in the cell.
The CELL MEMBRANES are fundamentally important in determining the cell
functions and its survival.

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CYTOPLASM
Some years ago, the cell was essentially visualized as a bag with a fluid (the
CYTOPLASM) containing some functional substances like ENZYMES, PROTEINS and
a few ORGANELLES like the MITOCHONDRION and various PLASTIDS.
With the advent of the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE and other powerful
experimental techniques (including X-RAY DIFFRACTION, RADIOISOTOPE TRACING
TECHNIQUES, CHROMATOGRAPHY, ELECTROPHORESIS and various forms of
DIFFUSION), the perception of the CELL and its CYTOPLASM has grown in
complexity, much like a small town, which evolved into a thriving metropolis.
The CYTOPLASM has developed into a CELL-FLUID rich in composition and
cellular functions, crowded with vital cell ORGANELLES, which are in themselves
FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL FACTORIES.

VACUOLES
Many cells, especially PLANT CELLS, also have VACUOLES. A VACUOLE is a
container found within the CYTOPLASM, which is filled with WATER and various
SOLUTES, and surrounded by a single membrane.
A VACUOLE is like a storage place where cells keep some extra supplies for
future needs.
VESICLES, more commonly found in ANIMAL CELLS, have the same general
structure and functions as the VACUOLES in PLANT CELLS.

NUCLEUS
In EUKARYOTIC CELLS, the NUCLEUS is usually the most prominent
structure found within the cell. It is surrounded by a COMPLEX MEMBRANE (or
TWO LIPOPROTEIN MEMBRANES) with some degree of POROSITY, which makes up
the NUCLEAR ENVELOPE.
The most important functions of the NUCLEUS is to manage the
HEREDITARY INFORMATION (or GENETIC CODES) contained in the
CHROMOSOMES and to ensure the accurate dissemination of the properties of life,
on to the new cell or organism during the process of CELL DIVISION. When the cell

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is not dividing the CHROMOSOMES appear as a tangle of fine threads, called
CHROMATIN.
The CHROMOSOMES contain the GENETIC INFORMATION in the GENES, or
NUCLEIC ACIDS (DNA and RNA).
The NUCLEUS also contains the NUCLEOLUS, which is the site of ASSEMBLY
of the RIBOSOMES with RNA and PROTEIN molecules. Under the ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE, the NUCLEOLUS appears to be a collection of fine GRANULES and tiny
FIBERS.

CELL ORGANELLES
The number of CELL ORGANELLES has increased significantly with the
advent of the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE in the 20th Century.
Using the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE, ALBERT CLAUDE, GEORGE PALADE and
CHRISTIAN De DUVE, were among the first to pioneer the study of the CELL
ANATOMY.
During the middle of the 20th Century these outstanding CYTOLOGISTS were
able to penetrate the fantastic world of the cell and find, one by one, some of the
most important CELL ORGANELLES.
They first defined the CELL ORGANELLES as “LITTLE BODIES” with
DEFINITE STRUCTURES and FUNCTIONS, which were essential in the life of the
CELL.
Some of these ORGANELLES included, the MITOCHONDRION, PLASTIDS,
ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM, MICROSOMES (RIBOSOMES) and LYSOSOMES.

THE MITOCHONDRION
The MITOCHONDRION was among the largest and most common
ORGANELLES found in the CELL.
ALBERT CLAUDE was the first to show the BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY a clear
picture of the MITOCHONDRION. Later on GEORGE PALADE characterized the
MITOCHONDRION as an ORGANIZED GROUP of ENZYMES, which controlled the

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process of OXIDATION and PHOSPHORYLATION, and released useful energy as
ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP) or HIGH ENERGY PHOSPHATE BONDS.
In 1940, the German-British Biochemist, HANS KREBS was able to
characterize what is now known as the KREBS’ CYCLE, or CITRIC ACID CYCLE, which
takes place in the MITOCHONDRION and releases much of the useful energy in the
cell.
The MITOCHONDRION was finally recognized as the “POWER-HOUSE of the
CELL” and the main source of useful energy in the form of ATP.

PLASTIDS
The PLASTIDS are MEMBRANE-BOUND ORGANELLES found only in the cells
of PLANTS and ALGAE.
The PLASTIDS are surrounded by two membranes and have an INTERNAL
MEMBRANE SYSTEM that may be folded in an intricate way, much like is observed
in the MITOCHONDRION.
The MATURE PLASTIDS exist in three types: LEUCOPLASTS,
CHROMOPLASTS and CHLOROPLASTS.
The LEUCOPLASTS (LEUCO meaning WHITE) store STARCH and tend to be
numerous in the STORAGE ORGANS of plants such as ROOTS and TUBERS.
The CHROMOPLASTS (CHROMO meaning COLOR) contain PIGMENTS and
are associated with the bright orange and yellow colors found in FLOWERS, FRUITS
(CARROTS) and LEAVES during the fall season.
The CHLOROPLASTS (CHLORO MEANING GREEN) are the CHLOROPHYLL-
CONTAINING PLASTIDS where PHOTOSYNTHESIS takes place.

RIBOSOMES
The RIBOSOMES are probably the most numerous of the CELL ORGANELLES.
The Escherichia coli, a EUKARYOTIC CELL has thousands of RIBOSOMES.
The RIBOSOMES are the sites of the cell where the AMINO ACID CHAINS are
assembled into PROTEIN MOLECULES of various kinds.

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 The RIBOSOMES tend to be distributed in the CYTOPLASM and their location
in the CELL seems to be related to the kinds of PROTEINS they manufacture.

ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM
The ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM is a network of interconnecting SACS and
TUBES found in EUKARYOTIC CELLS. Their abundance seems to be determined by
the level of the cell’s activity.
There are two types of ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER), the ROUGH ER
(with RIBOSOMES attached) and the SMOOTH ER (without RIBOSOMES).
Research data seem to indicate that the ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM is
involved in the synthesis of PROTEINS.

GOLGI COMPLEX
The functions of the GOLGI COMPLEX seem to be related to the functions of
the ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM.
The GOLGI COMPLEX essentially, seems to serve as a PACKING and
DISTRIBUTION CENTER of the various CELL’S CONTENTS.

LYSOSOMES
The LYSOSOMES are ORGANELLES that contain powerful ENZYMES that
assist in the destruction of PROTEINS and other CELLULAR DEBRIS or WASTE
PRODUCTS.
These destructive ENZYMES are enclosed in bags surrounded by
MEMBRANES and they are involved in various CATABOLIC ACTIVITIES in the cell.
If the LYSOSOMES break open and the destructive ENZYMES are released, the
CELL itself is destroyed. The INFLAMMATION, or pain, associated with RHEUMATIC
ARTHRITIS and GOUT, seems to be related to the breakup of the LYSOSOMES and
the release of these ENZYMES.

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THE ORIGIN OF LIFE BY SPONTANEOUS GENERATION VS VITALISM
The question about the ORIGIN of MAN and LIFE itself during the
RENAISSANCE ERA (15th and 16th Centuries) was very much an ecclesiastic question
with one simple answer given by the CHURCH, “GOD created MAN and all LIVING
ORGANISMS”.
When the English Naturalist, Charles Darwin, proposed his THEORY of
EVOLUTION OF SPECIES by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION in the 19th Century,
the question about the ORIGIN of LIFE became very controversial and one, which
created much unrest in our educated society, including philosophers and scientists.
Actually, DARWIN had started a BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION that is still quite active
in the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, from various points of view.
The question about the ORIGIN of LIFE at the MICROSCOPIC LEVEL was one
which became extremely controversial long before MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN and
THEODOR SCHWANN had proposed their CELL THEORY of LIFE, and before LOUIS
PASTEUR and ROBERT KOCH had advanced their GERM THEORY of DISEASES
during the 19th Century.
Actually, at the MICROSCOPIC LEVEL, the question about the ORIGIN of LIFE
was a very legitimate one. This was because, before the advent of the MICROSCOPE
in the 16th and 17th Centuries, we could not see what was taking place with
MICROORGANISMS and with the formation of MAGGOTS, WORMS and INSECTS in
stagnant waters and in putrid and decaying meat, cheese, etc.
The question then was: Do MICROORGANISMS, MAGGOTS and INSECTS
develop by SPONTANEOUS GENERATION during FERMENTATION or in PUTRID and
DECAYING MATTER, or was there another answer? Like, LIVING ORGANISMS can
only be created by other LIVING ORGANISMS? This was the VITALIST THEORY.
The answer was not an easy one, and one that could come from LOGICAL and
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS, given that there was no access to MICROSCOPES.
Even great Scholars like ARISTOTLE, THOMAS AQUINAS, WILLIAM HARVEY,
ISAAC NEWTON and most MEDICAL DOCTORS, tended to favor the idea of the
creation of life by SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. It took dedicated Scientists and

124
careful research to prove that SPONTANEOUS GENERATION did not exist and that
LIVING ORGANISMS could only be created by other LIVING ORGANISMS, or by way
of SEEDS or EGGS, which were too small to see.
Among the first to investigate the idea of SPONTANEOUS GENERATION by
way of SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTATION were, FRANCESCO REDI, LAZZARO
SPALLANZANI and LOUIS PASTEUR.

FRANCESCO REDI (1626 - 1699) Italian Physician.
In 1668, FRANCESCO REDI placed ROTTING MEAT in a series of jars. Some of
the jars were covered with FINE GAUZE and other jars were left UNCOVERED. The
jars that were left uncovered and frequently visited by FLIES, were soon full of
MAGGOTS. The jars that were covered with GAUZE did have a strong odor, but had
no MAGGOTS. REDI concluded that the MAGGOTS had developed from EGGS (to
small to see) that had been laid by the FLIES and not by SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION.
REDI’S ideas were generally accepted until MICROORGANISMS were
discovered with the newly invented MICROSCOPES and the question of
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION was revived again.
The problem of the SOURING of MILK and the FERMENTATION of WINE also
raised the question of SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. The question was, were these
changes caused by CHEMICAL PROCESSES or by MICROBIAL PROCESSES due to
MICROORGANISMS, and if so what created these MICROORGANISMS?
For over a century after REDI’S experiment, some MICROBIOLOGISTS and
many MEDICAL DOCTORS continued to believe in the SPONTANEOUS GENERATION
of MICROORGANISMS.

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 LAZZARO SPALLANZANI
DISCREDITED THE THEORY OF SPONTANEOUS GENERATION

LAZZARO SPALLANZANI (1729 - 1799) Italian Microbiologist.
In 1765, LAZZARO SPALLANZANI decided to investigate again the idea of
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION under more rigorous experimental conditions.
SPALLANZANI used two sets of jars containing a BROTH. One set was left
open to the air only; the other set was boiled to kill the MICROORGANISMS that
were present and then sealed to prevent further contaminations.
The jars that were not boiled and left open to the air were teaming with
MICROORGANISMS. The jars that were boiled and sealed remained STERILE and
free of MICROBIAL LIFE.
SPALLANZANI proved to his satisfaction that SPONTANEOUS GENERATION
did not occur even in the world of MICROORGANISMS. He even went on to isolate

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single BACTERIA in order to observe, under the MICROSCOPE, its division into TWO
BACTERIA.
The proponents of SPONTANEOUS GENERATION were not convinced. They
maintained that BOILING the broth destroyed some “VITAL PRINCIPLE” (a
substance necessary for life to develop) and therefore no MICROSCOPIC LIFE could
develop in SPALLANZANI’S BOILED and SEALED jars.

LOUIS PASTEUR (1822 - 1895) French Microbiologist.
The dilemma of SPONTANEOUS GENERATION in MICROORGANISMS was left
in the hands of the great French MICROBIOLOGIST, LOUIS PASTEUR.
In 1860-1862, PASTEUR performed an experiment similar to that of
SPALLANZANI, using a flask with a long horizontal s-shaped neck that functioned as
a trap. He boiled the meat extract in the flask and left it exposed to the air by way of
the long curved neck. This allowed the air to enter the flask freely, but any dust or
MICROORGANISMS were trapped by the curved neck.
The meat extract did not spoil. There was no decay and no
MICROORGANISMS.
PASTEUR repeated his experiment at the SORBONNE in Paris in 1864 in the
presence of his old teacher, the Chemist JEAN BAPTISTE DUMAS (1800 - 1884) and
other authorities. The experiment was a success and well accepted.
It appeared that PASTEUR had disproved, satisfactorily, the doctrine of
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION.
PASTEUR was able to prove that FERMENTATION was a BIOLOGICAL
PROCESSES caused by YEAST and not a CHEMICAL PROCESS, as several notable
Chemists believed, including JUSTUS VON LIEBIG (1803 - 1873).
After the studies performed REDI, SPALLANZANI and PASTEUR, the
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY came to believe that “LIFE can only be created by LIFE”.
The supporters of the doctrine of VITALISM had come out triumphant.
Notwithstanding, the following statement still lingers in the minds of a few
Scientists to this day.

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 In an ANCIENT OCEAN of PREHISTORIC WATERS the early precursors of life
evolved from PRIMORDIAL ORGANIC MOLECULES with replicating and energy-
producing capabilities. And for the first time, ORGANIC LIFE took its first steps as
ANIMATED EARTH, to feast its eyes and witness the power of the SUN and the
BEAUTY of NATURE in all its splendor!

ONLY NATURE CAN IMPROVE ON NATURE!
NATURE AT ITS VERY BEST!

ONLY NATURE CAN EXPRESS THE MAJESTY OF OUR UNIVERSE

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 AN ABSTRACT ON THE ORIGIN OF OUR UNIVERSE AND LIFE ITSELF
Before we embark ourselves into the impossible journey of explaining the origin
of life and of all matter in our UNIVERSE, we may want to first explore one of the most
fantastic and unimaginable THEORIES on the ORIGIN of our UNIVERSE, the BIG BANG
THEORY.

THE PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE OF A UNIVERSE THAT ILLUMINATES
THE NIGHT WITH MYSTERY & ENCHANTMENT.
WE REMINISCE THE PAST, LIVE THE PRESENT & DREAM THE FUTURE.
MODEL OF THE BIG BANG THEORY

THE BIG BANG THEORY
The astronomers and other dreamers of science have proposed a plausible
theory on the ORIGIN of our UNIVERSE that is rich in logic, science and imagination.
This is the BIG BANG THEORY, which suggests that our universe was created by
a BIG BANG, or MEGA EXPLOSION of a VERY DENSE MASS, or BLACK HOLE and
SINGULARITY, with an immense force of GRAVITY.
The BIG BANG, which occurred some 20 billion years ago, filled the COSMIC
SPACE with ENORMOUS ENERGY, or HEAT (about 100 billion degrees Celsius), LIGHT

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and with an abundant variety of MATTER in the form of SUBATOMIC, or
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES, travelling at fantastic velocities. This fertile COSMIC
ENVIRONMENT was able to provide us with a CARNIVAL of FORTUITOUS EVENTS,
whose existence have been challenged by the LAWS of NATURE at every turn.
Our starry firmament became a COSMIC INCUBATOR and NURSERY where our
MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM was THE CENTER OF CREATION by way of
SUBATOMIC PARTICLES colliding with BOUNDLESS ENERGY to create and recreate
the various forms of STARDUST.
Our COSMIC SPACE was a place where MATTER and ENERGY interacted
abundantly to facilitate the formation of a MASS-ENERGY CONTINUUM, which created
the more stable SUBATOMIC PARTICLES such as ELECTRONS, PROTONS and
NEUTRONS, and finally our MAGNIFICENT ATOMS.
It is believed that when the COSMIC TEMPERATURES dropped down to about
2,500 degrees centigrade, the PROTONS and NEUTRONS began to hold together by
NUCLEAR FORCES, which are still vaguely understood.
With the creation of the PROTONS (POSITIVELY CHARGED SUBATOMIC
PARTICLES) and the NEUTRONS (NEUTRAL PARTICLES), the formation of the ATOMIC
NUCLEUS became feasible.
These positively charged nuclei (due to the positive charges of the PROTONS)
started to attract very small and energetic negatively charged subatomic particles, the
ELECTRONS, which began to orbit the NUCLEUS at very high speeds.
This new and fantastic unit of MATTER-ENERGY CONTINUUM became our
PRODIGIOUS ATOM that we regard as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK of MATTER, and
which went on to form our UNIVERSE of STARS, PLANETS and GALAXIES.
The story also tells us that these SIMPLE ATOMS went on to form the more
complex ATOMS and MOLECULES and finally LIFE itself.
The BIG BANG that started some 20 billion years ago is believed to be the
creator of our UNIVERSE in ways that even the most brilliant minds have failed to
clearly understand in terms of its NATURE, ORIGEN, EVOLUTION and DESTINY.
In the final analysis, our LIFELESS, but DYNAMIC ATOM, with its MINUTE MASS
and IMMENSE ENERGY eventually managed to create LIFE itself. Apparently, we are

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made up of STARDUST, the STARDUST that we contemplate and admire every night in
the form of beautiful starry skies.
It is also believed that a SUPERNATURAL and SUPREME BEING has always had
the wisdom to guide us and the universe in the right direction.
On the ORIGIN of our UNIVERSE, we may entertain two other fundamental
questions whose answers represent quite a predicament in logistics.
The first question is: Does our UNIVERSE have a BEGINNING and an END? If
our UNIVERSE has a beginning, then the next question is: What existed before that
INITIAL MOMENT?
If our UNIVERSE will have an END, then the next question is: What will exist
after that FINAL MOMENT?
It appears that the questions never end because the answers are always
unsatisfactory cliff-hangers.
The first question is like another common predicament we encounter. What
came first, the chicken or the egg? If the chicken came first, then how was the chicken
created? If the egg came first, then who laid the first egg?
Another question is: Is our UNIVERSE UNCHANGEABLE and FINITE, or is it
always CHANGING and LIMITLESS? If our UNIVERSE is STABLE and FINITE, then its
ORIGIN and DESTINY could be in the hands of GOD, or some SUPREME BEING. If our
UNIVERSE is constantly CHANGING and LIMITLESS, then we have a logistical
predicament with an INDEFINABLE ASYMPTOTE.
The LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MATTER AND ENERGY (where MATTER and
ENERGY are neither DESTROYED nor CREATED, only TRANSFORMED) may help us to
believe that in the END, there is indeed a GOD.

THE INCREDIBLE MYSTERY OF OUR COSMOS.
Please allow me to make a few concluding comments on an aspect relative to
our cosmos, which has interested and intrigued me for some time.
Observing our magnificent BLUE STARRY SKY actually represents an extremely
COMPLEX and PRODIGIOUS STORY that covers the INFINITY of SPACE and the

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ETERNITY of TIME with all its ENIGMATIC, ASYMPTOTIC and FANTASTIC UNIVERSAL,
NATURAL and SUPERNATURAL EVENTS.
When we all retire with our lonely thoughts to reminisce and admire a
BEAUTIFUL STARRY NIGHT and experience a moment of romantic exaltation and
delight, we are looking at MAGNIFICENT and ROMANTIC STARS designed to fill our
hearts with joy and our quiet nights with peaceful and southing lights. However, we
are also looking at a PRODIGIOUS SCENARIO OF DESTRUCTION where the STARS are
really worlds undergoing ZILLIONS of NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS, which fill our HEAVENS
with the LIMITLESS COSMIC ENERGY that DRIVES OUR ENTIRE UNIVERSE every
moment of our existence. What we see at night is not only the GLOW OF ROMANTIC
STARS, but also the FIRES of HELL coming from STARS that are bursting with the
INFINITE ENERGY of the ATOM as a result of NUCLEAR FISSION. These are in fact, the
PULSATING LIGHTS that represent the EVOLUTION of COSMIC TIME, SECOND by
SECOND, evolving from the many AGES of our CONSTANTLY CHANGING IMMENSE
UNIVERSE.
The NIGHT SKY is also, TIME in MOTION in the form of COSMIC LIGHTS. The
NIGHT SKY is where the ORIGIN, EVOLUTION and DESTINY of our COSMOS and our
LIVES reside in the form of ATOMS, COSMIC DUST, STARS and GALAXIES. The STARS
are SUBLIME, MYSTICAL FLOWERS that BLOOM in the INFINITY of the NIGHT SKY to
ADORN GOD’S DIVINE GARDENS and our ENTIRE UNIVERSE.
If we wish to reword this DRAMATIC COSMIC LITANY, it may be said:
Think Again My Friend, BECAUSE THAT BEAUTIFUL AND ROMANTIC BLUE
SKY, WHICH WE ALL SEE,
IS NEITHER SKY NOR BLUE.
WHAT A PETTY THAT SUCH MAJESTIC NIGHT BEAUTY, WHICH WE ALL LOVE
AND SEE
IS NEITHER ROMANTIC and NOT at all TRUE!
( A romantic sentiment reworded from an old Spanish poem from the ERA of
SKEPTICISM in old and romantic SPAIN. The LAND of POEMS and ROMANTIC
GUITARS. ) THE AUTHOR

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 THE ORIGIN OF LIFE AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL
Understanding life and living organisms at the MICROSCOPIC LEVEL within
the domain of the LIVING CELL as the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF LIFE, is actually
extremely complex, dynamic and interactive.
The reason for the complexity of the ORIGIN OF LIFE is given by the fact that
the step from NONLIVING to LIVING MATTER was not a short and abrupt transition,
but a long and slow process, involving the gradual selection of zillions of fortuitous
EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES.
This transitional process went from SIMPLE ORGANIC MOLECULES like the
CARBOHYDRATES and SIMPLE AMINO ACIDS to the more complex organic
molecules like PROTEINS and to even more complex organic molecules, which
possessed some of the attributes of LIFE (self replication). These complex ORGANIC
MOLECULES gave origin to the NUCLEIC ACIDS (DNA and RNA), to the various CELL
ORGANELLES like the MITOCHONDRIA and CHLOROPLASTS, to the VIRUSES and to
PRIMITIVE LIVING CELLS (PROKARYOTE CELLS). Finally, the more complex living
cells with a NUCLEUS (the EUKARYOTE CELLS) and with all the attributes required
for an ORGANISM to subsist independently were formed, and LIFE was HERE.
Except for the VIRUSES, the LIVING CELL is a FUNDAMENTAL ENTITY that
represents LIFE on EARTH. Although the CELL is very small by human standards,
the CELL is enormously complex in ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY, and in its
interactions with other CELLS and with the ENVIRONMENT.
Yes indeed, the CELL represents a WORLD OF ITS OWN with unimaginable
complexity and capabilities. If the ATOM, which is only a small PHYSICAL REALITY
that constitutes the CELL, is an entity with prodigious complexity and capabilities;
then what about the CELL, which is not only a REALITY in the PHYSICAL WORLD,
but also a REALITY in the domain of CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY.

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 SVANTE ARRHENIUS
PROPOSED THE THEORY OF UNIVERSAL LIFE IN SPACE SPORES



















SVANTE ARRHENIUS (1859 - 1927) Swedish Chemist.
In 1907, the brilliant Swedish Chemist, SVANTE ARRHENIUS (who developed
the concept of IONIZATION) published a book entitled WORLDS IN THE MAKING. In
this book he proposed the notion of a UNIVERSAL LIFE and suggested that LIFE on
EARTH began with LIVING SPORES that came from the emptiness of space driven by
RADIATION FORCES. The implication here was that these LIVING SPORES, which
could withstand the adverse conditions of space, could then create LIFE anywhere
in the UNIVERSE where conditions were conducive to LIFE as we know it.

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ALEXANDER I. OPARIN (1894 - 1980) Soviet Biochemist.
The Soviet Biochemist, ALEXANDER OPARIN published, in 1924 (in English
1936), a book entitled THE ORIGIN OF LIFE ON EARTH. Here, OPARIN suggested a
MECHANISTIC ORIGIN of LIFE from a PRIMORDIAL SOUP by way of RANDOM
PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL and BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES, which resulted in the
CREATION and EVOLUTION of LIFE through an extended and long period of time.
His book and ideas opened the door for other scientists to look into this
theory, experimentally.

STANLEY MILLER’S EXPERIMENT
ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE IN THE LABORATORY

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STANLEY L. MILLER (1930 - 2007) American Chemist.
In 1953, the American Chemist STANLEY MILLER working under the
American Chemist, HERALD C. UREY (1893 - 1981), at the University of California,
conducted a startling experiment on the possible origin of life on EARTH under
primordial CHEMICAL and REDUCING ATMOSPHERIC conditions.
MILLER used carefully purified and sterilized WATER, an ATMOSPHERE of
HYDROGEN, AMMONIA and METHANE, and ELECTRIC DISCHARGES as the source of
ENERGY. After one week he analyzed the water solution and found that simple
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS and even a few SIMPLE AMINO ACIDS had formed. His
conclusion was that if such ORGANIC COMPOUNDS had formed in one week and
from such few ingredients then, what could have occurred on EARTH after
MILLIONS of YEARS and in an OCEAN of COMPLEX CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. With
these results, the probability for LIFE to develop on EARTH became very attractive
and plausible.
These kinds of studies were carried further by men like the American
Biochemist, MELVIN CALVIN (1911 - 1997), the American Astronomer, CARL
SAGAN (1934 - 1996) at CORNELL UNIVERSITY and by many other scientists.

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 THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRST CELL
As indicated before, the evolution of life from non-living complex organic
molecules, to the formation of LIVING CELLS with all their immense complexity, was
indeed a GIANT EVOLUTIONARY STEP that was and is very difficult to accept and
comprehend even today.

SIDNEY W. FOX
THE PROTEINOIDS, MICROSPHERES AND THE LIVING CELL.

SIDNEY W. FOX (1912 - 1998) American Biochemist.
In 1958, the American Biochemist, SIDNEY FOX made an attempt to try to
look into the ORIGIN of the LIVING CELL.
FOX felt that it was possible for life to develop under the PRIMORDIAL
CONDITIONS of the EARTH when HEAT was abundant and it could transform
SIMPLE COMPOUNDS into more COMPLEX SUBSTANCES. He went on to test his

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theory by heating a mixture of AMINO ACIDS and found that they formed LONG
ORGANIC CHAINS that resembled PROTEIN MOLECULES, or PROTEINOIDS. It
turned out that these PROTEINOIDS could be digested by ENZYMES and therefore
they could be used as FOOD by BACTERIA.
Even more startling was that when FOX dissolved these PROTEINOIDS in hot
water and let the solution cool down, the PROTEINOIDS combined into little
MICROSPHERES about the size of BACTERIA. These MICROSPHERES were not alive
by the usual standards, but they behaved much like cells did in some respects. For
example, when certain chemicals were added, these MICROSPHERES became
surrounded by a kind of MEMBRANE and could SWELL or SHRINK.
The MICROSPHERES could also produce BUDS, which sometimes seemed to
grow larger and then break off. They could separate, divide into two and cling
together to form CHAINS.
FOX felt that during PRIMORDIAL TIMES these MICROSPHERES could have
developed into several kinds. Some could be rich in DNA and replicate easily, while
others could perform PHOTOSYNTHESIS and even STORE ENERGY and so on.
This meant that with time the different MICROSPHERES could have formed
ORGANELLES and LIVING AGGREGATES that became SELF SUFFICIENT and
eventually evolved into LIVING CELLS.
This also signified that life on EARTH could have formed by means of a
GRADUAL EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS that fits and is consistant with the CONCEPT of
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION.
Many scientists have continued to study in this fashion, the possible origin of
life. However, the deeper they penetrate this mysterious and enigmatic world of the
LIVING CELL, the more complex it becomes. It is frequently observed that when a
scientist tries to play GOD, he usually finds himself alone and without answers!

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 EMBRYOLOGY AND THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT
OF ORGANISMS
EMBRYOLOGY is the science that studies the early stages of development of
the EMBRYO (or the ORGANISM) from the moment the EGG and the SPERM unite to
form the ZYGOTE and the LIVING ORGANISM.
EMBRYOLOGY also deal with the study of how the CELLS on the TERMINAL
BUDS of PLANTS evolved to form the various TISSUES and ORGANS.
The development of the science of EMBRYOLOGY is in a sense, a very logical
sequence that followed the creation of the CELL THEORY.

THE PREFORMATION THEORY VS THE THEORY OF EPIGENESIS
Another significant dilemma that emerged in the early history of BIOLOGY
and the creation of the CELL THEORY OF LIFE, was one in the area of EMBRYOLOGY.
The new BIOLOGICAL DILEMMA in EMBRYOLOGY appeared as a very logical
question, which was: How is it that an organism develops during the EMBRYONIC
STAGE of LIFE?
There are two schools of thought, as follows:

THE PREFORMATION THEORY
This theory proposed that during the EMBRYONIC STAGE a COMPLETE
ORGANISM was already present in the EMBRYO, in a MINIATURE FORM (or
HOMUNCULUS, as it was first named).
This was at the beginning, the more popular idea because it agreed with the
DOCTRINE of CREATIONISM where the individual was already created, or
preformed.

THE THEORY OF EPIGENESIS
This theory proposed that a NORMAL and UNIFORM (or FORMLESS) CELL
first divided into many CELLS and then this INITIAL EMBRYONIC TISSUE started to
gradually DIFFERENTIATE into the various TISSUES, ORGANS and INDIVIDUALS.

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 THE THEORY of EPIGENESIS was originally proposed by the Greek
Philosopher ARISTOTLE. The word EPIGENESIS was first used by WILLIAM
HARVEY in his book published in 1651.
This theory became more popular after CHARLES DARWIN introduced his
theory of EVOLUTION by NATURAL SELECTION because it suggested that an
EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS had taken place during the EMBRYONIC STAGE of LIFE. It
was also more compatible with the scientific fervor of the time.
Many of the early EMBRYOLOGICAL STUDIES came from the great Italian
Anatomists of the RENAISSANCE, including: LEONARDO Da VINCI, MONDINO De
LUZZI, MARCELLO MALPIGHI and ANDREAS VESALIUS.
During the 19th and 20th Centuries, with the advances in MICROSCOPY and
other great technologies, biologists began to believe more in the THEORY of
EPIGENESIS and to see more clearly that the EMBRYO did develop in a series of
PROGRESSIVE STAGES. EPIGENESIS displaced PREFORMATION as the favored
EMBRYOLOGICAL THEORY.

ROOT APICAL MERISTEM SHOWING THE PROCESS OF CELL
DIVISION, CELL ENLARGEMENT AND CELL DIFFERENTIATION
DURING THE EARLY GROWTH OF A ROOT TIP

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 KASPAR WOLFF
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF EMBRYOLOGY
INTRODUCED THE THEORY OF EPIGENESIS



















KASPAR FRIEDRICH WOLFF (1733 - 1794) German Physiologist.
KASPAR WOLFF, the son of a Tailor, obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from the
University of Halle.
Early in his life, WOLFF published a book on the early development of living
organisms (an EMBRYOLOGICAL STUDY), which was revolutionary in its
implications. In his book, WOLFF reported that the SPECIALIZED TISSUES and
ORGANS actually developed from an UNSPECIALIZED group of cells by a process of
CELL and TISSUE DIFFERENTIATION. Furthermore, WOLFF indicated that the tip of

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a growing plant shoot (or TERMINAL BUD) consisted of UNDIFFERENTIATED, or
STARTING CELLS, and that as these cells divided and subdivided, the new cells and
tissues started to SPECIALIZE and DIFFERENTIATE into the various ORGANS. Some
of the tissues developed into FLOWERS and other tissues into LEAVES and so on.
WOLFF also applied his ideas to the development of ANIMALS, such as the
formation of a CHICK from the UNDIFFERENTIATED MATERIALS in the EGG.
UNDIFFERENTIATED TISSUE, or GERM LAYERS, slowly produced the various
ORGANS in the CHICK by gradual SPECIALIZATION and DIFFERENTIATION.
WOLFF’S EMBRYOLOGIC IDEAS led to the THEORY OF EPIGENESIS, or the
gradual formation of the EMBRYO by the EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS of CELL and
tissue DIFFERENTIATION.
WOLFF is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of the science of EMBRYOLOGY.
Unfortunately, his ideas were largely neglected for several decades until the German
Embryologist, KARL E. VON BAER, restarted the new doctrine of EPIGENESIS.
This was also the time when the PREFORMATION THEORY (or the
development of life in the EMBRYO starting as a MINIATURE PREFORMED
ORGANISM) was being popularized by the Swiss Naturalist, CHARLES BONNET
(1720 - 1793) and a few other biologists and naturalists.
BONNET was one of the first to use the term EVOLUTION and believed in the
GEOLOGIC THEORY of CATASTROPHISM, or the development of the EARTH’S
NATURAL HISTORY by way of CATASTROPHES. An idea that was later embraced by
the great French Anatomist, GEORGES LEOPOLD CUVIER (1769 - 1832).

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 KARL ERNST VON BAER
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF EMBRYOLOGY
REINTRODUCED THE THEORY OF EPIGENESIS





























KARL ERNST VON BAER (1792 - 1876) German-Russian Embryologist.
KARL VON BAER was a Russian of German descent who obtained a MEDICAL
DEGREE at the University of Dorpat in 1814. He then received POST-GRADUATE
TRAINING in Berlin and Vienna.
His greatest discovery occurred when he was a professor at the University of
Koningsberg. In 1827, he found that the MAMMALIAN EGGS of a DOG were located
in the FOLLICLES of the MAMMALIAN OVARY. With this information it finally

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became clear that MAMMALIAN DEVELOPMENT in the OVARY was similar in the
various ANIMALS, including MAN.
Between 1828 and 1837 he prepared and published a two-volume textbook
on EMBRYOLOGY. Here he presented his study on the manner in which the EGG
developed into an INDEPENDENT LIVING ORGANISM.
BAER found that in the developing EGG, several layers of
UNDIFFERENTIATED TISSUE were responsible for the development of the various
SPECIALIZED ORGANS. He called these layers the GERM LAYERS that contained the
GERMS or the SEED OF LIFE (GERM did not mean in this case a MICROORGANISM).
BAER believed that there were four of these GERM LAYERS. It was the
German Physician ROBERT REMAK (1815-1865), the FOUNDER of
ELECTROTHERAPY, who determined, in 1845, that there were only three GERM
LAYERS, which he named:
ECTODERM - from the Greek word meaning OUTER SKIN.
MESODERM - meaning MIDDLE SKIN.
ENDODERM - meaning INNER SKIN.
These three GERM LAYERS were first discovered in 1817 by the Russian
Zoologist, CHRISTIAN H. PANDER (1794 - 1865).
With the THEORY of the GERM LAYERS, BAER had reintroduced the THEORY
of EPIGENESIS in EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT, as it was first proposed by the
German Physiologist, KASPAR F. WOLFF, several decades earlier.
BAER is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of MODERN EMBRYOLOGY
together with KASPAR WOLFF and CHRISTIAN PANDER.
KARL BAER is also considered one of the FOUNDERS of COMPARATIVE
EMBRYOLOGY. He firmly believed that the relationship among ANIMALS could be
better understood by comparing their EMBRYOS instead of comparing the ADULT
ANIMALS.

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THE PRODIGIOUS WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND ITS INTRIGUING
AND ENCHANTING LIFE FORMS

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 MICROBIOLOGY AND THE FANTASTIC WORLD
OF THE VERY SMALL
MICROBIOLOGY is the science that studies life at the MICROSCOPIC level. It is
the study of the MICROSCOPIC LIVING ORGANISMS, commonly known as GERMS, or
MICROBES, or MICROORGANISMS.
The word MICROBIOLOGY comes from the Greek language where MIKROS
means SMALL, BIOS means LIFE and LOGOS means to STUDY.
The word GERM comes from the Latin word GERMEN meaning BUD, or
something that contains the BEGINNING OF LIFE.
The science of MICROBIOLOGY is one of the most creative and
compassionate disciplines because of its contribution to the unveiling of the difficult
and enigmatic MICROSCOPIC WORLD, and because of its participation in reducing
HUMAN SUFFERING by controlling DISEASES and EPIDEMICS that have devastated
HUMANITY throughout our history.
Before we attempt to explore the world of MICROBIOLOGY, MICROSCOPY,
THE GERM-THEORY OF DISEASES, BACTERIA, VIRUSES, VECTOR INSECTS,
VACCINES and CHEMOTHERAPY; we shall try to give some idea of the problems that
Physicians and Microbiologists encountered in the face of DISEASES and
EPIDEMICS, starting with the 14th Century, but emphasizing the 17th Century and
beyond.

DISEASES PREDOMINANT DURING THE RENAISSANCE ERA
Some of the greatest problems that Physicians and Microbiologists had
during the RENAISSANCE were as follows:
- The incidence of serious CONTAGIOUS DISEASES (BACTERIAL and VIRAL)
and devastating EPIDEMICS that killed MILLIONS of PEOPLE.
- The predominant lack of scientific and medical knowledge and facilities,
which frustrated Physicians when attempting to alleviate SUFFERING and reduce
DEATH RATES. Hospitals were frequently regarded as DEATH CENTERS because of
a predominance of MEDICAL and SCIENTIFIC IGNORANCE.

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DEVASTATING PLAGUES IN EUROPE

SOME OF THE MOST COMMON DISEASES.
TUBERCULOSIS - Caused by BACTERIA.
SMALL POX - Caused by a VIRUS.
Killed millions of people world wide and much of the NATIVE INDIANS in the
AMERICAS after the arrival of the EUROPEANS.
MEASLES - Caused by a VIRUS.
DIPHTHERIA - Caused by BACTERIA.
CHOLERA - Caused by BACTERIA.
Killed hundreds of thousands worldwide.
SYPHILIS - Caused by BACTERIA.
A disease that came to EUROPE from the NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS.

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TYPHUS - Caused by BACTERIA.
Killed millions of people and much of NAPOLEONS ARMY in RUSSIA.
MUMPS - Caused by a VIRUS.
LEPROSY - Caused by BACTERIA.
SCARLET FEVER - Caused by BACTERIA.
DYSENTERY - Caused by BACTERIA.
MALARIA - Caused by a PLASMODIUM PARASITE transmitted by the ANOPHELES
MOSQUITO. One of the oldest diseases in the world.
YELLOW FEVER - Caused by a VIRUS transmitted by the AEDES MOSQUITO.
VENEREAL DISEASES - Caused by BACTERIA and VIRUSES.

THE PLAGUE THAT FORCED NEWTON TO LEAVE LONDON AND
RETURN TO HIS FARM HOME

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SOME OF THE MOST DEVASTATING EPIDEMICS IN EUROPE
Europe was affected by about a HUNDRED EPIDEMICS between 1340 and
1771 and killed between 25 and 50 million people. When these EPIDEMICS reached
EUROPE they first appeared in the PORT CITIES and then followed WAR and TRADE
ROUTES.
The various EPIDEMICS seemed to have come to EUROPE mostly from
CHINA, INDIA and the MIDDLE EAST and started to disappear during the 18th
Century.
The most devastating EPIDEMICS were:
The great LONDON PLAGUE, 1347 - 1353.
The great PLAGUE in MILAN and NORTHERN ITALY, 1629 - 1631.
The great PLAGUE of SEVILLE, 1647 - 1652.
The great LONDON PLAGUE, 1665 - 1666. The great SIR ISAAC NEWTON had to
leave LONDON to escape this EPIDEMIC.
The great VIENNA PLAGUE, 1679.
The great PLAGUE of MARSEILLE, 1720 - 1722.
The great PLAGUE of MOSCOW, 1771.
These EPIDEMICS were called BLACK PLAGUES, or BUBONIC PLAGUES and
they were caused by the BACTERIA, Yersinia pestis, transmitted by FLEAS that lived
on RATS and even PEOPLE. Some more recent Scholars believe that the BUBONIC
PLAGUE was in fact caused by different DISEASES.

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 THE GREAT PLAGUE OF MOSCOW

150
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY AND MICROSCOPY
The CREATION and DEVELOPMENT of a NEW SCIENCE is possible when all
its BASIC COMPONENTS have been discovered and are available. However,
CREATIVE SCIENTISTS must arrive, who are able to recognize these BASIC
COMPONENTS and are capable of UNITING them with INTUITIVENESS into the NEW
SCIENCE, or the NEW THEORY, or the NEW CONCEPT. Only then a NEW
CONCEPTION comes to LIFE by virtue of such CREATIVE MINDS.
This was the case of:
NEWTON and the development of his MECHANISTIC WORLD, the creation of
his LAWS OF MOTION and his magnificent development of the CONCEPT OF
GRAVITY, all of which redefined our conception of the UNIVERSE.
DARWIN and the development of his THEORY OF EVOLUTION by MEANS OF
NATURAL SELECTION, which REVOLUTIONIZED our BIOLOGICAL WORLD.
FARADAY and the development of his ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY, which
gave humanity the FABULOUS ELECTRIC CURRENT and all its magnificent
applications.
HARVEY and the development of the CIRCULATORY SYSTEM of the BLOOD,
which gave HUMAN ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY its FANTASTIC FUTURE.
SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN and the development of the CELL THEORY of
LIFE, which gave BIOLOGY its BASIC BUILDING BLOCK and its ANATOMY and
PHYSIOLOGY to CREATE the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES of today..
PASTEUR and KOCH and the development of MICROBIOLOGY and the GERM
THEORY of DISEASES, which gave MEDICINE its FOUNDATION.
RUTHERFORD and BOHR and the development of the MODERN ATOMIC
MODEL from the PHYSICS POINT OF VIEW, which gave us the BASIC BUILDING
BLOCK of MATTER and OUR UNIVERSE, as well as the fabulous energy of the ATOM.
EINSTEIN and the development of his THEORY of RELATIVITY, which gave
SCIENCE a magnificent STARTING POINT by UNIFYING ENERGY, MATTER and
LIGHT ( E = MC2 ) and creating his FOUR-DIMENSIONAL CONCEPT of the SPACE-
TIME CONTINUUM.

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 MICROBIOLOGY and MICROSCOPY also owe their DEVELOPMENT to the
following BASIC COMPONENTS that were FUNDAMENTAL PREREQUISITES:
The invention of the MICROSCOPE and the development of the SCIENCE of
MICROSCOPY. Also the development of the other magnificent TECHNOLOGIES
The advent of talented and well educated BIOLOGISTS and
MICROBIOLOGISTS.
The occurrence of DISEASES and EPIDEMICS that demanded the
intuitiveness and courage of dedicated MICROBIOLOGISTS and PHYSICIANS.
“Necessity is in fact the mother of discovery, invention and creativity”.

THE INVENTION OF THE MICROSCOPE AND THE DEVELOPMENT
OF MICROSCOPY
Before the 17th Century, the early NATURALISTS of the RENAISSANCE ERA
believed that the SMALLEST LIVING ORGANISMS were the tiny INSECTS, which
could be observed in NATURE, on PLANTS and ANIMALS, such as: SCALES, APHIDS,
BEETLES, WEEVILS, GNATS, BED BUGS, TICKS, FLEAS, ANTS, MOSQUITOS, FLIES
and MAGGOTS.
It was then taken for granted that no SMALLER LIVING ORGANISMS could
exist because we could not see them. Any evidence that could be observed, which
might suggest the presence of MICROBIAL LIFE, such as DISEASES, DECAYING
MATTER, PUTREFACTION and FERMENTATION, was accepted with a great sense of
MYSTICISM and UNCERTAINTY. These were dilemmas or questions that were
believed to require no answers because they were in the hands of GOD and within
the realm of DIVINE KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM.
MOTHER NATURE certainly had a BIG SURPRISE hidden in the confines of
THE MICROSCOPIC WORLD, which was about to be unveiled and revealed to the
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY by the invention of a rather simple and small instrument,
the MAGNIFYING GLASS and the MICROSCOPE.

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 No one could have ever imagined that there was a MICROSCOPIC WORLD
TEAMING WITH LIFE, which was much more abundant in LIVING ORGANISMS (by
MILLIONS and BILLIONS) than the BIOLOGICAL WORLD in front of OUR VERY EYES.
The invention of the OPTICAL MICROSCOPE in the 17th Century, introduced
NATURALISTS and BIOLOGISTS to the new world of MICROORGANISMS and to the
MICROSCOPIC STUDIES of GERMS, CELLS, TISSUES, and ORGANS in PLANTS and
ANIMALS.
The MICROSCOPE unveiled to us the BIOLOGICAL WORLD at a more
FUNDAMENTAL and BASIC LEVEL of ORGANIZATION found in LIVING ORGANISMS.
Eventually, this led BIOLOGISTS to the discovery of the LIVING CELL (CELL THEORY
OF LIFE) and the MICROBES (the GERM THEORY OF DISEASES).
The invention of the MICROSCOPE (from the words MICRO and SCOPE
meaning to view the very small) was a magnificent example of how a SINGLE NEW
TECHNOLOGY was able to allow the creation of THE NEW SCIENCES OF
MICROSCOPY and MICROBIOLOGY.
The invention of the MICROSCOPE represented one of the GREATEST
SCIENTIFIC GIFTS ever given to the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
The story of the invention of the OPTICAL MICROSCOPE began in the
CLASSIC GREEK ERA when the EARLY NATURALISTS started to observe that
CURVED MIRRORS and HOLLOW GLASS SPHERES filled with WATER had the
property of creating some degree of MAGNIFICATION in OBJECTS.
The American Statesman and Scientist, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1706 - 1790)
invented some of the early BIFOCAL GLASSES in the 1760’s.
The invention of the PRINTING PRESS by the German Inventor, JOHANN
GUTENBERG (1398 - 1468) in the 15th Century and the publication of the BIBLE and
many other fabulous BOOKS created a great demand for GLASSES in the years to
come.
During the early decades of the 17th Century, OPTICIANS in Holland, Italy,
England and Germany began to experiment with CURVED LENSES and their capacity
to MAGNIFY the world of the VERY SMALL.

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 The early studies with LENSES in Europe also led to the development of the
TELESCOPE by the Italian Physicists, GALILEO GALILEI (1564 - 1642) and
EVANGELISTA TORRICELLI (1608 - 1647) in the early 1600s.
Gradually, the MICROSCOPE and the science of MICROSCOPY were able to
develop prodigiously in the hands of talented and dedicated scientists.

THE INVENTION OF THE EARLY MICROSCOPES
HANS LIPPERSHEY (1570 - 1619) German-Dutch Optician.
LIPPERSHEY was a Lens Grinder who sold SPECTACLES for reading
purposes.
The story goes that one of his Apprentices, while playing with various
LENSES, found that when two LENSES were adjusted together they could bring
distant objects closer to the viewer.
In 1608, LIPPERSHEY used this observation to start mounting LENSES in
tubes to create some of the early TELESCOPES.
GALILEO soon heard of this discovery and began to build his own
TELESCOPES to view the HEAVENS and with this, GALILEO started the new
REVOLUTION in ASTRONOMY and TELESCOPIC ASTRONOMY.

VAN LEEUWENHOEK’S MICROSCOPE

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 ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK
CONSTRUCTED THE FIRST SINGLE-LENS MICROSCOPES



















ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632 - 1723) Dutch Microscopist.
LEEUWENHOEK was another Lens Grinder, who created some of the first
SINGLE-LENS MICROSCOPES in the 17th Century.
He ground his LENSES with such DELICACY and PERFECTION that his
SINGLE-LENS MICROSCOPES could MAGNIFY with great clarity up to nearly 200
times.
LEEUWENHOEK began his work with MICROSCOPES in 1674 as a hobby,
which he embraced with great passion. He went on to grind some 419 LENSES in his
lifetime.

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 His simple MICROSCOPES were tiny and short-focus, but with them
LEEUWENHOEK was able to observe, in the 17th Century, the new MICROSCOPIC
WORLD like no other scientist had ever done before.
It was ROBERT HOOKE who went on to develop the COMPOUND
MICROSCOPE that we use today.



ROBERT HOOKE
AND HIS COMPOUND MICROSCOPE

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 ROBERT HOOKE
CONSTRUCTED SOME OF THE EARLY COMPOUND MICROSCOPES

















ROBERT HOOKE (1635 - 1703) English Physicist.
HOOKE developed some of the early COMPOUND MICROSCOPES, which
became the precursors of todays COMPOUND OPTICAL MICROSCOPES.
He was able to observe and demonstrate the MICROSCOPIC WORLD with
great lucidity and intuitiveness in the 17th Century. This was also accomplished by
ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK and MARCELLO MALPIGHI.

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 JOSEPH J. LISTER
CREATED THE FIRST ACHROMATIC MICROSCOPE














JOSEPH J. LISTER (1786 - 1869) English Optician.
LISTER was a Wine Merchant and the father of the famous English Surgeon,
JOSEPH B. LISTER (1827 - 1912) who supported LOUIS PASTEUR in the
development of the GERM THEORY OF DISEASES and the practice of ANTISEPTIC
SURGERY in hospitals in the 1860’s.
LISTER worked on improving the LENSES for MICROSCOPES and in 1830 he
created the first ACHROMATIC MICROSCOPE, with ACHROMATIC LENSES that did
not produce BLURRED IMAGES (GHOSTS) with COLORED ABERRATIONS. This
allowed the observation of any object with great clarity.
With LISTER’S ACHROMATIC MICROSCOPE, the ERA OF MODERN
MICROSCOPY had started and the MICROSCOPIC WORLD could now be viewed with
great details and free of OPTICAL ABERRATIONS.
In 1834, LISTER was able to see, for the first time, the TRUE BICONCAVE
FORM of the RED BLOOD CELLS with his new MICROSCOPE.

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 GIOVANNI AMICI
INVENTED THE OIL-IMMERSION MICROSCOPE






















GIOVANNI B. AMICI (1786 - 1868) Italian Physicist.
GIOVANNI AMICI graduated from the University of Bologna in 1807 and
became Professor of Mathematics. In 1831 he moved to Florence to become the
head of the OBSERVATORY and MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY. AMICI dedicated
much of his life to the development of SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, particularly the
MICROSCOPE.
He made ingenious adjustments to the LENS SYSTEM of his MICROSCOPES,
which improved their clarity and magnification up to 6,000 times. He also made
improvements to J. J. LISTER’S ACHROMATIC MICROSCOPES.
In 1840, AMICI invented the first OIL-IMMERSION MICROSCOPE. With this
MICROSCOPE the LOWERMOST LENS was immersed in a drop of OIL, thus removing
some of the sources of IMPERFECTION during the FOCUSING PROCESS.
AMICI also made advances and built LENSES, MIRRORS and SPECTROSCOPIC
PRISMS to be used in TELESCOPES.

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 EARLY DISCOVERIES IN MICROSCOPY AND MICROBIOLOGY
The new sciences of MICROSCOPY and MICROBIOLOGY, which started with
humble beginnings in the 17th Century, went on to gain significant recognition with
the early MICROSCOPIC STUDIES conducted by creative scientists.
These early MICROSCOPIC STUDIES, which were initiated by scientists like
MARCELLO MALPIGHI, ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK and ROBERT HOOKE, went on
to advance significantly with the subsequent studies by JAN SWAMMERDAM,
NEHEMIAH GREW, REGNIER De GRAAF, OTTO F. MULLER, JAN E. PURKINJE,
FRIEDRICH G. HENLE, FERDINAND J. COHN and ILYA I. MECHNIKOV.
These fantastically intuitive scientists brought to life, for the first time, a
MICROSCOPIC WORLD that was to fascinate and challenge the most outstanding
Biologists. They also succeeded in creating the new KNOWLEDGE BASE that became
the FOUNDATION of the new SCIENCE of MICROBIOLOGY.
Their studies and discoveries will be presented in chronological order to
unveil the outstanding developments in MICROSCOPY and MICROBIOLOGY.

MARCELLO MALPIGHI’S TOMB IN BOLOGNA

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 MARCELLO MALPIGHI
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF MICROSCOPY



























MARCELLO MALPIGHI (1628 - 1694) Italian Microscopist and Physiologist.
MARCELLO MALPIGHI is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of the SCIENCE
of MICROSCOPY, together with the Dutch Biologist ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK.
MALPIGHI, like ROBERT HOOKE and LEEUWENHOEK, was one of the first
BIOLOGISTS to use the MICROSCOPE to explore the hidden mysteries of the
MICROSCOPIC WORLD.
He began his MICROSCOPIC WORK in the 1650’s by studying the LUNGS of
FROGS. Here, he discovered the important function of the LUNGS in the process of
RESPIRATION and in the OXYGENATION of the BLOOD.

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 He also studied the WING MEMBRANES of the BATS and determined that
they contained very FINE BLOOD VESSELS (later named CAPILLARY VESSELS),
which connected the FINE ARTERIES with the FINE VEINS. This information
completed the THEORY of the CIRCULATION SYSTEM of the BLOOD that the English
Physician WILLIAM HARVEY had presented in 1628, in his book “ON THE MOTIONS
OF THE HEART AND BLOOD”.
MALPIGHI went on to study various MICROSCOPIC ASPECTS in CHICK
EMBRYOS, INSECTS and PLANTS. He described the INTERNAL ORGANS of the SILK
WORM, the RESPIRATORY VESSELS in INSECTS and the SMALL OPENINGS on
PLANT LEAVES (now called STOMATA). The STOMATA were later studied in more
detain by the English Botanist NEHEMIAH GREW.
MALPIGHI’S studies went on to show that the LIVING TISSUE was far more
interesting and complex in STRUCTURE and PHYSIOLOGY than the eye could see.
Also, that the WORLD of the VERY SMALL was as fantastic as the WORLD of
ASTRONOMY and the VERY LARGE.
MALPIGHI’S work became so famous that, in 1667, the ROYAL SOCIETY in
LONDON invited him to present his SCIENTIFIC STUDIES.

ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK (1632 - 1723) Dutch Microscopist.
ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK is also regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of
MICROSCOPY together with MARCELLO MALPIGHI.
LEEUWENHOEK was the inventor of the SINGLE-LENS MICROSCOPE, one of
the greatest MICROSCOPISTS of his time and the first to unveil the world of
MICROORGANISMS. His fame became so well-known all over Europe that it even
reached the famous HALLS of the ROYAL SOCIETY of LONDON.
LEEUWENHOEK dedicated his entire life to the study of the very small with a
characteristic humility, dedication and passion, which transcended normal scientific
attitudes and aspirations. His studies included important aspects about INSECTS,
PARASITES, RED BLOOD CELLS, CAPILLARY VESSELS and the ORGANS of
PROPAGATION in PLANTS and ANIMALS, among many others.

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 LEEUWENHOEK began to build his MICROSCOPES in 1674, which could
magnify objects about 200 times. With his MICROSCOPES he presented to the
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY a new MICROSCOPIC WORLD that was unimaginable and
which started the NEW REVOLUTION in MICROBIOLOGY.

LEEUWENHOEK was among the first to discover, in 1675, the ONE-CELL
ORGANISM, the PROTOZOA, which he named ANIMALCULES.
In 1683, he discovered and described another ONE-CELL ORGANISM, the
BACTERIA, which was to start the new science of BACTERIOLOGY.
The BACTERIA became (and still is today) the most important SINGLE-CELL
ORGANISM in the MICROBIOLOGICAL WORLD because it caused some of the most
INFECTIOUS DISEASES known to MAN. However, many of these DISEASES were
controlled and even eradicated with the creation of VACCINES and the discovery of
ANTIBIOTICS and other DRUGS.
LEEUWENHOEK was also among the first to describe the TINY YEAST CELLS,
which became leading characters in the MICROBIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION by

163
participating in the important industrial process of FERMENTATION and the
manufacturing of BEER and WINE.

ROBERT HOOKE (1635 - 1703) English Physicist.
ROBERT HOOKE was the son of a CLERGYMAN, a CHILD PRODIGY and a
fantastic EXPERIMENTER in almost every field of science. He became one of the
most eminent MICROSCOPISTS of the 17th Century, together with MARCELLO
MALPIGHI, ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK and JAN SWAMMERDAM.
HOOKE’S greatest accomplishments were in the fields of PHYSICS and
BIOLOGY.
In PHYSICS, he proposed the HOOKE’S LAW OF SPRINGS and created the
concept of the HAIRSPRING, which became pivotal in the development of WATCHES.
In BIOLOGY he was an outstanding MICROSCOPIST. In 1665, he published his
great book entitled “MICROGRAPHIA”, which was a magnificent example of
excellence and creativity that enchanted the scientific community.
In this book, HOOKE presented some of the most beautiful drawings of
MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS ever made in science.

Cells in cork material

164
 HOOKE is best remembered for his discovery of the CELL (as he called it),
while studying THIN SECTIONS of CORK MATERIALS under the MICROSCOPE.
His studies on INSECT ANATOMY were only rivaled by the work of the Dutch
Naturalist, JAN SWAMMERDAM, the FOUNDER of the SCIENCE of ENTOMOLOGY.
HOOKE’S studies on MICROSCOPIC FOSSILS led him to speculate on the
possible existence of an EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS in the life of ORGANISMS.
His preliminary studies on the CELL became very important in the
development of the CELL THEORY of LIFE proposed by the German Biologists
MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN and THEODOR SCHWANN in 1838 and 1839, respectively.
With the CELL THEORY, the CELL became the BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF
LIFE and the focus of a prodigious research effort, which is still dominant in the field
MOLECULAR and CELLULAR BIOLOGY.


SWAMMERDAM’S WORK IN ENTOMOLOGY

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 JAN SWAMMERDAM
THE FOUNDER OF ENTOMOLOGY
DISCOVERED THE RED BLOOD CELLS
























JAN SWAMMERDAM (1637 - 1680) Dutch Naturalist.
JAN SWAMMERDAM is regarded as the FOUNDER of the science of
ENTOMOLOGY (the study of INSECTS).
Young SWAMMERDAM developed early in his life a very strong interest in
NATURAL HISTORY, which led him to become an outstanding MICROSCOPIST in the
field of ENTOMOLOGY.
He collected and described some 3,000 species of INSECTS and did some of
the most outstanding MICROSCOPIC STUDIES on INSECT ANATOMY, which were
only rivaled by the studies of ROBERT HOOKE, presented in his great book of 1665,
“MICROGRAPHIA”.

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 SWAMMERDAM is best remembered for his discovery in 1658 of the RED
BLOOD CORPUSCLES (or RED BLOOD CELLS). He was the first to recognize that the
BLOOD was not a RED FLUID, but a FLUID with NUMEROUS RED CORPUSCLES.

NEHEMIAH GREW
USED THE MICROSCOPE TO STUDY PLANTS AND THEIR ORGANS.
DETERMINED THAT POLLEN GRAINS WERE THE EQUIVALENT TO
THE SPERM CELLS IN ANIMALS















NEHEMIAH GREW (1641 - 1712) English Botanist.
NEHEMIAH GREW was one of the early members of the ROYAL SOCIETY,
along with ROBERT HOOKE.
GREW was one of the early scientists to use the MICROSCOPE on the study of
PLANTS, with emphasis on their SEXUAL ORGANS, the PISTILS (FEMALE) and the
STAMENS (MALE).

167
 He observed that the individual POLLEN GRAINS produced by the STAMENS
were equivalent to the SPERM CELLS in ANIMALS.
GREW wrote a book in 1681 about the STOMACH and INTESTINES of various
ANIMALS, and was the first to use the expression, COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.

REGNIER De GRAAF (1641 - 1673) Dutch Anatomist.
REGNIER De GRAAF obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from the UNIVERSITY
OF ANGERS, France in 1665. One of his friends and fellow students was JAN
SWAMMERDAM, the FOUNDER of MODERN ENTOMOLOGY.
De GRAAF was one of the first to use the MICROSCOPE to study the SEX
ORGANS of ANIMALS. He described, in 1668, the FINE STRUCTURE of the
TESTICLES and in 1673 he also described the OVARY (a word that he first used).
With his work he initiated the studies on the DEVELOPMENT of NEW LIFE
(EMBRYOLOGY) in the ANIMAL KINGDOM.
The OVA, or EGG CELLS, were recognized a century and a half later by the
German-Russian Embryologist, KARL ERNST VON BAER (an early supporter of the
THEORY OF EPIGENESIS in EMBRYOLOGY, or the DEVELOPMENT of the EMBRYO
by GRADUAL STAGES).
De GRAAF was one of the first to recognize the value of the studies made in
MICROBIOLOGY by ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK.

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 OTTO F. MULLER
DETERMINED THAT BACTERIA HAD DIFFERENT SHAPES















OTTO FRIEDRICH MULLER (1730 - 1784) Danish Biologist.
OTTO MULLER was one of the early MICROSCOPISTS to concentrate on the
study of the tiny BACTERIA, which was first described by LEEUWENHOEK about a
century earlier.
MULLER used the improved ACHROMATIC MICROSCOPE created by J. J.
LISTER to see the BACTERIA clearly, for the first time.
He was able to determine that there were different kinds of BACTERIA,
according to their SHAPES. He found the ROD-SHAPED BACTERIA that he named
BACILLUS and the SPIRAL-SHAPED BACTERIA, which he named SPIRILLUM.
MULLER was the first to attempt to classify the BACTERIA into GENUS and
SPECIES, following the SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION proposed by CARL LINNAEUS in
his book “SYSTEMA NATURAE”, published in 1735.

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 JAN E. PURKINJE
FIRST BIOLOGIST TO USE THE WORD PROTOPLASM.
INTRODUCED THE MICROTOME TO PREPARE THIN SECTION.
OFFERED COLLEGE COURSES IN MICROSCOPY



















JAN E. PURKINJE (1787 - 1869) Czech Physiologist.
JAN PURKINJE obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1819. In 1839 he
established the world’s first DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY at the University of
Breslau, Germany and was among the first to offer COLLEGE COURSES in the field of
MICROSCOPY in the 1830’s.

170
 PURKINJE specialized on MICROSCOPY, where he made many improvements
on MICROSCOPIC TECHNIQUES. He was one of the first to use a MECHANICAL
MICROTOME to prepare THIN TISSUE SLICES for MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS.
He came close to announcing a CELL THEORY, but it was MATTHIAS
SCHLEIDEN and THEODOR SCHWANN who first proposed the CELL THEORY of
LIFE.
PURKINJE is best known for using the word PROTOPLASM (from the Greek
word meaning FIRST FORMED) in 1839, to name the EMBRYONIC MATERIAL in
EGGS, and later to name the LIVING MATERIAL within the CELLS.

FRIEDRICH GUSTAV HENLE (1809 - 1885) German Anatomist and Pathologist.
FRIEDRICH HENLE was one of the early BIOLOGISTS who began to use the
MICROSCOPE to study ANATOMY at the MICROSCOPIC LEVEL. He made many
significant contributions, particularly with his studies on the ANATOMY and
STRUCTURE of the KIDNEY.
In 1846, he published a book in PATHOLOGY, where he unified for the first
time, the studies on DISEASED TISSUE and HEALTHY TISSUE. The great German
Pathologist, RUDOLPH CARL VIRCHOW (1821 - 1903) extended this work at the
CELLULAR LEVEL a few years later.
In 1840, HENLE suggested that DISEASES could be caused by
MICROORGANISMS, but he did not offer any EVIDENCE or EXAMPLES to support his
ideas. This task was left to LOUIS PASTEUR who postulated the GERM THEORY of
DISEASES and was able to prove it with magnificent examples in the years to come.

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 FERDINAND COHN
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF BACTERIOLOGY
MADE A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF THE BACTERIA



















FERDINAND JULIUS COHN (1828 - 1898) German Botanist.
FERDINAND COHN was a CHILD PRODIGY that began to read at the age of
two.
In 1850, COHN made the fundamental discovery that the PROTOPLASM in
PLANT and ANIMAL CELLS was essentially identical, and that there was only one
PHYSICAL BASIS of LIFE, the CELL. This definitely supported the veracity of the
CELL THEORY of LIFE that had been proposed by SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN.

172
 COHN became very interested in the BACTERIA in the 1860’s and 1870’s
thanks to the successful work that had been done by LOUIS PASTEUR on the
importance of MICROORGANISMS in FERMENTATION, the SILK-WORM DISEASE
and the ANTHRAX DISEASE in SHEEP.
In 1872, COHN published a three-volume TREATISE on his studies of the
BACTERIA. He made the first systematic attempt to classify the BACTERIA into
GENUS and SPECIES. COHN went on to classify the BACTERIA according to SHAPE
into FOUR GROUPS: SPHERICAL (COCCUS), RODS (BACILLUS), SPIRALS
(SPIRILLUM) and THREADS.
He was the first to describe the BACTERIAL SPORES and their resistance to
BOILING and HIGH TEMPERATURES.
He was also the first to treat BACTERIOLOGY as a special branch of
MICROBIOLOGY.
COHN was regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of the science of
BACTERIOLOGY.
FERDINAND COHN was the one who discovered and encouraged ROBERT
KOCH to begin his illustrious career as a MICROBIOLOGIST.

173
 THE GOLDEN AGE OF MICROBIOLOGY
THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASES
The science of MICROSCOPY had attained a significant degree of maturity
with the creative accomplishments of the various outstanding MICROSCOPISTS.
The young sciences of MICROSCOPY and MICROBIOLOGY had made fabulous
MICROSCOPIC ADVANCES in the hands of MARCELLO MALPIGHI, ANTON VAN
LEEUWENHOEK, ROBERT HOOKE, J. J. LISTER, GIOVANNI AMICI, JAN
SWAMMERDAM, NEHEMIAH GREW, REGNIER De GRAAF, OTTO MULLER, JAN
PURKINJE, FRIEDRICH HENLE and FERDINAND COHN.
The world of BIOLOGY and MICROBIOLOGY was now ready to unveil the
FANTASTIC WORLD of the VERY SMALL, especially the prodigious and incredible
domain of the MICROORGANISMS where the BACTERIA were one of the main
ACTORS.

BACTERIA HAD DIFFERENT SHAPES, SIZES AND FUNCTIONS

174
 LOUIS PASTEUR
ONE ON THE FOUNDERS OF MICROBIOLOGY
PROPONENT OF THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASES

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LOUIS PASTEUR (1822 - 1895) French Microbiologist and Chemist.
LOUIS PASTEUR is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of MICROBIOLOGY and
BACTERIOLOGY together with ROBERT KOCH.
LOUIS PASTEUR was an outstanding Chemist who became a
MICROBIOLOGIST by force of necessity and a PHYSICIAN by way of compassion and
love for HUMANITY. He was regarded as the most famous DOCTORS in the world,
without ever attending a MEDICAL SCHOOL or obtaining a MEDICAL DEGREE.
PASTEUR was one of the greatest of the early MICROBIOLOGISTS of the 19th
Century, together with ROBERT KOCH, PAUL EHRLICH and EMIL VON BEHRING.
PASTEUR was the proponent of the GERM THEORY of DISEASES, the greatest
SINGLE MEDICAL DISCOVERY and one of the most fantastic ideas, together with
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION, MENDEL’S LAWS of GENETICS, DALTON’S
ATOMIC THEORY, SCHLEIDEN-SCHWANN’S CELL THEORY and CRICK-WATSON’S
DOUBLE HELIX MODEL of the DNA MOLECULE.

LOUIS PASTEUR IN HIS LABORATORY

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LOUIS PASTEUR AND THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASES
LOUIS PASTEUR began his life as a MICROBIOLOGIST by proposing the GERM
THEORY of DISEASES, which simply indicated that all INFECTIOUS DISEASES were
caused by INFINITELY SMALL GERMS or MICROBES.
The GERM THEORY of DISEASES was perhaps the SINGLE GREATEST
MEDICAL DISCOVERY, and one that was extremely difficult to understand given that
no one could imagine that MICROORGANISMS actually reproduced into MILLIONS
and BILLIONS within a few hours and then killed the victim.
DOCTORS and even BIOLOGISTS had difficulty accepting the idea that such
MINUTE ORGANISMS, thousands of time smaller than a FLEA, could actually cause
the death of an ANIMAL or a PERSON. It was as if an army of ANTS could overtake
and destroy NAPOLEON’S powerful army.
It was up to PASTEUR to prove this fantastic theory and the task was indeed
challenging, and one with the added limitation that there were no preexisting
notions or precedents on its favor. The OLD THEORY of SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION of LIFE was to a degree an idea that supported the GERM THEORY of
DISEASES.
PASTEUR had the opportunity to prove his GERM THEORY of DISEASES in
various occasions:
- First, when he was asked by the WINE INDUSTRY in the 1860s to study the
problem of the SOURING of WINE during FERMENTATION.
- Later, when he was asked to study the DISEASE that was killing the SILK-
WORMS in FARMER’S FIELDS.
- Also, when he studied the death of MOTHERS after CHILDBIRTH by the
CHILDBED FEVER.
- And, when he studied the death of SHEEP by the ANTHRAX DISEASE and
the death of people due to RABIES.
All of these problems helped PASTEUR prove his fantastic GERM THEORY of
DISEASES because they were all caused by those tiny MICROORGANISMS that
quickly reproduced into MILLIONS and BILLIONS within a few hours and days.

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THE SOURING OF WINE AND BEER DURING FERMENTATION
The WINE and BEER industries in France were losing millions of FRANCS due
to the souring of their alcoholic drinks.
In 1856, PASTEUR was asked to investigate this problem by some of the
industrialists and he accepted the challenge.
PASTEUR turned to his MICROSCOPE and soon determined the source of the
problem. When the WINE and BEER aged properly the liquid contained SPHERICAL
YEAST CELLS, however, when the WINE and BEER turned sour the YEAST CELLS
were ELONGATED. This meant that there were two kinds of YEAST, one that
produced ALCOHOL (the GOOD YEAST) and one that produced LACTIC ACID (the
BAD YEAST). This also proved that FERMENTATION was a BIOCHEMICAL PROCESS
involving a MICROORGANISM, and not a CHEMICAL PROCESS as the German
Chemist, JUSTUS VON LIEBIG had indicated.
PASTEUR also showed that the proper kind of YEAST, the one that produced
ALCOHOL, should be the only one allowed grow.
To prevent the souring of the WINE and BEER, PASTEUR suggested, in the
early 1860’s, a process that we now know as PASTEURIZATION. He recommended
that once the WINE and BEER were formed they should be heated gently at about
120 degrees Fahrenheit. This PROCESS would kill the YEAST present and the
problem was solved to the satisfaction of the wine and beer industries.
The VINTNERS were at first horrified with the idea of heating their WINE;
however, because the process of PASTEURIZATION turned out to be very successful,
PASTEUR became a HERO in the industrial world. He was also admitted to the
French Academy of Sciences.

THE KILLING OF THE SILKWORMS IN FARMER’S FIELDS
In the 1860’s the SILK INDUSTRY was heavily affected by a DISEASE that was
killing the SILKWORMS in the fields and PASTEUR was again asked to study the
problem.
In 1865, PASTEUR travelled to the south of France with his MICROSCOPE and
started a careful study of this agricultural problem.

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 He soon determined that a MICROORGANISM transmitted by a TINY
PARASITE was infesting and killing the SILKWORMS and the MULBERRY LEAVES on
which the SILKWORMS fed.
PASTEUR recommended a very simple solution to this problem. Destroy the
infested SILKWORMS and the contaminated MULBERRY LEAVES and start clean
with healthy SILKWORMS and MULBERRY PLANTS. His recommendation was
followed and the SILK INDUSTRY was saved.
PASTEUR’S reputation as the MIRACLE MAN in MICROBIOLOGY soon became
notable in France and all over Europe.

THE DEATH OF MOTHERS BY THE CHILDBED FEVER
During the second half of the 19th Century, PASTEUR started a strong
campaign of using ANTISEPTICS, CLEANLINESS and the BOILING of all MEDICAL
INSTRUMENTS used with patients.
PASTEUR’S recommendations were followed in France, England and other
countries with very successful results.
The death of MOTHERS after CHILD BIRTH and PATIENTS after SURGERY
were significantly reduced.
The famous English Surgeon JOSEPH LISTER (1827 - 1912) used PASTEUR’S
recommendations and started to report fewer deaths due to infections after surgery.
LISTER practiced CLEANLINESS, BOILING the INSTRUMENTS and also using
CARBOLIC ACID (PHENOL) in the wounds of patients. This was the beginning of
ANTISEPTIC SURGERY in hospitals.
The Hungarian Physician, IGNAZ SEMMELWEISS, also reported similar
results in Vienna and Budapest, when using the ANTISEPTIC measures
recommended by PASTEUR.
PASTEUR’S GERM THEORY of DISEASES and his ideas on CLEANLINESS,
BOILING the medical instruments and on the use of other ASEPTIC and ANTISEPTIC
practices were soon accepted in the United States.
In 1890 the American Surgeon, WILLIAM S. HALSTED (1852 - 1922) who
established the first SCHOOL OF SURGERY at JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, started

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the new campaign on ANTISEPTIC SURGERY that JOSEPH LISTER had initiated in
England, and which also included the use of RUBBER GLOVES during surgery.
In 1900, the British Physician, WILLIAM HUNTER (1718-1783) began to use
GAUGES and MASKS during surgery to protect the patient as well as physicians and
nurses.
The death rate of patients in hospitals decreased significantly and the LIFE
EXPECTANCY of people in general, increased from an average of 30-40 years to over
70 years.

PASTEUR AND THE ANTHRAX DISEASE IN SHEEP
In the 1870’s the disease ANTHRAX was devastating the HERDS of domestic
animals, particularly SHEEP in France and other countries. ANTHRAX was even
attacking HUMANS.
The medical community at the time, denied that any MICROORGANISM was
responsible for causing ANTHRAX or any other disease.
The great German Bacteriologist, ROBERT KOCH announced in 1876, that he
had isolated the BACTERIA that caused ANTHRAX and he named it Anthrax bacillus.
PASTEUR went on to conduct a series of experiments showing that the
Anthrax bacillus was indeed the PATHOGENIC BACTERIA responsible for this
devastating disease.
PASTEUR was one of the first to demonstrate that a PATHOGENIC
ORGANISM, like a BACTERIUM, could be CULTURED outside the animal body for
further studies. The PURE CULTURE TECHNIQUE was later perfected by ROBERT
KOCH.
With this new medical evidence, PASTEUR and KOCH had firmly established
the veracity of the GERM THEORY of DISEASES. From here on, the GERM THEORY
became a fundamental concept in MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY.
PASTEUR went on to determine, not only, that the Anthrax bacillus existed,
but that it could also be present in the PASTURES and in the SOIL in the form of
HEAT-RESISTANT SPORES, which could survive for long periods of time.
Furthermore, he showed that these SPORES, once taken up and present in the warm

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blood of an animal, they would turn into the VIRULENT GERMS that caused the
DISEASE.
PASTEUR’S immediate solution to the ANTHRAX PROBLEM was, as he had
recommended for the SILKWORM DISEASE, to kill and burry deep the infected
animals and to burn the pastures.
PASTEUR made the brilliant observation that the sheep that had survived
ANTHRAX had also become IMMUNE to the DISEASE. The assumption was that the
ATTENUATED (or WEAKENED) Anthrax bacillus present in the blood of the
surviving animal had resulted in creating IMMUNITY, due to the production of
substances (or ANTIBODIES) in the animal’s blood that would kill the GERMS.
PASTEUR was reminded of the work done by the English Physician, EDWARD
JENNER (1749 - 1823) who had developed a VACCINE against SMALLPOX in 1796-
1798 by using an ATTENUATED FORM of the GERM.
The next step in the fight against ANTHRAX was the development of a
VACCINE. PASTEUR went on to develop such a VACCINE by preparing an
ATTENUATED form of the Anthrax bacillus using HEAT or some CHEMICAL.
In May of 1881, PASTEUR conducted his famous experiments to prove the
effectiveness of his new VACCINE against ANTHRAX, in the little town of Pouilly-le-
Fort, located just south of Paris.
PASTEUR vaccinated half of the SHEEP and left the other half untreated, then
all SHEEP were infected with ANTHRAX. The sheep that were not INOCULATED
died, and those that were INOCULATED survived and remained healthy. The
experiment was a FANTASTIC SUCCESS that was publicized all over Europe.
With his ANTHRAX VACCINE EXPERIMENT, PASTEUR’S fame spread all over
Europe and his GERM THEORY of DISEASES became accepted and triumphant.
The NEW ERA of MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY and VACCINES had been born
and was on its way to create the NEW WORLD of PREVENTIVE MEDICINE.
The GERM THEORY of DISEASES and the practice of VACCINATION became
FUNDAMENTAL MEDICAL CONCEPTS that paved the way to our glorious MODERN
MEDICINE.

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 PASTEUR, the FOUNDER of MICROBIOLOGY and IMMUNOLOGY, had begun
to conquer the prodigious MICROSCOPIC WORLD on our beautiful GREEN PLANET.

PASTEUR AND THE RABIES DISEASE (HYDROPHOBIA)
After PASTEUR’S great success with his GERM THEORY and his VACCINE
against ANTHRAX, he continued to develop his method of VACCINATION in the fight
against CHICKEN CHOLERA and RABIES, the disease caused by the bite of a MAD
DOG.

A MAD DOG WITH RABIES ATTACKING PEOPLE

In 1882, the year PASTEUR was accepted into the FRENCH ACADEMY OF
SCIENCE, he became interested in RABIES, a dreaded disease that had horrified
Physicians, Biologists and the public in general, because of its mysterious origin and
fatal consequences.
PASTEUR’S early work on RABIES was frustrating and disappointing because
he had failed to find the MICROBE that caused the disease. However, he had been
able to prove that the PATHOGENIC AGENT was present in the blood of a sick
animal because when its blood was injected into EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS, they
also developed RABIES.

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 PASTEUR assumed correctly that his failure to
find the MICROBE was due to the fact that it was much
smaller than the BACTERIA to be seen under the
MICROSCOPE. PASTEUR was later on proven correct
in that the disease was caused by a VIRUS.
By the 1930’s, some 40 diseases were known
to be caused by VIRUSES, including: RABIES,
MEASLES, MUMPS, CHICKEN POX, INFLUENZA,
SMALL POX and POLIOMYELITIS.
In 1935, the American Biochemist, WENDELL
M. STANLEY (1904 - 1971) was able to isolate the
TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS in the form of CRYSTALS,
which proved to be an ENZYME, or a NUCLEOPROTEIN.
A VIRUS is now described as an INFECTIOUS AGENT consisting of
NUCLEOPROTEINS that can only replicate inside the LIVING CELLS of other
ORGANISMS. VIRUSES can infect all forms of life, including ANIMALS, PLANTS,
BACTERIA and other MICROORGANISMS.
PASTEUR tried to develop a VACCINE using his method for ANTHRAX (an
ATTENUATED GERM), but it did not work and a different approach had to be used.
The RABIES MICROBE was not only smaller than a BACTERIUM, but it was indeed a
PATHOGENIC AGENT with a completely different nature (a VIRUS).
PASTEUR developed an INACTIVE RABIES VACCINE by passing the RABIES
INFECTION through different ANIMALS.
On July 6, 1885 PASTEUR made the first use of his RABIES VACCINE on a boy
(JOSEPH MEISTER) that had been bitten by a RABID DOG and the treatment was a
great success.
PASTEUR’S work against RABIES was to become his most dramatic success in
the field of MICROBIOLOGY.
The success with the RABIES VACCINE brought great fame to PASTEUR all
over Europe and the world. PASTEUR had become the most famous doctor without
ever receiving a MEDICAL EDUCATION or obtaining a MEDICAL DEGREE.

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 The NEW ERA of PREVENTIVE MEDICINE and IMMUNOLOGY had started.
On November 14, 1888 the new PASTEUR INSTITUTE was inaugurated in
Paris with donations from all over the world. The PASTEUR INSTITUTE has become
one of the most famous centers for BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH.


THE PASTEUR INSTITUTE

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 ILYA I. MECHNIKOV
DISCOVERED THE CONCEPT OF THE PHAGOCYTES AND
THE WHITE BLOOD CELL THEORY OF IMMUNITY

ILYA ILICH MECHNIKOV (1845 - 1916) Russian-French Bacteriologist.
ILYA MECHNIKOV was a Biologist with a passion for NATURAL HISTORY,
especially BIOLOGY and BOTANY. He went to Germany to study and then to France
to work at the PASTEUR INSTITUTE, where he remained the rest of his life.
MECHNIKOV is best remembered for his pioneering research on the IMMUNE
SYSTEM. This led him to discover in 1882 the PHAGOCYTES (from the Greek words ,
PHAGOS meaning to EAT and KYTOS meaning CELL) or the WHITE BLOOD CELLS as
BACTERIA EATERS, which became a fundamental concept in MICROBIOLOGY.

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 This idea became known as the WHITE BLOOD CELL THEORY of IMMUNITY,
which indicated that WHITE BLOOD CELLS had the function of congregating around
areas of INFECTION to engulf and destroy the INFECTIOUS BACTERIA.
The concept of WHITE BLOOD CELLS as providers of NATURAL IMMUNITY,
or as an ANTIBACTERIAL AGENT that afforded resistance to INFECTIONS was
actually a revolutionary idea. One that paved the way for the marvelous research
that was to come in the areas of HEMATOLOGY (study of the BLOOD),
IMMUNOLOGY (study of the IMMUNE SYSTEM) and VACCINE DEVELOPMENT.
MECHNIKOV showed that the BLOOD had MAGICAL POWERS. This idea
became much better known as a result of the intuitive research of future
outstanding MICROBIOLOGISTS.
By 1888, MECHNIKOV’S work attracted the attention of LOUIS PASTEUR,
who invited him to join the PASTEUR INSTITUTE. After PASTEUR’S death in 1895,
MECHNIKOV succeeded him as the Director of the Pasteur Institute.
In 1908, ILYA MECHNIKOV shared the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and
PHYSIOLOGY with the German Bacteriologist, PAUL EHRLICH for his outstanding
research on the PHAGOCYTES.
PASTEUR’S GERM THEORY of DISEASES and MECHNIKOV’S WHITE BLOOD
CELL THEORY of IMMUNITY, opened the doors for the marvelous developments
that were to emerge in MICROBIOLOGY in the hands of PAUL EHRLICH and EMIL
VON BEHRING and a few others.

FRIEDRICH AUGUST LOFFLER (1852 - 1915) German Bacteriologist.
FRIEDRICH LOFFLER was another of the outstanding Bacteriologists who
worked with the great German Bacteriologist, ROBERT KOCH.
In 1884, LOFFLER discovered the BACTERIA that caused DIPTHERIA, the
Diptheria bacillus.
In 1898 he showed that a VIRUS caused the HOOF-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.
The first ANIMAL DISEASE associated with this enigmatic organism.
LOFFLER, KOCH and EHRLICH developed some of the STAINING
TECHNIQUES, which helped with the early studies of microorganisms and tissues.

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 THE STAINING OF TISSUES













The most fundamental idea discovered by LOFFLER, in 1884, was that some
NATURAL IMMUNITY for DIPTHERIA already existed among some animals. This
paved the way for the development of the DIPTHERIA ANTITOXIN SERUM by EMIL
VON BEHRING and PAUL EHRLICH.
PASTEUR’S GERM THEORY of DISEASES, MECHNIKOV’S WHITE BLOOD CELL
THEORY of IMMUNITY and LOFFLER’S CONCEPT of NATURAL IMMUNITY present
in animals, became REVOLUTIONARY and FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS in
MICROBIOLOGY.

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 ROBERT KOCH
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF BACTERIOLOGY
PROPONENT OF THE FOUR POSTULATES IN BACTERIOLOGY
INTRODUCED THE SOLID MEDIA TO CREATE PURE CULTURES

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ROBERT HEINRICH KOCH (1843 - 1910) German Bacteriologist.
ROBERT KOCH is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of MICROBIOLOGY and
BACTERIOLOGY together with LOUIS PASTEUR.
ROBERT KOCH obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE CUM LAUDE in 1866 from the
University of Gottingen, where the famous German Chemist, FRIEDRICH WOHLER
and the German Pathologist and Anatomist, FRIEDRICH GUSTAV HENLE, were
among his professors.
It may be said that while PASTEUR discovered MICROBIOLOGY with his
GERM THEORY of DISEASES, it was KOCH who developed the NEW SCIENCE of
BACTERIOLOGY with his FOUR POSTULATES and the various LABORATORY
METHODS that he introduced, particularly the PURE CULTURE TECHNIQUE with the
SOLID MEDIUM, AGAR AGAR.
It was PASTEUR who found that MICROORGANISMS could be CULTURED in a
SUITABLE MEDIUM, outside the ANIMAL BODY, for the subsequent studies on their
LIFE CYCLES; but it was KOCH who introduced the concept of the PURE CULTURE
TECHNIQUE with a SOLID MEDIUM and other basic LABORATORY METHODS like
using the PETRI DISHES and the GLASS SLIDES. The PETRI DISH was introduced by
one of KOCH’S assistants, JULIUS R. PETRI in 1887.

THE PURE CULTURE TECHNIQUE AND THE SOLID MEDIUM
KOCH was among the first to recognize the importance of using a SOLID
MEDIUM to be able to grow PURE CULTURES of a MICROORGANISM, which could
then be used in specific research projects.
The problem with using a LIQUID MEDIUM (such as BLOOD SERUM or
NUTRIENT SOLUTIONS) was that a variety of BACTERIA were constantly
developing and mixing in the PETRI DISH and therefore there were no PURE
CULTURES.
KOCH tried using POTATO SLICES and GELATIN as SOLID MEDIA, but they
were not adequate for MICROBIAL GROWTH.
He finally found the POLYSACCHARIDE, AGAR, which turned out to be an
excellent SOLID MEDIUM because it stayed solid at 37 °C (an ideal temperature for

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MICROBIAL GROWTH). Also, AGAR was not degraded by the BACTERIA and it was
TRANSPARENT, which made the BACTERIA easy to observe.
This was the beginning of the use of AGAR-AGAR SOLID MEDIUM in
MICROBIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES.

THE LIFE CYCLE OF A PATHOGENIC ORGANISM
KOCH was also one of the first to recognize the importance of determining
the LIFE CYCLE of a PATHOGENIC ORGANISM. This, to understand it’s MODUS
OPERANDI, or how the MICROBE affected its VICTIMS and to develop the best
method for controlling the disease.
The practice of the PURE CULTURE TECHNIQUE in a SOLID MEDIUM to
isolate PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS became fundamental in the study of their LIFE
CYCLES and other basic behaviors.

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KOCH’S FOUR POSTULATES
In addition to KOCH’S outstanding work with TUBERCULOSIS (and for which
he received the 1905 NOBEL PRIZE in PHYSIOLOGY and MEDICINE) KOCH is best
remembered for the creation of his FOUR POSTULATES, which he used to identify
the MICROBES that caused various DISEASES.
These FOUR POSTULATES were:
- Obtain the PATHOGENIC ORGANISM from an animal sick with a specific
DISEASE. Such MICROBE also had to be present in every animal with that particular
disease.
- The MICROBE must then be grown in PURE CULTURE in the laboratory
outside the HOST ANIMAL.
- A sample of the MICROBE must be obtained from the PURE CULTURE to
INOCULATE a HEALTHY ANIMAL susceptible to that disease. The HEALTHY
ANIMAL then, had to become sick with the same DISEASE.
- Obtain a specimen of the MICROBE from the INOCULATED ANIMAL that
had become sick with the DISEASE. The new MICROBE obtained had to be the same
kind of MICROBE that was found in the INITIAL ANIMAL with that specific disease.
Confirmation of the identity of the same initial and final PATHOGENIC
MICROORGANISM was done by DIRECT MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS.
Using his FOUR POSTULATES, KOCH was able to isolate and identify the
specific MICROORGANISM that caused a number of diseases.
In 1876 KOCH discovered the BACILLUS BACTERIA that caused ANTHRAX,
the Anthrax bacillus and characterized its LIFE CYCLE.
In 1882 KOCH discovered the BACILLUS BACTERIA that caused
TUBERCULOSIS, the Tubercle bacillus.
In 1883 KOCH discovered the BACILLUS BACTERIA that caused CHOLERA.
In 1883 KOCH travelled to Asia to study two devastating diseases, the
BUBONIC PLAGUE and CHOLERA.
KOCH discovered that CHOLERA was caused by the Cholera bacillus.
Between 1897 and 1906, KOCH determined that the BUBONIC PLAGUE was
caused by a BACILLUS transmitted by a FLEA that infected RATS.

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 The BACILLUS that caused the BUBONIC PLAGUE was named Bacterium
pestis, and later renamed Bacillus pestis. In 1923 it was renamed again as
Pasteurella pestis in honor of LOUIS PASTEUR and in 1970 it was finally renamed
Yersinia pestis in honor of the French-Swiss Physician, ALEXANDRE YERSIN, who
performed some of the initial research with this disease.
The BUBONIC PLAGUE was the one that devastated London in 1665 and
forced ISAAC NEWTON to move away from Cambridge University to his farmhouse.
KOCH also travelled to Africa to study the SLEEPING SICKNESS and
determined it was transmitted by the TSETSE FLY.
KOCH’s work with the BUBONIC PLAGUE (transmitted by a FLEA) and
SLEEPING SICKNESS (transmitted by a FLY) and the work by the French Physician,
CHARLES LAVERAN (1845 - 1922) and the English Physician SIR RONALD ROSS
(1857 - 1932) on MALARIA (transmitted by the ANOPHELES MOSQUITO), indicated
that the way to eradicate these diseases was by destroying the VECTOR-INSECTS
and not the MICROBES themselves.
This was the beginning of the FUMIGATION CAMPAIGNS with INSECTICIDES,
which caused all the bad side effects from the use of CHEMICALS on INSECTS,
ANIMALS and PEOPLE.

KOCH AND THE ANTHRAX DISEASE
KOCH’S work with ANTHRAX was a continuation of PASTEUR’S studies.
PASTEUR discovered that a BACILLUS BACTERIA caused ANTHRAX, but it
was KOCH who characterized the PATHOGENIC ORGANISM and named it the
Anthrax bacillus.
KOCH, as well as PASTEUR, determined that the BACILLUS produced SPORES
(or SEEDS) that could remain dormant in the soil and in the pastures, but became
activated into VIRULENT RODS once they found themselves in the warm blood of an
animal. The animals then became sick and died.
The work by KOCH and PASTEUR finally defeated the THEORY of
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION of LIFE and confirmed the GERM THEORY of
DISEASES initially proposed by LOUIS PASTEUR in 1865.

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KOCH AND TUBERCULOSIS
ROBERT KOCH is best remembered for his magnificent work on
TUBERCULOSIS, a disease that was believed to be INHERITED because certain
families exhibited a propensity, or vulnerability to this disease.
KOCH was a supporter of PASTEUR’S GERM THEORY of DISEASES and
believed that TUBERCULOSIS, like other INFECTIOUS DISEASES, was caused by a
PATHOGENIC GERM.
KOCH applied his FOUR POSTULATES during his research with
TUBERCULOSIS and was eventually successful in finding the MICROBE and in
proving that TUBERCULOSIS was caused by a BACILLUS BACTERIA, which he name
Tubercle bacillus.
ROBERT KOCH and LOUIS PASTEUR became the TITANS of the NEW
SCIENCES of MICROBIOLOGY and BACTERIOLOGY, and the proponents of the GERM
THEORY of DISEASES, which revolutionized the fields of MICROBIOLOGY and
MEDICINE.

TUBERCULOSIS
ONE OF THE OLDEST DISEASES IN THE WORLD

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 PAUL EHRLICH
THE FOUNDER OF CHEMOTHERAPY
INTRODUCED SALVARSAN, THE MAGIC BULLET AND
NEW STAINING TECHNIQUES

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PAUL EHRLICH (1854 - 1915) German Bacteriologist.
PAUL EHRLICH was one of the early great BACTERIOLOGISTS together with
LOUIS PASTEUR, ROBERT KOCH and EMIL VON BEHRING.
During his early years, EHRLICH became interested in combining biology and
chemistry in his work. He used his knowledge of chemistry to develop his new
STAINING TECHNIQUES using the new DYES that were being created.
He was among the first to research the use of STAINS to better observe the
MICROSCOPIC WORLD, together with ROBERT KOCH and the German Anatomist,
WALTHER FLEMMING (the Biologist who first described the PROCESS of CELL
DIVISION in 1882)
EHRLICH accomplishments during his lifetime were mainly in the fields of
HEMATOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, and CHEMOTHERAPY.
In the 1870’s his methods to STAIN different tissues, cells and bacteria made
it possible to distinguish the different types of BLOOD CELLS. It also led to the
diagnosis of various BLOOD DISEASES and to his discovery of the MAST CELLS.
On March 24, 1882 EHRLICH attended a lecture by ROBERT KOCH, where
KOCH first reported his discovery of the MICROBE that caused TUBERCULOSIS, the
pathogenic bacteria, Tubercle bacillus.
EHRLICH later described this lecture as his GREATEST EXPERIENCE in
SCIENCE. EHRLICH was soon able to improve KOCH’S STAINING TECHNIQUE of the
Tubercle bacillus, which resulted in a close friendship between these two great
Bacteriologists. Eventually, in 1891 KOCH invited EHRLICH to work at his nearly
found INSTITUTE for INFECTIOUS DISEASES, the KOCH INSTITUTE.
EHRLICH contracted TUBERCULOSIS in 1886 while working with this
dangerous microbe and had to go to Egypt to recover, returning to the KOCH
INSTITUTE in 1889.

EHRLICH, VON BEHRING and DIPTHERIA in CHILDREN
In 1889, when PAUL EHRLICH returned from Egypt, he joined forces with the
German Bacteriologist, EMIL VON BEHRING (1854-1917) to attempt to find a cure

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 for DIPTHERIA, a disease that had attained EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS in children all
over Germany.
The DIPTHERIA germ had been discovered in 1884 by the German
Bacteriologist, FRIEDRICH A. LOFFLER (1852-1915) while working at the KOCH
INSTITUTE. LOFFLER had also observed that some animals had a NATURAL
IMMUNITY, which laid the groundwork for BEHRING’S studies on developing an
ANTITOXIN against DIPTHERIA.
The studies by ILYA MECHNIKOV on the WHITE BLOOD CELL THEORY of
IMMUNITY was also of significant value in the developments to come in
HEMATOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY and VACCINES.
It was EMIL VON BEHRING’S idea to use the concept of ANTIBODIES (or
ANTITOXINS) produced in the blood of animals that had been inoculated with the
DIPTHERIA GERM, to advance his research.
The French Physiologist, CHARLES R. RICHET (1850-1935) had also
conceived in 1887 the notion of producing an IMMUNE SERUM (or a BLOOD SERUM
rich in ANTIBODIES or ANTITOXINS) by injecting the GERMS of a disease into the
BLOOD of a HEALTHY ANIMAL. This, to promote the production of a BLOOD RICH in
ANTIBODIES (an IMMUNE SERUM) that could then be used to create IMMUNITY in
people. RICHET tried to use this idea to produce an IMMUNE SERUM against
TUBERCULOSIS but failed.
In 1892, EHRLICH and VON BEHRING went on to develop an IMMUNE
SERUM against DIPTHERIA by inoculating a healthy animal with the DIPTHERIA
GERM to build up the ANTIBODIES present in it’s BLOOD. Their IMMUNE SERUM
against DIPTHERIA was a great success and the DIPTHERIA EPIDEMIC was stopped.
The NEW ERA of IMMUNOLOGY in the control of diseases had started.
As a result of this great success against DIPTHERIA, EMIL VON BEHRING
received in 1901 the first Nobel Prize given in Medicine and Physiology. PAUL
EHRLICH was also awarded a professorship at the University of Berlin.
Various SERUMS with ANTIBODIES against other diseases were later
developed. The German Government then established “A QUALITY CONTROL

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METHODOLOGY and STANDARDS” in this area of research, which was adopted by
other countries all over the world.

PAUL EHRLICH IN HIS STUDY AND LABORATORY

PAUL EHRLICH, SYPHILIS & CHEMOTHERAPY- THE MAGIC BULLET
EHRLICH’S success in developing an IMMUNE SERUM against DIPTHERIA
also resulted in the establishment in 1896 of a new INSTITUTE in Berlin. This
became the EHRLICH INSTITUTE for SERUM RESEARCH, created to fight the
development of other INFECTIOUS DISEASES. In 1899, the INSTITUTE was moved
to Frankfurt.
EHRLICH continued with his interest in DYES as a way to dye
MICROORGANISMS and facilitate their observation under the MICROSCOPE. Also as
a way to possibly control with DYES the PATHOGENIC MICROBES themselves.
EHRLICH had a dream of controlling diseases with CHEMICALS, which he
called, his MAGIC BULLETS.

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 EHRLICH discovered that the dye called TRYPAN RED helped to destroy the
TRYPANOSOMES that caused SLEEPING SICKNESS in people. He was also aware that
QUININE had been used to control MALARIA.
This new discovery of TRYPAN RED to control SLEEPING SICKNESS and the
fact that TRYPANOSOMES were affected by ARSENIC COMPOUNDS, gave EHRLICH
the idea of also using these ARSENIC COMPOUNDS to control SYPHILIS.
The German Zoologist FRITZ SCHAUDINN (1871-1906) discovered in 1905
that SYPHILIS was caused by the BACTERIA, Spirochaeta pallida.
After several years of research with many ARSENICAL COMPOUNDS,
EHRLICH was able to find in 1909 that the ARSENIC COMPOUNDS, #606, was very
effective in killing the SPIROCHETES that caused SYPHILIS.
1910, EHRLICH announced to the world that the COMPOUND #606 (or
ARSPHENAMINE), which was marketed under the name of SALVARSAN, was
available as a medication against SYPHILIS. One of his MAGIC BULLETS
(SALVARSAN) had been found and was being offered to the world for the first time.
SALVARSAN became the most widely prescribed medication in the world and
it was the most effective drug against SYPHILIS, until PENICILLIN became available
in the 1940’s.
PAUL EHRLICH shared the 1908 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for
his brilliant work against DIPTHERIA and SYPHILIS and the development of
IMMUNOLOGY and CHEMOTHERAPY.
With TRYPAN RED and SALVARSAN (his MAGIC BULLET) the NEW ERA of
MODERN CHEMOTHERAPY had started and the sciences of MICROBIOLOGY and
CHEMISTRY had found a new and important COMMON GROUND.
Once again, Chemistry had been brought to the forefront to assist
Microbiology on the cure of diseases and in bringing PEACE to the World.
The field of CHEMOTHERAPY was further advanced a quarter century later
by the works of the German Biochemist, GERHARD DOMAGK (1895-1964) and the
Swiss-Italian Pharmacologist, DANIELE BOVET (1907-1992) on the importance of
SULFA DRUGS in curing INFECTIOUS DISEASES, like PNEUMONIA.

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 These events inaugurated the ERA of WONDER DRUGS, also the ERA of
ANTIBIOTICS, which was introduced by the Scottish Bacteriologist Sir ALEXANDER
FLEMING (1881- 1955) in the 1930’s.


EMIL VON BEHRING
DEVELOPED WITH PAUL EHRLICH A BLOOD SERUM TO CREATE
IMMUNITY AGAINST DIPTHERIA AND SAVED THE CHILDREN

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EMIL ADOLF VON BEHRING (1854 - 1917) German Bacteriologist.
EMIL VON BEHRING obtained his medical degree in 1880, and in 1889 he
went to work at the ROBERT KOCH INSTITUTE.
In 1890, BEHRING discovered that it was possible to create IMMUNITY
against TETANUS (or LOCK JAW DISEASE) in an animal by injecting increasing
doses of BLOOD SERUM from another animal suffering from TETANUS. The newly
injected animal then developed a DEGREE of IMMUNITY, which BEHRING believed
was due to a build up of ANTIBODIES (or ANTITOXINS) in the BLOOD, capable of
destroying the PATHOGENIC GERM.
With the help of the German Bacteriologist, PAUL EHRLICH, BEHRING tried,
in 1890, the same method to develop a BLOOD SERUM against DIPTHERIA.
In 1892, BEHRING and EHRLICH had developed a BLOOD SERUM that
created IMMUNITY against DIPTHERIA and which was used to stop the disease in
children already sick with DIPTHERIA.
EMIL VON BEHRING and PAUL EHRLICH had become the SAVIOR of
CHILDREN in Germany and Europe, and the NEW ERA OF IMMUNOLOGY had
started with outstanding success. New VACCINES against other diseases were soon
developed for the benefit of MANKIND and FARM ANIMALS.

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 THE ERA OF VECTOR INSECTS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Before entering the ERA of WONDER DRUGS, such as the ARSENIC DRUGS of
PAUL EHRLICH (the MAGIC BULLETS), the SULFA DRUGS of GERHARD DOMAGK,
the ANTIBIOTICS of ALEXANDER FLEMING, and the ERA of VACCINES against
VIRAL DISEASES by JONAS SALK and ALBERT SABIN, it is imperative that we
discuss the ERA of VECTOR INSECTS and INFECTIOUS DISEASES as an ERA of
GREAT SIGNIFICANCE to MEDICINE and HUMANITY.
VECTORS of DISEASES were usually INSECTS like MOSQUITOS, FLIES, TICKS,
FLEAS and LICE, which spread diseases from one HOST to another by way of
STINGS, BITES or other forms of CONTAMINATIONS of FOODS, WATER, etc.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES were those actually caused by BACTERIA, VIRUSES,
PROTOZOA, RICKETTSIA and other organisms.
The ERA of VECTOR INSECTS and the spread of DISEASES and EPIDEMICS in
HUMANS and ANIMALS, marks a very important chapter in the fight against
INFECTIOUS DISEASES and EPIDEMICS, which had had devastating effects on
SOCIETY since the creation of populated CITIES during the RENAISSANCE, and even
worse in the 17th Century.
The ERA of VECTOR INSECTS had an important beginning with the
EUROPEAN EPIDEMICS that started in the 14th Century, largely as a result of
RELIGIOUS CRUSADES, INVADING ARMIES (ORIENTAL, SLAMIC, ROMAN and
NAPOLEONIC) and the development of WORLD TRADE.
These EPIDEMICS usually started in PORT CITIES and then followed the
TRADE and MILITARY ROUTES.
There were, according to historians, some hundred EPIDEMICS that attacked
Europe between the 14th and the 18th Centuries, and which killed and devastated up
to 50% of the population of a city, province or country.
EUROPEAN EPIDEMICS started to disappear during the 18th Century due to
the NEW MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE and the improvement of SANITARY CONDITIONS
and PRACTICES in HOMES, HOSPITALS and CITIES.

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 Some of the worst EUROPEAN EPIDEMICS took place in locations like
LONDON (1347 - 1353 and 1665 - 1666), NORTHERN ITALY and MILAN (1629 -
1631), SEVILLE (1647 - 1652), VIENNA (1679), MARSEILLE (1720 - 1722) and
MOSCOW (1771).

VECTOR INSECTS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN THE AMERICAS
We will start our chapter on VECTOR INSECTS and INFECTIOUS DISEASES
with the EPIDEMICS that occurred in the AMERICAS during the 19th and 20th
Centuries.
The discovery of the existence of VECTOR INSECTS and their role in
spreading INFECTIOUS DISEASES is an excellent example of how the SIMPLE
DISCOVERY of a MISSING LINK led to GREAT DEVELOPMENTS in MICROBIOLOGY
and MEDICINE.
The discovery of VECTOR INSECTS resulted in finding a simple way to
eradicate a disease, not by destroying the PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS or developing
VACCINES, but by simply destroying the VECTOR INSECTS with INSECTICIDES and
by eliminating their BREEDING GROUNDS.

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 THEOBALD SMITH
FIRST TO ASSOCIATE A VECTOR-INSECT WITH THE SPREAD OF A
DISEASE. DEMONSTRATED THAT THE TEXAS CATTLE FEVER WAS
CAUSED BY A PROTOZOA SPREAD BY A BLOOD-SUCKING TICK.
ONE OF THE FIRST AMERICAN RESEARCH SCIENTISTS TO BE
RECOGNIZED INTERNATIONALLY.



















THEOBALD SMITH (1859 - 1934) German-American Pathologist.
THEOBALD SMITH graduated from CORNELL UNIVERSITY in 1881 with
honors and then obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1883 at the top of his class from
the ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE.

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 In 1892, SMITH demonstrated that the TEXAS CATTLE FEVER was caused by
a PROTOZOAN PARASITE that was spread by a BLOOD-SUCKING TICK.
This was the first time that a VECTOR INSECT (a TICK) was associated with
the spread of a disease.
This idea, like most new ideas was met with considerable skepticism, but
eventually it was accepted and went on to lay the ground work for similar
discoveries by SIR PATRICK MANSON, WALTER REED, WILLIAM GORGAS, SIR
RONALD ROSS, HOWARD RICKETTS and other BRILLIANT MEN of SCIENCE.



THE TEXAS CATTLE FEVER CAUSED BY A PROTOZOA AND SPREAD
BY BLOOD-SUCKING TICKS

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 SIR PATRICK MANSON
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF TROPICAL MEDICINE
SUGGESTED THE MOSQUITO AS A VECTOR INSECT IN MALARIA

PATRICK MANSON (1844 - 1922) Scottish Physician.
PATRICK MANSON is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of TROPICAL
MEDICINE. He founded the SCHOOL of TROPICAL MEDICINE in London in 1899.
MANSON was among the first to suggest that MOSQUITOS might be the
VECTOR INSECTS that spread MALARIA. An idea that was to benefit the work of the
English Physician, SIR RONALD ROSS.

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 MANSON helped introduce VACCINATION in China and founded, in 1883,
what became the UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG.
SIR PATRICK MANSON was KNIGHTED in 1903.

CHARLES LEWIS LAVERAN (1845 - 1922) French Physician.
CHARLES LAVERAN was stationed in Algeria between 1878 and 1883. There
he had ample opportunity to study the MALARIA disease.
In 1880, LAVERAN discovered that a PROTOZOAN (of the genus
PLASMODIUM) and not a BACTERIA, was the pathogen that caused MALARIA. This
was the first case in which a PROTOZOA (a SINGLE-CELLED ANIMAL), rather than
BACTERIA, was the cause of an INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
In 1896, LAVERAN entered the PASTEUR INSTITUTE where he devoted the
rest of his life to research the nature of TROPICAL DISEASES.
In 1907, CHARLES LAVERAN’S work was finally noticed and consequently he
received the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and PHYSIOLOGY.

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 SIR RONALD ROSS
CONFIRMED THAT MALARIA WAS CAUSED BY A PROTOZOA
TRANSMITTED BY THE MOSQUITO ANOPHELES






















RONALD ROSS (1857 - 1932) English Physician.
RONALD ROSS obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1879. In 1881 he went to
India to work at the INDIAN MEDICAL CENTER.
In India, ROSS became interested in MALARIA. He was aware that PATRICK
MANSON believed that MOSQUITOS might be connected with the spread of the

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MALARIA DISEASE. He also knew that CHARLES LAVERAN had found, in 1880, that
a PROTOZOA was the cause of MALARIA.
In 1897, after studying MALARIA and MANSON’S MOSQUITOS in India, ROSS
found the LAVERAN’S PROTOZOA in the BODY of the MOSQUITO ANOPHELES, thus
confirming that MALARIA was caused by a PROTOZOA, which was transmitted by
the MOSQUITO ANOPHELES.
ROSS started a systematic campaign to eradicate the MOSQUITOS by draining
and eliminating their swampy BREEDING GROUNDS. He also suggested using
MOSQUITO NETTING at night to prevent MOSQUITO BITES.
ROSS returned to England and became Professor of TROPICAL MEDICINE at
KING’S COLLEGE in London.
In 1902, ROSS received the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and PHYSIOLOGY for
his outstanding work on MALARIA.
SIR RONALD ROSS was knighted in 1911.

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 HOWARD TAYLOR RICKETTS
DISCOVERED THE RICKETTSIA GERM, NAMED IN HIS HONOR

HOWARD TAILOR RICKETTS (1871 - 1910) American Pathologist.
HOWARD RICKETTS graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1894 and
obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE at NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY in 1897. In 1902
he joined the faculty at the University of Chicago.
RICKETTS became interested in the disease known as the ROCKY MOUNTAIN
SPOTTED FEVER. In 1906, RICKETTS showed that this disease was spread by a
CATTLE TICK.

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 RICKETTS was the first to find the MICROORGANISM (RICKETTSIA) that
caused this disease ,and which turned out to be a very unusual one. This PATHOGEN
was a difficult one to detect because it was neither a BACTERIA nor a VIRUS, but
something in between. This new PATHOGEN was like a VIRUS in that it could not be
grown outside a LIVING CELL.
RICKETTS went on to study TYPHUS, another disease caused by a similar
MICROORGANISM (RICKETTSIA). The French Physician, CHARLES J. NICOLLE (1866
- 1936) working at the PASTEUR INSTITUTE in Tunis, Africa, had found that a BODY
LOUSE transmitted TYPHUS.
In 1910, while working with TYPHUS in Mexico, RICKETTS contracted the
disease and died.
After RICKETTS death, this MICROORGANISM was name a RICKETTSIA in his
honor.
TYPHUS was a devastating disease among soldiers during WWI. However,
during WWII, TYPHUS was just about completely controlled among soldiers in 1943
by killing the BODY LOUSE with DDT.
DDT was a new INSECTICIDE that the Swiss Chemist, PAUL HERMANN
MULLER (1899 - 1965) had just discovered in 1939. In 1942, DDT began to be
commercially produced in the USA and the rest is chemical ( insecticide) history.

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 YELLOW FEVER AND MALARIA IN THE HOT AND WET TROPICS
YELLOW FEVER and MALARIA are two of the oldest diseases that were
prevalent in the hot and wet TROPICAL AREAS of Latin America (particularly the
Caribbean Islands, Panama and Brazil), India, Asia and Africa.
The early European explorers and conquistadores of the 15th and 16th
Centuries were among the first to suffer the consequences of YELLOW FEVER and
MALARIA. The history of CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, BASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA
and HERNAN CORTEZ and their invading armies, show evidence of the thousands of
people who died as a result of these two feared TROPICAL DISEASES.
The American Indians gave Europe YELLOW FEVER, MALARIA, SYPHILIS,
TYPHOID and VENEREAL DISEASES in exchange for the GOLD and SILVER that the
conquistadores took home to Europe.
The southeast coast of the United States and places like New York and
Philadelphia, also endured the devastating attacks of these two diseases that were
indeed very mysterious in their origin. This, particularly because they were caused
by unusual MICROORGANISMS that were difficult to find and destroy.
Eventually, it was determined that YELLOW FEVER was caused by a VIRUS
and that MALARIA was caused by a PROTOZOA. Fortunately, these two diseases
were also found to be transmitted by MOSQUITOS as VECTOR INSECTS, which
facilitated their control by eradicating the MOSQUITOS instead of the difficult
MICROORGANISMS.
The advent of INSECTICIDES like DDT made the control of YELLOW FEVER
and MALARIA a thing of the past, by the complete eradication of their VECTOR
INSECTS, the long-legged MOSQUITOS.

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 WALTER REED
DETERMINED THAT YELLOW FEVER WAS CAUSED BY A VIRUS
TRANSMITTED BY THE AEDES MOSQUITO

WALTER REED (1851 - 1902) American Military Surgeon and Bacteriologist.
WALTER REED obtained his M.D. degree in 1869 (before age 19) from the
University of Virginia and a second degree in 1870 from the Bellevue Medical School
in New York.
REED entered the ARMY MEDICAL CORPS in 1874 and from then on he
became interested in the field of BACTERIOLOGY. In 1893, he was appointed
Professor of Bacteriology at the ARMY MEDICAL SCHOOL.

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 During the Spanish-American War, the United States Army became very
aware of TROPICAL DISEASES because more soldiers died of YELLOW FEVER,
MALARIA and TYPHOID FEVER than in the battlefields.
The Army sent the American Surgeon, WALTER REED, as head of a
COMMISSION to study the impact and causes of TROPICAL DISEASES like YELLOW
FEVER and MALARIA among MILITARY PERSONNEL.
By 1897, REED had been able to prove that YELLOW FEVER was not caused
by BACTERIA or PROTOZOA, but by a more difficult MICROORGANISM (a VIRUS).
In 1899, REED was sent to Cuba to study an EPIDEMIC of YELLOW FEVER
that was devastating the population there. After careful studies he concluded that
the disease was not transmitted by BODY CONTACT, or by CLOTHING or BEDDING.
REED returned to the idea that YELLOW FEVER could be transmitted by
MOSQUITOS as VECTOR INSECTS, just as PATRICK MANSON and RONALD ROSS had
found in the case of MALARIA, which was transmitted by the ANOPHELES
MOSQUITO.
Some of the doctors in REED’S COMMISSION decided to test the theory and
allowed themselves to be bitten by MOSQUITOS to see if they would catch the
disease. Some of the doctors came down with YELLOW FEVER and DR. JESSE
WILLIAM LAZEAR (1866 - 1900) died in 1900. REED had proven his point the hard
way’
REED immediately started a campaign to destroy the MOSQUITOS by
eliminating their BREEDING SITES and by using MOSQUITO NETTING to avoid
MOSQUITO BITES. In this way, the EPIDEMIC of YELLOW FEVER in Havana was
stopped.
By 1901, REED had proven that YELLOW FEVER was caused by a VIRUS
(from the Latin word meaning POISON), which was transmitted by the AEDES
MOSQUITO. The GERM was a FILTERABLE PATHOGENIC AGENT like the Dutch
Botanist, MARTINUS W. BEIJERINCK (1851 - 1931) had found in 1898 in connection
with the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE. BEIJERINCK called the GERM an INVISIBLE
FILTERABLE VIRUS.

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 This was the first time when a HUMAN DISEASE, YELLOW FEVER, was
attributed to a VIRUS.
LOUIS PASTEUR had also been unable to locate the MICROBE (a VIRUS) that
caused RABIES because it was INVISIBLE under his OPTICAL MICROSCOPE.
The last YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC in the United States occurred in New
Orleans in 1905. REED was not able to witness this EPIDEMIC because he died in
1902.
In 1945, WALTER REED was elected to the HALL OF FAME for GREAT
AMERICANS and the ARMY GENERAL HOSPITAL in Washington, D.C. was named in
his honor, the WALTER REED HOSPITAL.


THE PANAMA CANAL, YELLOW FEVER AND MALARIA
During the construction of the PANAMA CANAL and the PANAMA CANAL
RAILROAD, first by the French (between 1881 and 1904) and then by the Americans
(between 1904 and 1914), YELLOW FEVER and MALARIA were devastating the
WORK FORCE and made it almost impossible to do the work. Over 20 thousand
workers died during the FRENCH ERA and over 12 thousand died during the
AMERICAN ERA.
The construction of the PANAMA CANAL RAILROAD also suffered much due
to these two diseases, but it had to be completed in order to assist in the
construction of the CANAL.
The construction of the PANAMA CANAL was the largest and most difficult
ENGINEERING PROJECT ever attempted, and without the availability of MODERN
EQUIPMENT. The PANAMA CANAL was completed in 1914 and officially
inaugurated on August 15, 1914.

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 WILLIAM CRAWFORD GORGAS
ERADICATED YELLOW FEVER & MALARIA AS WELL AS THE AEDES
& THE ANOPHELES MOSQUITOS IN PANAMA

WILLIAM CRAWFORD GORGAS (1854 - 1920) American Army Surgeon.
WILLIAM GORGAS obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1879 from the Bellevue
Medical School in New York, and then entered the Army in 1880.
GORGAS also went to Havana with WALTER REED from 1898 to 1902 to fight
the YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC.
The high point in GORGAS’ life came after REED’S death, when he was sent to
Panama in 1904 to fight the two-dreaded diseases of YELLOW FEVER and MALARIA.
These two TROPICAL DISEASES were devastating the WORK FORCE during the
construction of the PANAMA CANAL and the RAILROAD between Colon and Panama
City.

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 GORGAS used his experience in Havana to eliminate these two diseases in
Panama by simply destroying the MOSQUITOS that spread YELLOW FEVER (AEDES
MOSQUITO) and MALARIA (ANOPHELES MOSQUITO).
With the help of the Chief Engineer, JOHN FRANK STEVENS, GORGAS
organized a major campaign to destroy the MOSQUITO POPULATION by eliminating
their BREEDING PLACES, mainly SWAMPS and WETLANDS. He drained many
swampy areas and covered other bodies of water with a thin layer of OIL. Good
insecticides were not available at the time.
Individuals with YELLOW FEVER and MALARIA were quarantined under
MOSQUITO NETTING to prevent MOSQUITOS from spreading the disease from sick
to healthy workers.
Nearly 20 million dollars were used on HEALTH and SANITATION practices
during the 10 years spent on the construction of the PANAMA CANAL and
RAILROAD.
By 1914, YELLOW FEVER and MALARIA had been eradicated and the CANAL
and RAILROAD were successfully completed.
In 1914, WILLIAM C. GORGAS was appointed SURGEON GENERAL of the US
ARMY. Afterward, he devoted the rest of his life to fighting these two TROPICAL
DISEASES all over the world.
In 1950, WILLIAM C. GORGAS was elected to the HALL OF FAME of GREAT
AMERICANS.
The next chapter on the control of devastating DISEASES and EPIDEMICS
came with the discovery of the insecticide of DDT by the Swiss Chemist, PAUL H.
MULLER in 1939.

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 INSECTICIDES, VECTOR INSECTS AND AGRICULTURE
The 20th century saw a great need for the development of PESTICIDES,
particularly INSECTICIDES due to the discovery of the role of VECTOR INSECTS in
the transmission of devastating diseases and to the development of LARGE SCALE
FARMING and LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION, which demanded careful control of
INSECTS, DISEASES and WEEDS.
The POPULATION EXPLOSION all over the world and the resulting need for
higher FOOD PRODUCTION to cope with WORLD DEMANDS, created a potentially
dangerous scenario. A scenario which was to require more efficient management of
agriculture practices in relation to PEST CONTROL, SOIL CONSERVATION and
WATER MANAGEMENT.
These social predicaments became more obvious and critical in TROPICAL
and DEVELOPING COUNTRIES where financial deficits, poor agricultural practices
and greater food needs had attained alarming proportions.
The story of WORLD PROGRESS and the development of MODERN
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, CHEMICALS and MACHINERY began with WWI and
much more so with WWII, when society saw modern developments in SCIENCE and
TECHNOLOGY proliferate with impressive creativity.
This is when we saw great advances in ENERGY PRODUCTION,
COMMUNICATION, TRANSPORTATION, MEDICINE, EDUCATION and the SCIENCES,
which flourished with a dynamism that astonished our imagination beyond
measure.
Let us begin our short story with the development of PESTICIDES and
INSECTICIDES.

PAUL HERMANN MULLER (1899 - 1965) Swiss Chemist.
The story of INSECTICIDES may begin with the Swiss Chemist, PAUL MULLER
and his recognition for the need to find INSECTICIDES that were effective in killing
INSECTS, without harming our food and water supply and people.

217
 MULLER started a concerted effort and research program designed to find
and organic compound that was effective as an INSECTICIDE but without significant
TOXIC SIDE EFFECTS on PLANTS, ANIMALS, and the ENVIRONMENT. At the same
time he wanted a chemical that was stable, odorless and relatively cheap to produce.
There were some INSECTICIDES already on the market but some were
ARSENICAL COMPOUNDS with serious TOXIC SIDE EFFECTS on all forms of life and
which tended to ACCUMULATE and POLLUTE the SOIL, WATER and our
ECOSYSTEM.
MULLER soon realized that it was not going to be easy to find the PERFECT
INSECTICIDE with all the desirable AGRICULTURAL and ENVIRONMENTAL qualities
he wanted.
In other words, one thing was to kill the harmful insects, another thing was
to poison our food and to harm the beneficial insects, wildlife, farm animals, crops
and mainly farmers and the public at large. He also wanted to prevent the
deterioration of the quality of our soils, water, air and our ecosystem.
MULLER continued with his research because the need was obvious and
imperative for the success of agriculture.
He decided to concentrate his efforts on the study of CHLORINE
COMPOUNDS that had previously shown some promising and positive results.
On September of 1939 (the month WWII started) MULLER decided to
experiment with a CHLORINE CHEMICAL that had been synthesized in 1873.
He tried this new compound DICHLORODIPHENYL TRICHLOROETHANE (or
DDT) as an INSECTICIDE and DDT turned out to be a great success. MULLER had
found his almost IDEAL INSECTICIDE.
Soon after MULLER had discovered the excellent properties of DDT as an
INSECTICIDE, Switzerland put it to use against the COLORADO POTATO BEATLE
and it was a great success.
In 1942, DDT was being produced commercially in the USA. In 1943, DDT
was used during WWII in Naples, Italy to control the BODY LOUSE that caused
TYPHUS and the epidemic was soon controlled among the soldiers and the public.

218
 A similar TYPHUS EPIDEMIC was stopped in Japan in 1945, after the
American invasion.
In 1948, PAUL MULLER received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology
for his discovery of DDT as an INSECTICIDE.
After WWII, DDT became the MIRACLE INSECTICIDE in the USA and all over
the world to combat INSECTS in farms as well as cities.
Unfortunately, resistant strains of insects to DDT soon developed and the
effectiveness of DDT dropped significantly. Other INSECTICIDES were soon
developed to assist on the fight against harmful insects.
The ERA of PESTICIDES and INSECTICIDES had started with the advent of
DDT. However, a question soon came up. Are we going to be judicious with the use
of DDT and other pesticides and take the necessary precautions to maintain some
sensible equilibrium and prevent an ECOLOGIC CATASTROPHE?
During the following decades the use of DDT and other PESTICIDES took a
turn for the worst of scenarios because of the unscrupulous use of chemicals.
Ignorance, irresponsibility and greed among chemical companies, farm
advisory, farmers, and Government officials resulted in unpredictable damages to
people, farms, cities and the ecosystem in general. Useful INSECTS, BIRDS, WILD
LIFE, FOOD, FARM ANIMALS, SOIL, WATER and AIR, all suffered serious
contamination, and pollution and even death.
A few decades after the great success of DDT, PESTICIDES and other
AGRICULTURAL Chemicals came under serious investigation as DANGEROUS
POLLUTANTS.
Eventually, the use of some of these CHEMICALS was restricted and even
banned in farms and cities all over the world.
This is a perfect example of a SCIENTIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENT that began by
providing MARVELOUS BENEFITS TO SOCIETY, and then resulted in an incredible
SOCIAL AND ECOLOGIC CATASTROPHE due to the ignorance, negligence and
insensitivity on the part of agricultural and industrial officials.
There is a very serious and important lesson to be learned from this chapter
on human history in relation to progress. The lesson is, the importance to keep in

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mind that in the ultimate analysis, our responsibility is to humanity and to our
beautiful green planet and not to wealth and greed.


RACHEL CARSON
AUTHOR OF THE FAMOUS BOOK, SILENT SPRING,
WHO HELPED TO STOP THE ABUSIVE USE OF CHEMICALS
IN FARMS AND CITIES

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RACHEL CARSON (1907-1964) Marine Biologist.
In 1962, the famous American Biologist RACHEL CARSON published her
magnificent book, SILENT SPRING, to alert humanity on the importance to be good
stewards and keepers of society, our lives and our environment.
This was a courageous scientist to whom we owe immense gratitude, respect,
and admiration for her magnificent attempt to alert us of the harms of POLLUTION.

THE FAMOUS BOOK ON THE PRESERVATION OF
NATURE AND HUMANITY















RACHEL CARSON AND HER BOOK SILENT SPRING
At this point in time, a wonderful book appeared in 1962 as a response to
this CHEMICAL CALAMITY in our ECOLOGY and SOCIETY.
This book was SILENT SPRING by the famous American Biologist, RACHEL
CARSON. After long and serious research on the problem of CHEMICAL POLLUTION

221
of the ENVIRONMENT and SOCIETY, CARSON revealed with courage and conviction
the SCIENTIFIC FACTS of what was taking place in our FARMS and CITIES.
The ESSENTIAL MESSAGE in this marvelous book, SILENT SPRING, may be
summarized as follows:
- RACHEL CARSON began to observe that our beautiful WILDLIFE was
becoming SILENT and SCARCE in our YARDS and in our FARM FIELDS. This
observation led her to believe that INSECTICIDES were killing, not only the
HARMFUL INSECTS, but also the USEFUL INSECTS, BUTTERFLIES, BEES, BIRDS and
the INNOCENT WILDLIFE on our FARMS, MEADOWS and FORESTS. Furthermore,
she felt that if the impact of the INSECTICIDES was that powerful, then they were
also bound to affect the FARM ANIMALS and CROPS, our SOILS, WATER SOURCES,
AIR, FARM PRODUCTS, FARMERS, COMMUNITIES and the QUALITY of our
ENVIRONMENT and the EARTH ECOLOGY at large.
- After a careful scientific study of these problems, RACHEL CARSON
published her notes in her book, SILENT SPRING to confirm her initial fears on the
devastating effect that INSECTICIDES and PESTICIDES were having on the
ENVIRONMENT; also to make everyone aware of the IMMEDIATE NEED to
CORRECT and STOP this very dangerous and cruel CHEMICAL INITIATIVE and
APPROACH.
- Fortunately, our CHEMICAL CALAMITY was soon placed under careful
supervision and control by GOVERNMENT, AGRICULTURAL and ENVIRONMENTAL
OFFICIALS. Consequently, our WILDLIFE, our ENVIRONMENT, our FARMS and
RANCHES and our COMMUNITIES could now look at the future of our BEAUTIFUL
GREEN EARTH with a delightful sense of joy, health and hope.
- However, it appears that we may now be embarking on a new and just as
DANGEROUS course of SCIENTIFIC ENTERPRISE. This is the NEW ERA of GENETICS
and GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS and FARM PRODUCTS present in our
daily list of FOODS at the supermarket.
Why don’t we learn to be more JUDICIOUS and HUMANE and much less
aware of PROFITS and WEALTH in our daily life?

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 THE ERA OF WONDER DRUGS, SULFA DRUGS
AND ANTIBIOTICS
The ERA of WONDER DRUGS started with the dramatic discovery of
substances that could kill PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS associated with serious
INFECTIOUS DISEASES. This was indeed a DRAMATIC ERA when, for the first time, a
SPECIFIC HUMAN DISEASE could be effectively controlled by a DRUG.
The ERA of WONDER DRUGS started with three main discoveries:
- The discovery by PAUL EHRLICH in 1909-1910 of an ARSENICAL
COMPOUND (#606) with the trade name of SALVARSAN (EHRLICH called it his
MAGIC BULLET), which was effective in controlling the dreaded disease, SYPHILIS,
caused by a SPIROCHETAE. This was the beginning of the NEW SCIENCE of
CHEMOTHERAPY.
- The discovery by GERHARD DOMAGK in 1932-1935, of an ORANGE-RED
DYE with the trade name of PRONTOSIL, which was effective against the
STREPTOCOCCUS BACTERIA. This was the first commercially available ANTIBIOTIC
to be used against a BACTERIAL DISEASE.
- The discovery by SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING in 1928 of the MOLD
Penicillium notatum, which was effective against BACTERIA. FLEMING isolated the
ANTIBACTERIAL SUBSTANCE produced by this mold and named it, PENICILLIN.
The ANTIBIOTIC PENICILLIN was isolated and purified in 1941 by HOWARD
W. FLOREY and ERNST B. CHAIN, and became the first real ANTIBIOTIC (produced
by a MICROORGANISM) to be offered commercially in the 1940’s (1943-1945).
PENICILLIN became the WONDER DRUG of the 20th Century.
The ERA of WONDER DRUGS, which started in 1909-1910 with PAUL
EHRLICH’S MAGIC BULLET (SALVARSAN), had evolved from the early days of
CHEMOTHERAPY to the prodigious NEW ERA of ANTIBIOTICS.
ANTIBIOTICS became one of the GREATEST BLESSINGS in the 20th Century
because they were very effective in the control of dreaded diseases like
TUBERCULOSIS, SYPHILIS, DIPTHERIA, TYPHOID, CHOLERA, PNEUMONIA,
VENEREAL DISEASES and many other BACTERIAL DISEASES.

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 GERHARD DOMAGK
INTRODUCED PRONTOSIL, A SULFA- DRUG,
AGAINST THE STREPTOCOCCUS BACTERIA



















GERHARD DOMAGK (1895 - 1964) German Biochemist and Bacteriologist.
GERHARD DOMAGK obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1921 at the
University of Kiel.
DOMAGK began in the 1920’s, a systematic study of the NEW DYES with
special interest on their MEDICAL APPLICATIONS. This was a continuation of the
magnificent work that PAUL EHRLICH had started in the 1900’s with his study of
DYES (as CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS) for the control of certain diseases.

224
 In 1932, DOMAGK found that the NEW DYE, ORANGE-RED, with the trade
name of PRONTOSIL was very effective in controlling STREPTOCOCCUS
INFECTIONS in MICE. These infections were caused by a very small BACTERIA not
affected by EHRLICH’S SALVARSAN.
In 1935, DOMAGK tested PRONTOSIL with his daughter, who had been
infected with the STREPTOCOCCUS BACTERIA and the treatment was very
successful.
The son of president FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT was also treated successfully
with PRONTOSIL and the world soon learned about this new fantastic DRUG.
PRONTOSIL became the new WONDER DRUG as a kind of ANTIBIOTIC
against BACTERIAL DISEASES.
The Swiss-Italian Pharmacologist, DANIELE BOVET, working at the PASTEUR
INSTITUTE, found in 1936 that only a portion of the PRONTOSIL MOLECULE was
effective against BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. This was the well-known compound
named SULFANILAMIDE.
PRONTOSIL and SULFANILAMIDE became the new WONDER DRUGS of the
20th Century, after PAUL EHRLICH’S MAGIC BULLET, SALVARSAN (an ARSENIC
COMPOUND).
In 1939, GERHARD DOMAGK received the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and
PHYSIOLOGY. He accepted it in 1947 after HITLER’S DEATH and the end of the NAZI
REGIME.

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 DANIELE BOVET
DISCOVERED SULFANILAMIDE AS AN ANTI-BACTERIAL AGENT
AND THE ANTIHISTAMINES



















DANIELE BOVET (1907 - 1992) Swiss-Italian Pharmacologist.
DANIELE BOVET, son of a Pedagogy Professor, obtained his DOCTORAL
DEGREE in 1929 at the University of Geneva. He then worked at the PASTEUR
INSTITUTE (1929-1947), at the Instituto Superiore di Sanita (1947-1964) and
finally he became Professor at the University of Rome, La Sapienza.
After GERHARD DOMAGK had announced his discovery of PRONTOSIL in
1935, DR. BOVET determined, in 1936, that the compound SULFANILAMIDE (a

226
SULFA DRUG) was the portion in the PRONTOSIL MOLECULE, which was active as
an ANTIBACTERIAL AGENT.
PRONTOSIL and SULFANILAMIDE became the NEW WONDER DRUGS of the
20th Century as a kind of ANTIBIOTIC against BACTERIAL DISEASES. Later on
ALEXANDER FLEMING’S PENICILLIN took its place as the NEW WONDER DRUG.
BOVET is best known for his discovery in 1937 of the ANTIHISTAMINES,
which are used today to counteract the unpleasant ALLERGIC EFFECTS of the
HISTAMINES, including ASTHMA ATTACKS.
In 1944, he introduced his ANTIHISTAMINE, PYRILAMINE. Many
ANTIHISTAMINES have been produced since that time.
BOVET also developed a method to use CURARE (an ALKALOID found in the
roots of several South American plants) as a MUSCLE RELAXER during SURGERY,
which helped to save many lives. CURARE is a POISON that can paralyze the HEART
MUSCLES and kill a person if not used properly.
BOVET also developed several very useful SULFA DRUGS.
DR. BOVET proposed to the WORLD FOOD CONGRESS of the UNITED
NATIONS the idea of manufacturing inexpensive SYNTHETIC FOODS to help
alleviate the problems associated with WORLD HUNGER and MALNUTRITION.
DR. DANIELE BOVET received the 1957 NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and
PHYSIOLOGY for his outstanding work with ANTIHISTAMINES and CURARE.

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 THE NEW ERA OF THE TRUE ANTIBIOTICS
THE REAL WONDER DRUGS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
The new and fantastic ERA of the TRUE ANTIBIOTICS began with the early
studies by the Scottish Bacteriologist, SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING and his discovery
in 1928 of the MOLD Penicillium notatum (closely related to the COMMON MOLD
found in STALE BREAD) and its great capacity to kill BACTERIA.
FLEMING’S discovery was practically ignored by the SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY until WWII came along and created a great demand for substances
(ANTIBIOTICS) that could control BACTERIAL INFECTIOUS in WOUNDED
SOLDIERS.
The early studies of RENE J. DUBOS with SOIL MICROORGANISMS as
potential producers of some kind of ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS (or ANTIBIOTICS)
also helped to start the NEW ERA of ANTIBIOTICS as the WONDER DRUGS of the
FUTURE.
The outstanding research by DR. SELMAN WAKSMAN and DR. BENJAMIN
DUGGAR also made significant contributions to the field of ANTIBIOTICS.

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 SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING
DISCOVERED PENICILLIN, A TRUE ANTIBIOTIC,
WHICH BECAME THE WONDER DRUG OF THE 20TH CENTURY




















ALEXANDER FLEMING (1881 - 1955) Scottish Bacteriologist.
ALEXANDER FLEMING, son of a Farmer, obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in
1906 at the University of London. In 1908, he also received a degree in
BACTERIOLOGY and in 1928 he became Professor of Bacteriology at the University
of London. In 1951, FLEMING was made Director at the University of Edinburgh.

229
 During WWI, FLEMING served as a Captain in the BRITISH ARMY’S MEDICAL
CORPS. He became aware of the many soldiers who died of WOUND INFECTIONS
and of the need to control these BACTERIAL INFECTIONS.
Early in his life, he was interested in BACTERIOLOGY and pioneered in Great
Britain, the introduction of PAUL EHRLICH’S SALVARSAN in the area of
CHEMOTHERAPY.
FLEMING’S first discovery in 1921-1922 was the PROTEIN LYSOZYME, which
was very important because it had ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES.
On September of 1928, FLEMING made the accidental discovery of an
ANTIBACTERIAL SUBSTANCE, which was to revolutionize the field of MEDICINE in a
most fantastic way.
FLEMING had left a petri plate uncovered, in his laboratory, with a CULTURE
of the STREPTOCOCCUS BACTERIA for several days. He was about to discard this
CULTURE when he noticed that some SPECS of a MOLD had fallen into it.
Furthermore, he observed that around each SPEC of MOLD, the BACTERIAL
GROWTH had disappeared, or had dissolved away. In other words, the MOLD had
killed the BACTERIA and no new growth had returned.

COLONY OF THE PENICILLIUM MOLD, A FUNGUS

230
 FLEMING went on to isolate this FANTASTIC MOLD and found that it was the
Penicillium notatum, one that was closely related to the MOLD found in STALE
BREAD.
FLEMING assumed that the MOLD had produced and liberated some
substance with ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES, which he named PENICILLIN, and
whose composition was unknown.
He cultured the MOLD and tried to grow various types of STREPTOCOCCUS
BACTERIA around it. FLEMING observed that the PENICILLIN produced by the
MOLD was very effective in killing the BACTERIA, particularly the GRAM-POSITIVE
ones that caused important diseases such as PNEUMONIA, DIPTHERIA,
MENINGITIS, SCARLET FEVER and GONORRHEA.
He also studied the effect of PENICILLIN on the WHITE BLOOD CELLS and
found no ILL-EFFECTS.
FLEMING had found a fabulous new ANTIBACTERIAL SUBSTANCE,
PENICILLIN, which eventually became the ANTIBIOTIC and the WONDER DRUG of
the 20th Century. This, in the hands of HOWARD FLOREY and ERNST CHAIN, who
went on to purify PENICILLIN and to make it available to the public.
PENICILLIN was the first real ANTIBIOTIC produced by a MICROORGANISM.
FLEMING published his discovery of PENICILLIN in 1929 in the BRITISH
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY, but the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY paid
little attention to this article.
Between the time FLEMING first discovered PENICILLIN, and FLOREY and
CHAIN had made PENICILLIN available to the public in the 1940’s, GERHARD
DOMAGK had also developed his PRONTOSIL (a SULFA DRUG) in the 1930’s. This
was another ANTIBACTERIAL SUBSTANCE and a different kind of ANTIBIOTIC,
which also became an important WONDER DRUG.
The word ANTIBIOTIC (meaning AGAINST LIFE) was first proposed in 1941
by the Microbiologist, SELMAN WAKSMAN, to represent an ANTIBACTERIAL AGENT
produced by a MICROORGANISM.
With the advent of WWII and the pressing need for ANTIBACTERIAL DRUGS,
or ANTIBIOTICS (as they came to be known) to fight BACTERIAL INFECTIONS in

231
WOUNDED SOLDIERS, FLEMING’S discovery of PENICILLIN was rediscovered and
became a GOD GIVEN MIRACLE in the field of MEDICINE.
HOWARD FLOREY and ERNST CHAIN were familiar with FLEMING’S
DISCOVERIES and they became interested in ISOLATING and MASS-PRODUCING
PENICILLIN. FLOREY and CHAIN did additional research with PENICILLIN and
determined that PENICILLIN was indeed a FANTASTIC ANTIBIOTIC.
In 1941, PENICILLIN was tried in 9 patients with BACTERIAL INFECTIONS
and the results were a DRAMATIC SUCCESS.
PENICILLIN did in fact, become the WONDER DRUG of the 20th Century far
beyond any expectations. This new ANTIBIOTIC saved many lives during the WAR
and also went on to remove the FEAR and PANIC of contracting serious diseases like
TUBERCULOSIS, PNEUMONIA, SYPHILIS, CHOLERA and many others.
FLEMING went on to write many articles on BACTERIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY
and CHEMOTHERAPY, all of which made important contributions to the field of
MEDICINE.
SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING was knighted in 1944, and together with
HOWARD FLOREY and ERNST CHAIN received the 1945 NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE
and PHYSIOLOGY for offering to the world the FANTASTIC MIRACLE ANTIBIOTIC,
PENICILLIN as the LIFE SAVER of the 20th CENTURY.

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 ALEXANDER FLEMING RECEIVING THE NOBEL PRIZE IN 1945
FROM KING GUSTAV OF SWEDEN

HOWARD WALTER FLOREY (1898 - 1968) Australian-English Pathologist.
HOWARD FLOREY obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1921 at the University
of Adelaide. He travelled to England as a Rhodes Scholar and studied at Oxford and
Cambridge. FLOREY received his Ph.D. Degree in 1927 from Cambridge University.
FLOREY had four great incentives that led him into the fantastic world of
MICROBIOLOGY. These were, FLEMING’S discovery of PENICILLIN in 1928,
DOMAGK’S discovery of PRONTOSIL in 1932, DUBOS’ discovery of the ANTIBIOTIC
TYROTHRICIN in 1939 and finally the advent of WWII in 1939.
FLOREY and the German-English Biochemist, ERNST CHAIN had been
working on the ANTIBACTERIAL PROTEIN, LYSOZYME, which ALEXANDER
FLEMING had discovered in 1922-1923. They then became interested in the
neglected ANTIBIOTIC, PENICILLIN, also discovered by FLEMING.

233
 In 1940, FLOREY and CHAIN went on to isolate and purify PENICILLIN, and
to determine its CHEMICAL STRUCTURE by means of X-RAY DIFFRACTION. The
structure of the PENICILLIN MOLECULE turned out to be very complex.
In 1941, PENICILLIN was tried in patients with BACTERIAL INFECTIONS and
it was a great success. PENICILLIN turned out to be an ANTIBIOTIC with VERY LOW
TOXICITY and SIDE EFFECTS.
FLOREY and CHAIN obtained funds from the USA and BRITISH
GOVERNMENTS to start the MASS PRODUCTION of PENICILLIN in the early 1940’s,
especially after the PEARL HARBOR ATTACK in 1941 and after D-DAY in 1944.
PENICILLIN was also widely used during WAR II in Tunisia and Sicily.
In 1958, SYNTHETIC PENICILLIN was produced and used successfully.
In 1960, FLOREY was elected PRESIDENT of the ROYAL SOCIETY, and in
1962 he became PROVOST of QUEEN’S COLLEGE, OXFORD.
HOWARD FLOREY, together with ERNST CHAIN and SIR ALEXANDER
FLEMING received the 1945 NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and PHYSIOLOGY for their
fantastic work with PENICILLIN, the WONDER DRUG of the 20th Century.

234
ERNST BORIS CHAIN (1906 - 1979) German-English Biochemist.
ERNST CHAIN, son of a Chemist, obtained his Ph.D. in 1930 from the
Friedrich Wilhelm University. CHAIN moved to England when HITLER came to
power in 1933. CHAIN worked under the English Biochemist, SIR FREDERICK
HOPKINS (the scientist who proposed the VITAMIN CONCEPT and the CONCEPT of
ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS) at Cambridge University, and in 1935 HOWARD FLOREY
invited him to come to Oxford.
CHAIN and FLOREY went on to isolate, purify and mass-produce PENICILLIN
during WWII.
CHAIN also discovered the ENZYME, PENICILLINASE, which catalyzed the
destruction of PENICILLIN.
After WWII, CHAIN became, in 1948, the Director of the Health Institute in
Rome.
ERNST CHAIN, together with HOWARD FLOREY and SIR ALEXANDER
FLEMING received the 1945 NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and PHYSIOLOGY.

235
 SELMAN A. WAKSMAN
DISCOVERED THE ANTIBIOTIC STREPTOMYCIN
AGAINST THE GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA





















SELMAN ABRAHAM WAKSMAN (1888 - 1973) Russian-American Microbiologist.
SELMAN WAKSMAN graduated in Agriculture from Rutgers University in
1915 and obtained his Ph.D. Degree in Biochemistry from the University of
California, Berkeley in 1918. He then returned to join the faculty at Rutgers
University.

236
 WAKSMAN became interested in SOIL MICROORGANISMS, particularly those
that could produce substances with ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES.
In 1941, he coined the term ANTIBIOTIC (meaning AGAINST LIFE) to name
chemicals produced by MICROORGANISMS that had BACTERIAL-KILLING
PROPERTIES.
FLEMING’S discovery of PENICILLIN and the discovery of the ANTIBIOTIC,
TYROTHRICIN by his ex-student RENE DUBOS, became motivating factors in
WAKSMAN’S interest in ANTIBIOTICS.
FLEMING’S and DUBOS’ ANTIBIOTICS were found to be effective, but only
against GRAM-POSITIVE BACTERIA, and therefore WAKSMAN was now looking for
an ANTIBIOTIC effective against GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA.
WAKSMAN had some nostalgic affection for a MOLD in the STREPTOMYCES
FAMILY, which he had used during his years in graduate school.
In 1943, he was able to finally isolate from his PET MOLD an ANTIBIOTIC
that he named STREPTOMYCIN and which was in fact, effective against GRAM-
NEGATIVE BACTERIA. STREPTOMYCIN was also among the first ANTIBIOTICS
effective against TUBERCULOSIS.
STREPTOMYCIN was first used on a human subject in 1945, but it turned out
to be rather TOXIC and UNCOMFORTABLE to use.
WAKSMAN continued to search for other ANTIBIOTICS produced by SOIL
MICROORGANISMS and he did find a few more, which motivated other
Microbiologists to follow suit.
In 1948, BENJAMIN DUGGAR found the ANTIBIOTIC AUREOMYCIN (the first
of the TETRACYCLINE ANTIBIOTICS to be discovered), which turned out to be an
excellent ANTIBIOTIC with VERY LITTLE TOXICITY.
In 1952, SELMAN WAKSMAN received the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and
PHYSIOLOGY for his outstanding research on ANTIBIOTICS. He used the PRIZE
MONEY to establish the WAKSMAN RESEARCH FOUNDATION and the WAKSMAN
INSTITUTE of MICROBIOLOGY.

237
RENE JULES DUBOS (1901 - 1982) French-American Microbiologist.
RENE DUBOS obtained his DOCTORATE DEGREE in 1927 from Rutgers
University and his DOCTORAL THESIS dealt with the study of SOIL
MICROORGANISMS ( SELMAN WAKSMAN was a Professor of Microbiology there at
the time). After graduation, DUBOS joined the ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE for
MEDICAL RESEARCH (now ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY in New York).
Like WAKSMAN, DUBOS was interested in the ANTIBACTERIAL
SUBSTANCES that may be produced by SOIL MICROORGANISMS.
In 1939, DUBOS was able to isolate from the BACTERIA, Bacillus brevis, a
substance with ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES that he named TYROTHRICIN. This
substance was a mixture of several POLYPEPTIDES with molecules consisting of
SHORT AMINO ACID CHAINS.
The discovery of TYROTHRICIN by DUBOS as an ANTIBIOTIC, created a new
interest in FLEMING’S discovery of PENICILLIN. It also led WAKSMAN to isolate, in
the 1940’s, the NEW ANTIBIOTIC, STREPTOMYCIN.
In 1948, BENJAMIN DUGGAR discovered the ANTIBIOTIC, AUREOMYCIN,
which was a fantastic ANTIBIOTIC. AUREOMYCIN and PENICILLIN gave the NEW
ERA of ANTIBIOTICS a great momentum.

238
 BENJAMIN M. DUGGAR
DISCOVERED AUREOMYCIN, A TETRACYCLINE ANTIBIOTIC AND
ONE OF THE ELITE ANTIBIOTICS TOGETHER WITH PENICILLIN

BENJAMIN MINGE DUGGAR (1872 - 1956) American Botanist.
BENJAMIN DUGGAR, son of a Country Doctor, graduated from the University
of Alabama, obtained his Ph.D. Degree from CORNELL UNIVERSITY in 1898 and then
did post-doctoral studies in Germany and Italy.
In 1948, when he was 76 years old, DUGGAR made his great discovery. He
found and introduced the ANTIBIOTIC AUREOMYCIN, the first of the
TETRACYCLINE ANTIBIOTICS to be discovered.
Together with PENICILLIN, AUREOMYCIN and all the TETRACYCLINES
became the most useful and least dangerous of the ANTIBIOTICS.
PENICILLIN and AUREOMYCIN became the ELITE ANTIBIOTICS and
members of the fabulous WONDER DRUGS of the 20th Century.

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 VIRUSES, VIRAL DISEASES AND VIRUS VACCINES
The story on the understanding of VIRUSES and VIRAL DISEASES is perhaps
one of the most fascinating and mysterious studies ever encountered in SCIENTIFIC
HISTORY because of the extremely elusive and enigmatic nature of the VIRUS.
It took Microbiologists and Biochemists a long time to venture through a
bewildering BIOLOGICAL PUZZLE to just find an intelligent definition of this
ambiguous PATHOGENIC ENTITY that came to be known as the VIRUS.
It is very difficult to believe that the first and main source of perplexity about
this GERM was to determine with certainty if the VIRUS was a LIVING or a
NONLIVING PATHOGENIC AGENT.
One of the PRINCIPAL IMPEDIMENTS in characterizing the VIRUS was its
very small size, which evaded its observation through the OPTICAL MICROSCOPE.
To add mystery and ambivalence to the story, the VIRUS did not fit the definition of
any preexisting MICROBIOLOGICAL ENTITY. Furthermore, VIRUSES did not seem to
survive or exist on their own, outside a LIVING CELL or a LIVING ORGANISM.
The early history of VIRAL DISEASES and their EPIDEMICS started when
people began to congregate in small agricultural communities and more so when
cities started to grow as a result of the development of RELIGION, EDUCATION,
MEDICINE, COMMERCE and WORLD TRADE. Eventually, PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS
also began to congregate in such communities and serious EPIDEMICS started to
develop in Asia and Europe.
VIRAL DISEASES in PLANTS and ANIMALS also developed as people became
more dependent on AGRICULTURE and LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION.
SMALLPOX and MEASLES were among the oldest VIRAL DISEASES that
began to first appear in Europe.
With the advent of the AGE of EXPLORATION in the 15th Century, these
diseases were brought to the NEW WORLD (the AMERICAS) by the Spanish and
other European explorers. The Indian population in the AMERICAS had very little
NATURAL RESISTANCE or IMMUNITY to these new diseases and the consequences
were devastating according to historical records.

240
 With the arrival of the 20th Century, the SCIENCES had attained a significant
degree of maturity and a body of knowledge that was magnificent, impressive and
very capable of tackling even the most challenging problems that were to come.
Notwithstanding, the prodigious VIRUS crawled out of the MICROBIAL WORLD to
devastate, amaze and challenge the most brilliant scientific minds.
After all, the VIRUS was not even part of the MICROSCOPIC WORLD. The
VIRUS had emerged from the SUB MICROSCOPIC WORLD with much lucidity, vigor
and a great capacity to DESTROY LIFE.
It actually took the development of the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE and of other
advances in PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES to conquer the BIOLOGICAL
DOMAIN of the VIRUS. These new technologies included X-RAY DIFFRACTION,
RADIOISOTOPE TRACING TECHNIQUES, CHROMATOGRAPHY, FINE FILTERS and
MEMBRANES, SUPER CENTRIFUGES and a few other MODERN TECHNIQUES with
some measure of MAGIC in them.

HOW SMALL IS A VIRUS?
Let us compare the size of VIRUSES with the size of some of the things we
know.
- The HUMAN OVUM (visible to the naked eye) 100 micrometers (microns)
- A PARAMECIUM (a large PROTOZOA) 100 micrometers
- A HUMAN CELL (invisible to the naked eye) 10 micrometers
- A RED BLOOD CELL (invisible to the naked eye) 7 micrometers
- A LARGE BACTERIA (invisible to the naked eye) 5 micrometers
- A ROD-SHAPED BACTERIA (BACILLUS) 2 micrometers long
- A SPHERICAL BACTERIA (COCCUS) 0.4 micrometers
- A RICKETTSIA (a SUB-BACTERIA, similar to a VIRUS) 0.8-0.2 micrometers
- A VIRUS 0.2-0.02 micrometers

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 LIFE ATTRIBUTES OF BACTERIA AND VIRUSES
BACTERIA are the smallest living organisms, which have all the LIFE
ATTRIBUTES (ENZYMES, PROTEINS, NUCLEOPROTEINS, etc.) necessary to survive
and procreate independently, or in other words, capable of an INDEPENDENT LIFE.
Any organism smaller than a BACTERIUM, such as a RICKETTSIA or a VIRUS,
is not SELF-SUFFICIENT because they lack the NECESSARY ATTRIBUTES of LIFE
and therefore they must live as PARASITES. As PARASITES, they have to use the
ENZYME SYSTEM and other LIFE ATTRIBUTES of the HOST ORGANISM to be able to
LIVE and REPRODUCE.
Because VIRUSES cannot live outside a LIVING CELL, they also cannot be
CULTURED in an ARTIFICIAL MEDIUM outside the HOST ORGANISM. This did not
facilitate any effort to create a VACCINE or any other CONTROL- MEASURE.
The only attribute that allows VIRUSES to be classified as a LIVING
ORGANISM is the fact that they have their own NUCLEOPROTEINS and therefore
they can SUBDIVIDE and REPRODUCE.
During the ERA of the GREAT MICROBIOLOGISTS, such as LOUIS PASTEUR,
ROBERT KOCH, PAUL EHRLICH, EMIL VON BEHRING and a few other outstanding
Bacteriologists, the criteria to determine if a DISEASE was caused by a VIRUS were:
- The GERM (VIRUS) could not be seen under the MICROSCOPE because it
was too small. The VIRUS is a SUBCELLULAR, or SUBMICROSCOPIC
MICROORGANISM.
- The GERM (VIRUS) was too small to be FILTERED OUT and ISOLATED,
using the kinds of FILTERS available at the time.
- The GERM (VIRUS) could not be GROWN or CULTURED in an INANIMATE
MEDIUM, such as a PETRI PLATE, TEST TUBE or a NUTRIENT SOLUTION, given that
VIRUSES needed to live inside a LIVING ORGANISM.
The true nature of VIRUSES did not become known to the SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY until the development of the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE and other
MODERN INSTRUMENTS and TECHNIQUES in the 20th Century.

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 THE VIRUS ATTACKING A TISSUE

243
 EDWARD JENNER, LOUIS PASTEUR AND THE VIRUS VACCINES
The MODERN HISTORY of VIRUSES, VIRAL DISEASES and the development of
ANTI-VIRUS VACCINES may be started with the early studies by EDWARD JENNER,
in England, and the development of the concept of VACCINATION for SMALLPOX.
Also, with the development of a VACCINE against RABIES by LOUIS PASTEUR in
France.

EDWARD JENNER
DISCOVERED THE FIRST VACCINE IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE
AGAINST SMALLPOX, A VIRAL DISEASE.

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EDWARD JENNER (1749 - 1823) English Physician.
EDWARD JENNER, son of a Clergyman, obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from
St. Andrews in 1792.
JENNER’S interests included MUSIC, POETRY and NATURAL HISTORY. He
even worked preparing the ZOOLOGICAL SPECIMENS that had been collected by
CAPTAIN JAMES COOK during his first voyage to the PACIFIC.
In MEDICINE, JENNER’S main interest was SMALLPOX, one of the most
dreaded DISEASES because it could cause SERIOUS DISFIGURATION on a persons
face. Actually, a MILD CASE of SMALLPOX was better than none at all (to prevent
DISFIGURATION) because once a patient recovered from the DISEASE, the person
was IMMUNE to future attacks. This information became useful to JENNER later on
in dealing with this DISEASE and in developing his VACCINE.
The story of how JENNER developed the concept of VACCINATION in relation
to SMALLPOX is very important because of its magnificent results and impact on
HUMAN HEALTH during the years to come and even today.
The story began with an OLD WIVES TALE that a person who caught
COWPOX (a mild disease in CATTLE resembling SMALLPOX) became IMMUNE to
COWPOX and also to the dreaded disease, SMALLPOX.
DR. JENNER had the courage to put this theory to the test. On May 14, 1796,
JENNER found a MILKMAID, SARAH NELMES, who had contracted COWPOX. He took
FLUID from a BLISTER on her HAND and injected it into a HEALTHY BOY named
JAMES PHIPPS who also contracted COWPOX. Two months later JENNER
INOCULATED again, the boy PHIPPS, but this time with SMALLPOX. Fortunately, the
boy did not contract SMALLPOX and consequently his method of VACCINATION was
considered a great success.
In 1798, JENNER repeated the experiment with great success again and then
he went on to publish the information on his new technique of VACCINATION.
DR. JENNER’S success with his method of VACCINATION against SMALLPOX
made him a HERO in England. With this work he had FOUNDED the NEW SCIENCE
of IMMUNOLOGY and had started the marvelous ERA of VACCINATION.

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 DR. JENNER used the word VACCINATION to describe his use of COWPOX
INOCULATION in order to create IMMUNITY against SMALLPOX. The reason for this
name was because the Latin word for COWPOX is VACCINIA.
JENNER’S method of VACCINATION against SMALLPOX was quickly adopted
in England and all over Europe. Even the BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY was
VACCINATED.
The ROYAL JENNERIAN SOCIETY headed by JENNER himself was founded in
1803 to encourage and promote VACCINATION. The number of deaths due to
SMALLPOX was reduced significantly in England.
A hundred thousand people were VACCINATED the world over by 1800.
In 1807, Bavaria, Germany, led the way by making VACCINATION
COMPULSORY. Russia also adopted VACCINATION immediately. NAPOLEON went
on to create a MEDAL in JENNER’S HONOR and made VACCINATION COMPULSORY
in France.
JENNER died knowing that for the first time, a MAJOR DISEASE had been
completely conquered.
In the 1970’s the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION declared that SMALLPOX
had been completely eradicated from the world.
JENNER’S discovery of his VACCINATION METHOD was developed by a
purely pragmatic approach because no one knew why it worked. It was left for the
great French Microbiologist, LOUIS PASTEUR to explain the reason for the success of
this METHOD of VACCINATION. PASTEUR characterized the MODUS OPERANDI (or
explanation) by way of the creation of VACCINES against ANTHRAX and against
RABIES.

LOUIS PASTEUR AND THE RABIES VACCINE
About a 100 years after EDWARD JENNER’S great success in developing his
VACCINATION METHOD against SMALLPOX (a VIRAL DISEASE), LOUIS PASTEUR
started to develop his VACCINES against ANTHRAX (a BACTERIAL DISEASE) and
against RABIES (a VIRAL DISEASE).

246
 By this time PASTEUR had proposed his GERM THEORY of DISEASES and the
field of MICROBIOLOGY had learned more about the nature of MICROORGANISMS
and how the caused DISEASES in people and animals.
In the case of ANTHRAX, PASTEUR knew that the disease was caused by
BACTERIA (the Anthrax bacillus). PASTEUR used ATTENUATED (or WEAKENED)
forms of the GERM to create IMMUNITY (or RESISTANCE) to the disease by allowing
the BLOOD to produce enough ANTIBODIES (or ANTITOXINS) with the capacity to
destroy the PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS before the person became ill.
In the case of RABIES, PASTEUR tried to apply the same approach that he had
used with ANTHRAX, to develop a similar VACCINE for this disease, but he was not
successful.
First of all, PASTEUR failed to find the GERM that caused RABIES by looking
under his MICROSCOPE. He then assumed that the GERM was too small to be seen
under the MICROSCOPE. PASTEUR was correct in his assumption and it was later
found that RABIES was caused by a VIRUS, a GERM that was many times smaller
than BACTERIA and one that had its own MODUS OPERANDI. Also, this GERM could
not be CULTURED outside of a LIVING ORGANISM, which created a significant
predicament in studying its LIFE CYCLE.
PASTEUR finally developed, in the 1880’s, a VACCINE against RABIES. In this
case, he used an ATTENUATED FORM of the INVISIBLE GERM and then proceeded
by using stronger and stronger forms of the GERM (YOUNGER GERMS) until the
BLOOD of the patient had developed enough IMMUNITY to fight the disease as found
in nature.
PASTEUR was never able to find the VIRUS under his MICROSCOPE, but he
could impart the disease by using the blood of a MAD DOG or a RABID PERSON.
In 1885, PASTEUR used his METHOD OF VACCINATION on a boy (JOSEPH
MEISTER) that had been bitten by a MAD DOG and the results were a great success.
PASTEUR’S VACCINE against RABIES was soon used all over Europe and he
became the BEST KNOWN DOCTOR without ever attending a medical school.

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 CHARLES CHAMBERLAND
INTRODUCED THE AUTOCLAVE IN THE LABORATORY.
CREATED THE PORCELAIN FILTER WITH FINE PORES THAT MADE
POSSIBLE THE ISOLATION OF THE TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS BY
DMITRI IVANOVSKY AND MARTINUS BEIJERINCK

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CHARLES CHAMBERLAND (1851 - 1908) French Bacteriologist.
CHARLES CHAMBERLAND worked with LOUIS PASTEUR at the PASTEUR
INSTITUTE starting in 1875.
CHAMBERLAND worked on the development of the conditions required to
kill all BACTERIA and BACTERIA SPORES in order to STERILIZE SOLUTIONS, MEDIA
and all LABORATORY EQUIPMENT.
He introduced the use of the AUTOCLAVE (an AIR-TIGHT HEATED
CONTAINER with temperatures above the boiling point of water) in
BACTERIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES and HOSPITALS for the purpose of
STERILIZATION.
In 1884, CHAMBERLAND invented a FILTER made of UNGLAZED PORCELAIN
with VERY SMALL PORES (0.1-0.5 microns) that could filter out all BACTERIA, thus
separating out GERMS that were smaller in size.
These FILTERS made possible the future study of VIRUSES that came later
with DMITRI IVANOVSKY and MARTINUS BEIJERINCK and their work with the
TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE.

THE TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE AND THE DISCOVERY OF VIRUSES
The TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE was an important disease because it
dwarfed the tobacco plant and damaged the quality of the TOBACCO LEAF, which
resulted in heavy financial losses for TOBACCO FARMERS.
The disease was recognized by a symptom that appeared as a MOSAIC
PATTERN on the TOBACCO LEAVES.
The fortunate aspect of this disease was that it was caused by the same
infamous PATHOGENIC AGENT, the VIRUS, responsible for causing serious
INFECTIOUS DISEASES in people and animals, such as YELLOW FEVER, SMALLPOX,
MEASLES, RABIES, MUMPS, POLIO, HEPATITIS and the COMMON COLD. This meant
that there were very good medical and economic reasons for using our resources to
finally find this evasive and elusive VIRUS and the ways to control it.

249
DMITRI I. IVANOVSKY (1864 - 1920) Russian Botanist.
DMITRI IVANOVSKY, son of a Land Owner, graduated in 1888 from the
University of St. Petersburg, where the great Russian Chemist, DMITRI MENDELEEV
was one of his professors.
IVANOVSKY became interested in the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE, which
damaged the TOBACCO CROP by creating a MOSAIC PATTERN on the LEAVES.
In 1892, he mashed up INFECTED TOBACCO LEAVES and forced them
through a very FINE FILTER designed to remove or filter out all BACTERIA.
IVANOVSKY found that the LIQUID FILTRATE still had the capacity to infect healthy
plants with the MOSAIC DISEASES.
With this experiment and observation he was able to demonstrate that a
PATHOGENIC AGENT smaller than BACTERIA caused the disease. However,
IVANOVSKY was not sure of the nature of his observation and believed that maybe
the FILTER was defective.
This LIQUID FILTRATE with PATHOGENIC PROPERTIES was later called a
FILTERABLE AGENT and a FILTERABLE VIRUS.
The true nature of IVANOVSKY’S experiment was later properly
characterized by the Dutch Botanist, MARTINUS BEIJERINCK.

THE TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE - A VIRAL DISEASE

250
 MARTINUS W. BEIJERINCK
DISCOVERED THE GERM THAT CAUSED
THE TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE AND HE NAMED IT A VIRUS































MARTINUS WILLEM BEIJERINCK (1851 - 1931) Dutch Botanist.
MARTINUS BEIJERINCK, son of a TOBACCO DEALER, is regarded as one of
the FOUNDERS of the SCIENCE of VIROLOGY, given that he was the first to discover,
in 1898, the VIRUS as the PATHOGENIC AGENT that caused the TOBACCO MOSAIC
DISEASE.

251
 BEIJERINCK graduated from the Delft Polytechnic Institute where one of his
close friends was the brilliant Dutch Physical Chemist, JACOBUS VAN’T HOFF (the
proponent in 1874 of the famous THREE DIMENSIONAL CARBON TETRAHEDRON).
BEIJERINCK then taught BOTANY and obtained his Ph.D. DEGREE in 1877.
In the early 1880’s, BEIJERINCK became interested in the TOBACCO MOSAIC
DISEASE, which dwarfed the TOBACCO PLANT and MOTTLED their LEAVES with a
MOSAIC PATTERN, thus lowering their quality.
In 1895, he returned to his ALMA MATER, the Delft Polytechnic
Institute and to his studies on the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE.
BEIJERINCK repeated IVANOVSKY’S experiment of crushing and filtering
INFECTED TOBACCO LEAVES and was not able to find PATHOGENIC BACTERIA. He
also could not culture in the laboratory the FILTERABLE INFECTIOUS AGENT in the
FILTRATE and yet the EXTRACTED JUICE had the capacity to INFECT HEALTHY
PLANTS. This meant that the FILTRATE had a PATHOGENIC AGENT that could
MULTIPLY and GROW once inside the CELL of a LIVING PLANT.
PASTEUR had also failed to find the GERM that caused RABIES and for the
same reason. PASTEUR and BEIJERINCK were dealing with a VIRUS, too small to see
under the MICROSCOPE, difficult to isolate and culture and very enigmatic in
character.
BEIJERINCK named this INVISIBLE PATHOGENIC AGENT a VIRUS (from the
Latin word meaning POISON) to differentiate it from the BACTERIA.
In 1898, BEIJERINCK published the results of his experiment where he stated
that the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE was caused by a VERY SMALL INFECTIOUS
AGENT, not visible under the MICROSCOPE and not a BACTERIA. He named the
INFECTIOUS FILTRATE that he had obtained a “CONTAGIUM VIVUM FLUIDUM” (or
a CONTAGIOUS LIVING FLUID) or a FILTERABLE PATHOGENIC AGENT or a
FILTERABLE VIRUS.
BEIJERINCK felt that the VIRUS was an INFECTIOUS LIQUID; other Biologists
believed that the VIRUS was a TOXIC PROTEIN.
The American Biochemist, WENDELL M. STANLEY, was able to isolate in
1935, the VIRUS that caused the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE in the form of

252
NEEDLELIKE CRYSTALS. Thus, he had determined that the VIRUS was not a LIQUID,
but a SOLID PARTICLE.
What was even more incredible was that such a LIVING ORGANISM that
could REPLICATE and GROW, could also be isolated as a CRYSTAL, like an
INORGANIC SUBSTANCE.
The VIRUS continued to challenge MICROBIOLOGISTS with the question, AM
I LIVING or NONLIVING, or AM I part of LIFE or NONLIFE?
VIRUSES were later characterized as NUCLEOPROTEINS by HEINZ
FRAENKEL-CONRAT, thus placing VIRUSES as LIVING ORGANISMS (as opposed to a
PROTEIN, which is regarded as a NONLIVING ENTITY). Furthermore, FRAENKEL-
CONRAT showed that the NUCLEIC ACID PORTION of the NUCLEOPROTEIN (and
not the PROTEIN PORTION) was the one with the PATHOGENIC VIRAL
PROPERTIES.
MARTINUS BEIJERINCK was the first to find, in 1897-1898, a VIRUS that
affected PLANTS (the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE). FRIEDRICH LOFFLER was the
first to find, in 1897-1898, a VIRUS that affected ANIMALS (the HOOF-AND-MOUTH
DISEASE in CATTLE) and WALTER REED was the first to find, in 1900-1901, a
VIRUS that affected HUMANS (the YELLOW FEVER).
BEIJERINCK made another very important discovery in MICROBIOLOGY-
BOTANY. He found, in 1888-1890, the RHIZOBIUM BACTERIA (Bacillus radicicola)
that lived in the ROOT NODULES of LEGUME PLANTS, which had the fantastic
capacity of converting the ELEMENTAL ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN into the
AMMONIUM-NITROGEN FORM that plants could use in their METABOLISM.
NITROGEN FIXATION by BACTERIA in the NODULES of LEGUME PLANTS was a
perfect example of a SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP between a PLANT and a
MICROORGANISM.

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 THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE VIRUS
The development of our knowledge on the invisible, elusive and enigmatic
PATHOGENIC AGENT, that came to be known, as the VIRUS, was slow and painful,
for obvious reasons.
EDWARD JENNER had been able to develop a VACCINE against SMALLPOX
(a VIRAL DISEASE) by using an ATTENUATED FORM of the INVISIBLE GERM, which
was a pragmatic approach given that the identify of the VIRUS was unknown.
LOUIS PASTEUR had also been able to develop a VACCINE against RABIES
(another VIRAL DISEASE) with the knowledge that the PATHOGENIC GERM was too
small to be observed under the MICROSCOPE and that it could not be CULTURED
outside a LIVING ORGANISM. PASTEUR also knew that the GERM was there because
he could inject a HEALTHY ANIMAL with the BLOOD of a SICK ANIMAL and the
HEALTHY ANIMAL became RABID.
MARTINUS BEIJERINCK had been able to find, in 1898, the INVISIBLE GERM
of the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE (another VIRAL DISEASE) in the LIQUID
FILTRATE obtained from INFECTED TOBACCO LEAVES. He named the GERM a
VIRUS (from the Latin word meaning POISON).
FRIEDRICH LOFFLER had found, in 1898, this notorious INVISIBLE GERM in
ANIMALS suffering of the HOOF-AND-MOUTH DISEASE (another VIRAL DISEASE).
And finally, in 1900-1901, WALTER REED had also found this devastating
INVISIBLE GERM in PEOPLE suffering from YELLOW FEVER (another VIRAL
DISEASE).
With all these MICROBIOLOGICAL CALAMITIES, Microbiologists were
enduring a SCIENTIFIC ANXIETY and a DEMEANING BIOLOGICAL CHALLENGE,
which was brought about by an INSIGNIFICANT and INVISIBLE GERM (the VIRUS)
with enigmatic qualities and a vicious sense of humor.
In the history of MANKIND, NATURE has always provided SCIENTISTS with
many cases of MYSTERIOUS and ENIGMATIC SCENARIOS that have challenged our
most brilliant minds. Excellent examples are, the ATOM, the CELL, the NATURE of
LIGHT, the ORIGIN of LIFE and our UNIVERSE, and other examples of

254
OVERWHELMING SCIENTIFIC PUZZLES, which represented TRUE ASYMPTOTES (or
UNATTAINABLE GOALS).
As expected, the evolution of our understanding of VIRUSES and their TRUE
NATURE was slow and painful in the years to come, and it has continued to
challenge us as long as we have courageous, dedicated and intuitive men and
women of science.
One of the most fundamental questions about our enigmatic VIRUS, which
lingered for some time was: Is a VIRUS a LIVING or a NONLIVING PATHOGENIC
AGENT? And how can we CULTURE it outside a LIVING ORGANISM?
By the 1900’s, some 40 DISEASES were known to be caused by VIRUSES, but
their nature was still a mystery in more ways than one.
The best knowledge about VIRUSES came from the Dutch Botanist,
MARTINUS BEIJERINCK, who had concluded that a VIRUS was a FILTERABLE
PATHOGENIC AGENT with very elusive and enigmatic properties. More significant
properties about the VIRUS were later on revealed with great lucidity by other
brilliant scientists.
Some progress began to surface in England with the studies by the
Bacteriologist, WILLIAM JOSEPH ELFORD.
In 1931, ELFORD started a concerted effort to trap the invisible VIRUS by
using VERY FINE FILTERS and COLLODION MEMBRANES. He final found
MEMBRANES with fine enough PORES to isolate the VIRUS and remove this
INFECTIOUS AGENT from the CONTAMINATED FILTRATE. From the size of the
PORES of his MEMBRANES, ELFORD was able to judge and approximate the SIZE of
the VIRUSES.
ELFORD found that PASTEUR and BEIJERINCK were correct in their
assumption that VIRUSES were too small to be observed under the OPTICAL
MICROSCOPE. However, even the smallest VIRUSES were larger than most
MOLECULES then known. The largest VIRUSES approached the size of the
RICKETTSIA GERMS that caused TYPHUS and other diseases.
The next significant discovery about VIRUSES came from an outstanding
American Biochemist, WENDELL M. STANLEY.

255
 WENDELL M. STANLEY
ISOLATED THE VIRUS FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN THE
CRYSTALLINE FORM, FROM TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASED PLANTS

WENDELL MEREDITH STANLEY (1904 - 1971) American Biochemist.
WENDELL STANLEY began his early college life with the desire to become a
Football Coach and he was a good football player. After graduation, he visited with a
Chemistry Professor at the University of Illinois and he decided to stay there, and
obtained his Ph.D. DEGREE in CHEMISTRY in 1929. Afterwards he did post-doctoral
studies in Germany.
In 1931, STANLEY went to work for Rockefeller University, and in 1946, he
joined the faculty at the University of California, where he remained the rest of his
life.

256
 In the field of BIOCHEMISTRY, there was a very important question that still
needed to be answered and this was: What is the true nature of VIRUSES and are
they LIVING or NONLIVING PATHOGENIC AGENTS?
The answer came by way of an evolutionary process in BIOCHEMISTRY
designed to characterize the nature of ENZYMES, PROTEINS, NUCLEOPROTEINS and
eventually the VIRUSES.
The American Biochemist, JAMES SUMNER (1887 - 1955) made a significant
breakthrough while at Cornell University, Medical College. Working with an
ENZYME that he named UREASE and which catalyzed the breakdown of UREA into
AMMONIA and CARBON DIOXIDE, SUMNER was able to isolate this ENZYME in
CRYSTAL FORM and determined that UREASE was indeed a PROTEIN. UREASE was
the first ENZYME to be isolated in the CRYSTAL FORM and shown to be a PROTEIN.
The work by the American Biochemist, JOHN NORTHROP (1891 - 1987) with
the CRYSTALLIZATION of the ENZYMES PEPSIN (in 1930), TRYPSIN (in 1932) and
CHYMOTRYPSIN (in 1935), proved that these ENZYMES were indeed PROTEINS as
SUMNER had demonstrated.
The question still remained, what about the mysterious biochemical nature
of VIRUSES? The consensus was that VIRUSES were LIVING GERMS because they
could REPRODUCE and GROW within plants and animals, a FUNDAMENTAL
REQUIREMENT for any LIVING ORGANISM.
WENDELL STANLEY decided to prepare a large amount of the TOBACCO
MOSAIC VIRUS and concentrate the VIRUS in the LIQUID FILTRATE. He then applied
the procedure used by NORTHROP and other chemists to CRYSTALLIZE PROTEINS.
In 1935, STANLEY obtained some FINE NEEDLE-LIKE CRYSTALS that had all
the INFECTIOUS PROPERTIES of the TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS. This also showed
that the VIRUS, in the CRYSTAL FORM, was a PROTEIN.
It was one thing for ENZYMES (in the CRYSTAL FORM) to be PROTEINS and
NONLIVING in character as SUMNER and NORTHROP had shown; another thing was
for VIRUSES (in the CRYSTALLINE FORM) to be PROTEINS and LIVING MATTER in
character, as STANLEY had demonstrated.

257
 The new evidence shown by STANLEY that the TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS was
a PROTEIN and that it could be CRYSTALIZED, became a difficult idea for
BIOCHEMISTS to accept. This, given that those VIRUSES were presumably LIVING
PATHOGENIC AGENTS that could reproduce and grow inside LIVING ORGANISMS.
Finally, many other VIRUSES were isolated in the CRYSTAL FORM; however,
they were found to be NUCLEOPROTEINS (and not PROTEINS) by BIOCHEMISTS
like FREDERICK C. BAWDEN, NORMAN W. PIRIE and HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT.
It was also clearly demonstrated that the NUCLEIC ACID PORTION of the
NUCLEOPROTEINS (in VIRUSES), and not the PROTEIN PORTION, was the one that
had the VIRAL ACTIVITY capable of producing the VIRAL DISEASE.
The idea of VIRUSES being NUCLEOPROTEINS and LIVING GERMS was
definitely much more acceptable, given that NUCLEIC ACIDS (DNA and RNA) are the
FOUNDATION of LIFE ITSELF.
During WWII, STANLEY worked on the INFLUENZA VIRUS and on the
preparation of VACCINES against this DISEASE.
In 1948, he established a VIRUS LABORATORY at the University of California.
In 1946, WENDELL STANLEY, JAMES SUMNER and JOHN NORTHROP shared
the NOBEL PRIZE in CHEMISTRY for their outstanding work on ENZYMES,
PROTEINS, NUCLEOPROTEINS and the nature of the VIRUS.

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 FREDERICK WILLIAM TWORT
DISCOVERED THE BACTERIOPHAGES
OR BACTERIA KILLING VIRUSES



















FREDERICK WILLIAM TWORT (1877 - 1950) English Bacteriologist.
FREDERICK TWORT, son of a Physician, obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in
1900 and eventually became Professor of Bacteriology at the University of London.
In 1915, TWORT discovered a VIRUS that infected and killed BACTERIA.
Later on, the Canadian-French Bacteriologist, FELIX H. D’HERELLE made the same
discovery in 1917 and he named this BACTERIA-KILLING VIRUS, BACTERIOPHAGE
(meaning BACTERIA EATERS).

259
 As it turned out, the discovery of the BACTERIOPHAGE VIRUS became very
important because they were LARGER and MORE COMPLEX than most VIRUSES.
Eventually, they went on to provide more valuable information on the structure and
behavior of VIRUSES in the hands of the German-American Biochemist, HEINZ
FRAENKEL-CONRAT. One of the benefits was that the BACTERIOPHAGE could be
CULTURED together with the HOST BACTERIA outside another LIVING ORGANISM.

FREDERICK CHARLES BAWDEN (1908 - 1972) English Plant Pathologist.
FREDERICK BAWDEN studied at Cambridge University and became
interested in PLANT PATHOLOGY and later on in the study of VIRUSES, at the
famous ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENTAL STATION, England.
BAWDEN, in collaboration with the English Biochemist and Virologist,
NORMAN W. PIRIE (1907 - 1997) was able to crystalize the TOBACCO MOSAIC
VIRUS and to determine, in 1936, that it was a NUCLEOPROTEIN, and that it
contained its own RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA). This was a real turning point in the
characterization of VIRUSES.
In the years to come it was proven that ALL VIRUSES were
NUCLEOPROTEINS (and not PROTEINS) and that they contained RNA or DNA or
both.
With this new identity of being NUCLEOPROTEINS with their own NUCLEIC
ACIDS, VIRUSES finally became part of the LIVING WORLD. HALLELUIAH
VIRUSES turned out to have a similar composition as the GENES, the very
ESSENCE of LIFE. The LARGER VIRUSES gave every appearance of being like
CHROMOSOMES, consisting of as many as 75 GENES.
The invention of the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE and the SHADOW CASTING
TECHNIQUE made it possible to see, for the first time, the structure of VIRUSES to
various degrees.
HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT and ROBLEY WILLIAMS later on, were able to
characterize the AMINO ACID SEQUENCE and the structure of VIRUSES.

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 HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT
DEMONSTRATED THAT THE VIRUS WAS A NUCLEOPROTEIN AND
SUGGESTED THAT ITS NUCLEIC ACID PORTION MAY BE THE ONE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSFER OF GENETIC INFORMATION

HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT (1910 - 1999) German-American Biochemist.
HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT, son of a famous Gynecologist, obtained his
MEDICAL DEGREE in 1933 at the University of Breslau and his Ph.D. DEGREE in
BIOCHEMISTRY in 1936 at the University of Edinburgh. He then moved to the
United States. In 1952 he joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley
where he remained the rest of his life.
FRAENKEL-CONRAT was a Biochemist who became famous for his research
on the STRUCTURE and PHYSIOLOGY of VIRUSES. His most outstanding research

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was with the TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS where he began by demonstrating that the
VIRUS was in fact a NUCLEOPROTEIN. This meant that the VIRUS contained both a
PROTEIN PORTION and NUCLEIC ACID PORTION.
With this knowledge, the VIRUS became more and more a part of the LIVING
WORLD and we were getting closer to a better characterization of this enigmatic
creature, the VIRUS.
FRAENKEL-CONRAT also determined that the GENETIC CONTROL of VIRAL
REPRODUCTION was in its RNA, which was carried in the NUCLEIC ACID CORE of
each VIRUS. He went on to show that a solution of NUCLEIC ACID could change
certain PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS of the INVADED HOST BACTERIA.
This new information on the function of NUCLEIC ACIDS was indeed startling
and brought to the attention of Biochemists, for the first time, that the NUCLEIC
ACIDS were the POSSIBLE CARRIERS of the GENETIC INFORMATION during CELL
REPRODUCTION.
From here on, NUCLEIC ACIDS became the focus of intensive research in
GENETICS, BIOCHEMISTRY and MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.
VIRAL RESEARCH opened new doors into the MAGICAL WORLD of the
NUCLEIC ACIDS and their fabulous role in GENETICS. This was the beginning of
GENETICS at its best, both in depth and true understanding.
In 1955, FRAENKEL-CONRAT and the Cornell Biophysicist, ROBLEY C.
WILLIAMS, demonstrated that a FUNCTIONAL VIRUS could be created from
PURIFIED RNA and a PROTEIN COAT. This was another startling piece of
BIOCHEMICAL INFORMATION that was to contribute greatly to the new domain of
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.
In 1960, FRAENKEL-CONRAT announced his COMPLETE SEQUENCING of the
158 AMINO ACIDS in a VIRUS, a brilliant piece of research!
FRAENKEL-CONRAT took apart the TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS into its
NUCLEIC ACID COMPONENT and its PROTEIN COMPONENT. The PROTEIN
COMPONENT turned out to have the shape of HELIX, as the brilliant American
Chemist, LINUS C. PAULING had proposed in the 1950’s.

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 The PROTEIN HELIX of the VIRUS was a HALLOW SHELL, which contained in
its INTERIOR, the NUCLEIC ACID PORTION consisting of thousands of
NUCLEOTIDES (the NITROGEN BASES). The structure of the DNA MOLECULE was
beginning to show its face and constitution! HALLELUIAH!
FRAENKEL-CONRAT experimented with each portion of the VIRUS to
ascertain their role in causing the DISEASE. As it turned out, each portion played its
own supporting role, as was suspected by other VIROLOGISTS.
The PROTEIN SHELL was like the PROTECTIVE MEMBRANE of the VIRUS
and the one that broke open the CELL to allow the NUCLEIC ACID PORTION (with
the VIRAL ACTIVITY) to gain entry into the CELL.
The clearest and most detailed information on the MECHANISM by which
VIRUSES infected CELLS, or BACTERIA, came from the studies of the VIRUSES called
BACTERIOPHAGES (first discovered by FREDERICK TWORT in 1915 and by FELIX A.
D’HERELLE in 1917).
The BACTERIOPHAGES (usually called PHAGES for the sake of simplicity)
were very useful VIRUSES because they could be CULTURED with their HOST
BACTERIA in a TEST TUBE for more detailed research.
A typical BACTERIOPHAGE was shaped like a TINY TADPOLE with a blunt
head and a tail. Under an ELECTRON MICROSCOPE it could be observed that the
BACTERIOPHAGE attached itself to the BACTERIA using the tip of its TAIL. The TAIL
cut a hole in the CELL WALL, perhaps by means of an ENZYME. Apparently, the
NUCLEIC ACID PORTION then entered the CELL and in about half an hour the CELL
BURST OPEN and hundreds of full-grown VIRUSES came out to inflict their vicious
damage.
Once again, the dominant role played by the NUCLEIC ACID PORTION of the
VIRUS in creating the VIRAL DISEASE was clearly demonstrated.

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 ROBLEY COOK WILLIAMS
DEVELOPED THE SHADOW CASTING TECHNIQUE
IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

ROBLEY COOK WILLIAMS (1908 - 1995) American Biophysicist.
ROBLEY WILLIAMS graduated from CORNELL UNIVERSITY in 1931 where he
also obtained his Ph.D. DEGREE in 1935. He taught at the University of Michigan and
then became a member of the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in
1950.
After observing how the LUNAR MOUNTAINS became much more visible
when the SUNLIGHT struck them OBLIQUELY, WILLIAMS had the idea that the same
approach could be applied when observing TINY OBJECTS under the ELECTRON
MICROSCOPE. The TINY OBJECT (like a VIRUS) could then be sprayed with a THIN

264
FILM of an OPAQUE METAL from an OBLIQUE DIRECTION to create a SHADOW of
the object, which then gave a LARGER and more THREE DIMENSIONAL VIEW. This
is now called the SHADOW CASTING TECHNIQUE, which is performed in a VACUUM.
This technique was successfully used by WILLIAMS and FRAENKEL-CONRAT.
The research by HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT and ROBLEY WILLIAMS became
useful to FRANCIS CRICK and JAMES WATSON in creating their MODEL of the
DOUBLE HELIX DNA MOLECULE.
The author of this book also used in the 1960’s, X-RAY DIFFRACTION,
SHADOW CASTING and the ELECTRON MICROSCOPE at CORNELL UNIVERSITY to
characterize the detailed structure of the various CLAY MINERALS.

CULTURING THE VIRUS AND THE VIRUS VACCINES
The next logical step in the development of our understanding of the
infamous and invisible VIRUS was finding the way to culture this difficult germ
outside a living organism to facilitate the creation a VIRUS VACCINE.
So far, the slow and difficult advances in the development of VIRUS HISTORY
and VACCINATION were as follows:
EDWARD JENNER and LOUIS PASTEUR had been able to develop the
CONCEPT of VACCINATION and the necessary METHODOLOGY to create a VACCINE
for VIRAL DISEASES.
EDWARD JENNER had created the first VACCINE for SMALLPOX (a VIRAL
DISEASE) by using the VIRUS from COWPOX, a disease similar to SMALLPOX. This
was the FIRST VACCINE ever developed in the history of mankind.
LOUIS PASTEUR had developed a VACCINE against ANTHRAX (a BACTERIAL
DISEASE) by using an ATTENUATED (or WEAKENED) form of the ANTHRAX
BACTERIA. He had also developed a VACCINE against RABIES (a VIRAL DISEASE)
using an ATTENUATED FORM of the RABIES VIRUS.
EMIL VON BEHRING and PAUL EHRLICH had developed a SERUM high in
ANTIBODIES (or ANTITOXINS) against DIPTHERIA (a BACTERIAL DISEASE).

265
 PAUL EHRLICH had developed an ARSENIC COMPOUND (#606) with the
trade name of SALVARSAN, against SYPHILIS (a BACTERIAL DISEASE). He called
SALVARSAN his MAGIC BULLET and it was the FIRST CHEMICAL to be used for the
control of a specific disease. This was the BEGINNING of the SCIENCE of
CHEMOTHERAPY.
DMITRI IVANOVSKY and MARTINUS BEIJERINCK were the FIRST to
IDENTIFY the VIRUS that caused the TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE. BEIJERINCK went
on to determine that the VIRUS (as he first named it) was too small to be seen under
the MICROSCOPE and to be retained by any of the FILTERS available at the time.
BEIJERINCK called the VIRUS a FILTERABLE PATHOGENIC LIQUID or FILTERABLE
VIRUS and he also established that it could not be CULTURED outside a LIVING
ORGANISM.
WENDELL STANLEY was the FIRST to isolate the TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS in
the CRYSTAL FORM and he believed that it was a PROTEIN (an incorrect
assumption).
FREDERICK TWORT had already discovered the BACTERIOPHAGE; a VIRUS
that killed BACTERIA and that could be CULTURED together with the HOST
BACTERIA, outside another LIVING ORGANISM.
FREDERICK BAWDEN and NORMAN PIRIE had found that the TOBACCO
MOSAIC VIRUS was a NUCLEOPROTEIN (a not a PROTEIN as STANLEY had
indicated) and that it contained its own NUCLEIC ACID (RNA).
HEINZ FRAENKEL-CONRAT also confirmed that the TOBACCO MOSAIC
VIRUS was indeed a NUCLEOPROTEIN whose molecules contained a PROTEIN
PORTION as well as a NUCLEIC ACID PORTION. He also determined that the
NUCLEIC ACID portion was the one responsible for creating the VIRAL DISEASE.
Up to this point the INVISIBLE ENIGMATIC VIRUS had finally been
characterized as a FILTERABLE PATHOGENIC AGENT, too small to be seen under
the MICROSCOPE and one that could not be CULTURED outside a LIVING
ORGANISM. Chemically, it had also been identified as a NUCLEOPROTEIN with its
own NUCLEIC ACIDS (RNA and DNA).

266
 It was now time to make a concerted effort to learn how to CULTURE
VIRUSES outside a LIVING ORGANISM in order to facilitate their study and the
development of VACCINES against difficult and devastating diseases, such as
YELLOW FEVER and POLIOMYELITIS, both VIRAL DISEASES.
After the development of a VACCINE for SMALLPOX (a VIRAL DISEASE) by
EDWARD JENNER in 1796-1798, it took about a 100 years for LOUIS PASTEUR to
develop the next VACCINE (in 1885) for another VIRAL DISEASE (RABIES or
HYDROPHOBIA). In other words, when it came to VIRUSES and VIRAL DISEASES,
MICROBIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS moved very slowly and after much research
and dedication.
The next significant study on VIRUSES came from the development of the
much-needed technique on CULTURING VIRUSES outside a living ORGANISM. This
began about 50 years after PASTEUR’S work, with the creative ideas of ERNEST
WILLIAM GOODPASTURE and MAX THEILER in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

CULTURING THE VIRUS IN CHICK EMBRYOS

267
 ERNEST W. GOODPASTURE
DEVELOPED A METHOD TO GROW VIRUSES
IN CHICK EMBRYOS AND FERTILIZED CHICKEN EGGS

ERNEST WILLIAM GOODPASTURE (1886 - 1960) American Pathologist.
ERNEST GOODPASTURE received his BA degree in 1908 from Vanderbilt
University and his Medical Degree in 1912 from Johns Hopkins Medical School. He
joined the faculty at the Harvard Medical School and in 1924 GOODPASTURE
returned to Vanderbilt University as Professor and Chairman of the Department of
Pathology, School of Medicine. He was also Dean of the Vanderbilt University School
of Medicine from 1945 to 1950.
GOODPASTURE advanced the understanding of the PATHOGENESIS of
INFECTIOUS DISEASES, including RICKETTSIAL and VIRAL DISEASES.

268
 Together with colleagues at Vanderbilt University, GOODPASTURE created
new methods of growing VIRUSES and RICKETTSIAE in CHICK EMBRYOS and
FERTILIZED CHICKEN EGGS.
This last work on CULTURING VIRUSES by GOODPASTURE, enabled other
MICROBIOLOGISTS to develop VACCINES against important VIRAL DISEASES, such
as INFLUENZA, YELLOW FEVER, TYPHUS and POLIO


MAX THEILER
DEVELOPED THE FIRST VACCINE AGAINST YELLOW FEVER,
A VIRAL DISEASE

269
MAX THEILER (1899 - 1972) South African-American Virologist.
MAX THEILER, son of a Swiss-born Veterinarian, received his education and
Medical Degree in South Africa in 1918. He did post-graduate work in London and in
1922 received a diploma on Tropical Medicine.
In 1922, THEILER joined the Harvard University Medical School and in 1930
he moved the Rockefeller Institute in New York where he later became the Director
of the Virus Laboratory. He was Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale
University from 1964 to 1967.
In the 1920’s THEILER became interested in the YELLOW FEVER DISEASE.
WALTER REED and WILLIAM GORGAS had eradicated YELLOW FEVER in Cuba and
Panama by eliminating the MOSQUITOS that served as VECTOR INSECTS.
THEILER felt that the elimination of MOSQUITOS as VECTOR INSECTS was an
excellent and effective method of control; however, he still believed that the best
answer was to develop an effective VACCINE against YELLOW FEVER.
Given that YELLOW FEVER was caused by a VIRUS, the first problem in
developing a VACCINE was to learn the way to CULTURE the GERM outside a LIVING
ORGANISM.
In the 1930’s THEILER developed his first VACCINE against YELLOW FEVER
by using ATTENUATED FORMS of the VIRUS obtained from INFECTED MONKEYS.
This VACCINE was successfully used in Africa in the 1930’s and the 1940’s.
Later on, THEILER developed a better VACCINE using CHICK EMBRYOS to
obtain the ATTENUATED form of the YELLOW FEVER VIRUS. He followed some of
the ideas that had been proposed by ERNEST GOODPASTURE at Vanderbilt
University on growing VIRUSES in CHICK EMBRYOS and FERTILIZED CHICKEN
EGGS.
By 1937 THEILER had indeed developed a second VACCINE against YELLOW
FEVER that was safer and more effective and which used the NON-VIRULENT
STRAINS of the VIRUS obtained from CHICK EMBRYOS as a CULTURING MEDIUM.
In 1951, MAX THEILER received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology
for his brilliant work on the development of a VACCINE against YELLOW FEVER.

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 CULTURING THE POLIO VIRUS AND THE POLIO VACCINES
With the successful development of VACCINES against YELLOW FEVER by
MAX THEILER, MICROBIOLOGISTS became interested in POLIOMYELITIS, also a
VIRAL DISEASE. However, the problem still remained on how to CULTURE VIRUSES
in a way that was easier and more convenient than using CHICK EMBRYOS.
ERNEST GOODPASTURE and MAX THEILER had successfully used the CHICK
EMBRYOS to CULTURE VIRUSES, but this method was not very efficient. They also
tried the new method of OPENING A HOLE in the SHELL of a FERTILIZED HEN’S EGG
to introduce and grow the VIRUS, and EUREKA! they had found a READY-MADE
NUTRIENT CULTURING MEDIUM.
The new turning point, or the new horizon on CULTURING VIRUSES came
with the work of JOHN F. ENDERS, THOMAS H. WELLER and FREDERICK C.
ROBBINS, and the use of TISSUE CULTURE, or LIVING TISSUE, with BLOOD and
ANTIBIOTICS as the CULTURING MEDIUM.


GROWING THE VIRUS IN TISSUE CULTURE
WITH ADDED BLOOD AND ANTIBIOTICS

271
 JOHN F. ENDERS
TOGETHER WITH THOMAS WELLER & FREDERICK ROBBINS,
DEVELOPED A METHOD TO GROW VIRUSES IN A TISSUE CULTURE
WITH ADDED BLOOD AND ANTIBIOTICS



















JOHN FRANKLIN ENDERS (1897 - 1985) American Microbiologist.
JOHN ENDERS is sometimes called the FOUNDER of MODERN VACCINES.
JOHN ENDERS, the son of the C.E.O. of the Hartford National Bank, graduated
from Yale University and obtained his Ph.D. DEGREE at Harvard University in 1930.
He also held honorary DOCTORAL DEGREES from 13 UNIVERSITIES.

272
 The discovery of the use of CHICK EMBRYOS to CULTURE VIRUSES by
ERNEST GOODPASTURE and MAX THEILER, gave ENDERS the starting idea for his
future work on CULTURING VIRUSES.
ENDERS began to use what is now known as TISSUE CULTURE. He had the
idea that it should be possible to CULTURE VIRUSES by using any LIVE TISSUE
(EMBRYONIC or otherwise, or even INTACT ORGANS) to which one could add
BLOOD as a source of NUTRIENTS and thus keep the TISSUE alive. This technique
had been used before, but failed because the VIRUSES became contaminated with
BACTERIA and consequently the CULTURES were not very useful.
It was fortunate for ENDERS that the ANTIBIOTICS had been developed by
ALEXANDER FLEMING, HOWARD FLOREY, ERNST CHAIN, SELMAN WAKSMAN,
BENJAMIN DUGGAR and others.
In 1948, ENDERS, THOMAS WELLER (1915 - 2008) and FREDERICK
ROBBINS (1916 - 2003) used the idea of TISSUE CULTURE to GROW the MUMPS
VIRUS. In this case they used MASHED CHICK EMBRYOS to which BLOOD and
ANTIBIOTICS (to prevent BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION) had been added and this
CULTURING METHOD was very successful.
In 1949, they repeated the experiment with the POLIO VIRUS and the
technique was again very successful. In this case they used HUMAN EMBRYOS
(STILLBORN) to which they had also added BLOOD and ANTIBIOTICS.
The success in CULTURING the POLIO VIRUS in a test tube with their TISSUE
CULTURE METHOD meant that now the POLIO VIRUS could be CULTURED and
GROWN in enough quantities to facilitate any kind of research and definitely, the
creation of the much needed POLIO VACCINE.
The development of the POLIO VACCINES by JONAS SALK and ALBERT
SABIN soon became a marvelous reality for HUMANITY.
In 1954, JOHN ENDERS, THOMAS WELLER and FREDERICK ROBBINS
received the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE and PHYSIOLOGY for their fantastic success
in CULTURING the POLIO VIRUS in TISSUE CULTURE, outside a LIVING ORGANISM.

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 POLIO EPIDEMICS IN THE USA AND THE POLIO VACCINE
With the advent of the 20th Century, the VIRAL DISEASE that came to be
known as POLIO had become a frightening disease all over the world, which
crippled victims to various degrees, especially children.
In 1914 and 1919 the United States had two POLIO EPIDEMICS that started
to alert the MEDICAL COMMUNITY on the real dangers of this devastating DISEASE
and some serious preventative measures were initiated.
Many famous people became POLIO VICTIMS, including: PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (a victim at age 39), WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS (SUPREME
COURT JUSTICE), ROBERT OPPENHEIMER (brilliant NUCLEAR PHYSICIST), ITZHAK
PERLMAN (one of the world’s finest VIOLINISTS) and several WRITERS,
DIRECTORS, ACTORS, SINGERS, MUSICIANS, such as: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA,
ARTHUR C. CLARKE, ROBERT A. WILSON, DONALD SUTHERLAND, MIA FARROW,
ALAN ALDA, DINAH SHORE, LIONEL BARRYMORE and DAVID SANBORN.
In 1952, the POLIO EPIDEMICS in the United States represented the worst
outbreak in the NATION’S HISTORY. About 58 thousand POLIO CASES were
reported, where 21,269 people had suffered DISABLING PARALYSIS and 3,145 had
died, and most of the victims were children.
Only WWII was as devastating and people feared POLIO as much as the
prospect of an ATOMIC BOMB.
As a result of this BIOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE, the MEDICAL COMMUNITY
and SCIENTISTS started a concerted effort to fight POLIO. President F. D.
ROOSEVELT FOUNDED the MARCH of DIMES FOUNDATION to fund the
development of a POLIO VACCINE. DR. JONAS E. SALK was among the first
Microbiologists to initiate the courageous fight against POLIO.

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 JONAS EDWARD SALK
THE CREATOR OF THE SALK POLIO VACCINE AND
THE SAVIOR OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE WORLD





























JONAS EDWARD SALK (1914 - 1995) American Microbiologist.
DR. JONAS SALK, son of a Polish-Jewish Garment Worker, graduated from the
New York City College in 1934 and obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1939 from the
New York University School of Medicine.
In 1947, SALK accepted an appointment at the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine.
After the success by JOHN ENDERS, THOMAS WELLER and FREDERICK
ROBBINS in CULTURING the POLIO VIRUS in vitro and having TISSUE CULTURE in

275
sufficient quantities for adequate research, SALK saw the opportunity to start his
journey towards obtaining a POLIO VACCINE.
In 1948, SALK assembled a RESEARCH TEAM and devoted himself for the
next 10 years to developing the POLIO VACCINE in the name of the young people of
the world.
SALK’S objective was to create a POLIO VACCINE using a DEAD VIRUS that
would not cause the DISEASE, but could still promote the production of enough
ANTIBODIES to prevent the development of POLIO. He also found that there were
THREE TYPES of POLIO VIRUSES, which had to be considered.
By 1952, SALK had developed his POLIO VACCINE and tried it on children
who had recovered from POLIO and who would be resistant to an INFECTION, and
the results were very successful. The VACCINE was tried again in 1953 on other
children with equal success. DR. SALK also announced that his wife and his three
children were among the FIRST VOLUNTEERS to be INOCULATED with his POLIO
VACCINE.
On April 12, 1955, the new SALK POLIO VACCINE was announced from the
University of Michigan. This announcement was made 10 years after the death of
President F. D. ROOSEVELT, who initiated the fight against POLIO with the MARCH
of DIMES FOUNDATION. Five hundred people, including 150 PRESS, RADIO and
TELEVISION REPORTERS were there to honor the creation of the POLIO VACCINE
by JONAS SALK. ThIS marvelous event was celebrated with great enthusiasm, as if
WWII had ended once again.
The SALK INSTITUTE for BIOLOGICAL STUDIES at LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA
was founded in 1963 and DR. SALK became its first Director. In this INSTITUTE, the
NEW SCIENCE of MOLECULAR and CELLULAR BIOLOGY had as its MAIN OBJECTIVE
to unite PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY in order to create the SCIENTIFIC
FUTURE of the WORLD.
The JONAS SALK INSTITUTE represented another TRIUMPHANT
MILESTONE in the history of MICROBIOLOGY and MEDICINE, together with the
GIANTS of the PAST, the PASTEUR INSTITUTE, the KOCH INSTITUTE and the
EHRLICH INSTITUTE.

276
 DR. JONAS SALK received a GOLD MEDAL from President DWIGHT D.
EISENHOWER on January 27, 1956.
On May 6, 1985 President RONALD REAGAN proclaimed that day, the JONAS
SALK DAY.
The next GIANT in the fight against POLIO was the Polish-American
Microbiologist, ALBERT B. SABIN, who created the LIVE-VIRUS ORAL VACCINE in
1957.


THE SALK INSTITUTE AT LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

277
 ALBERT SABIN
THE CREATOR OF THE ORAL POLIO VACCINE AND THE SECOND
BENEFACTOR OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

ALBERT BRUCE SABIN (1906 - 1993) Polish-American Microbiologist.
ALBERT SABIN arrived in the United States in 1921 and became a
naturalized citizen in 1930. He obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1931 at the New
York University School of Medicine.
After WWII, DR. SABIN became interested in the development of a POLIO
VACCINE. He was not convinced that the SALK VACCINE, using a DEAD VIRUS, was
adequate and permanent enough (the SALK VACCINE required BOOSTER
VACCINATIONS).

278
 DR. SABIN embarked during the 1950’s on an effort to develop an ORAL
POLIO VACCINE using LIVE-POLIO VIRUSES that would require no BOOSTER
VACCINATIONS.
By 1955, DR. SABIN had created his ORAL POLIO VACCINE that he first tried
on himself and on volunteer prisoners, and it was safe and a fantastic success.
In 1957, the SABIN ORAL VACCINE became popular in Europe and the Soviet
Union. In 1960, the SABIN ORAL VACCINE was successfully introduced in the United
States.
On October 20, 1998, after the ORAL SABIN VACCINE had been used for some
time, the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT recommended that children should use the SALK
VACCINE exclusively. The SABIN VACCINE is no longer available in the United
States.
The SALK VACCINE and the SABIN ORAL VACCINE did end in the triumphant
elimination of POLIO in the United States and in most countries of the world. The
developing countries where POLIO may still be found, to some extent, is due to the
LIMITED VACCINATION and other MEDICAL and SOCIAL IMPEDIMENTS.
DR. JONAS SALK and DR. ALBERT SABIN became the SAVIORS of the
CHILDREN all over the world.
From a BIOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW, it is important to take into account that
VACCINATION, the creation of IMMUNITY in the HUMAN BODY, and many other
MEDICAL TREATMENTS have altered our BIOCHEMISTRY and how the HUMAN
BODY responds to various MICROORGANISMS, particularly VIRUSES, and to other
MEDICAL TREATMENTS. Therefore, when we consider the ADVANCES made by
such brilliant MICROBIOLOGISTS, we must also acknowledge the fundamental
changes that these outstanding SCIENTISTS have created in our NATURAL
BIOCHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY.
The FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT, but THE CHALLENGES will be there for the
STUDENTS and SCIENTISTS of the FUTURE TO CONQUER with the required
COURAGE, DIGNITY, INTUITIVENESS and CREATIVITY!

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 THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANTS TO LIVE?
LIGHT, AIR, WATER, CHEMICAL ELEMENTS AND THE
BIOCHEMISTRY & BIOPHYSICS OF LIFE

OUR FABULOUS GREEN PLANTS REPRESENT THE BUFFER FACTOR
THAT MAINTAINS OUR ATMOSPHERE CLEAN AND OUR
LANDSCAPES STABLE AND BEAUTIFUL.

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 THE STORY OF THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION
We could easily begin the fantastic STORY of BIOLOGY or the STORY of LIFE
and LIVING ORGANISMS by presenting the interesting and enigmatic MICROSCOPIC
WORLD of the CELL, the BACTERIA and the VIRUS. This has already been done in
the previous chapters with a significant degree of detail relative to the concepts of
ANATOMY, MORPHOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY,
HEMATOLOGY and other significant scientific and historical ideas, concepts and
events.
We shall now embark with the presentation of the equally interesting and
prodigious life of LIVING ORGANISMS in the MACROSCOPIC WORLD of PLANTS and
ANIMALS, whose presence we enjoy everyday in our gardens, farms, forests,
prairies, mountains, deserts, lakes, rivers and oceans.
Ever since man started to DOMESTICATE PLANTS and ANIMALS to supply
FOOD, FIBER and SHELTER for his familY and the ever growing SOCIETY, there has
been a logical and reasonable desire to learn what are the kinds of things that make
PLANTS GROW and LIVE.
This interest in determining the ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS of PLANTS
brings us to the STORY of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION, as it was first called by
the early BOTANISTS, PHYSIOLOGISTS and CHEMISTS.
Beginning with BIBLICAL TIMES and the ERA of the CLASSIC GREEK
PHILOSOPHERS and SCHOLARS, men like ARISTOTLE, THEOPHRASTUS,
DEMOCRITUS, EMPEDOCLES and PLINY, began to observe that PLANTS and CROPS
in general, produce more when the SOIL and the FARM FIELDS were ENRICHED
with SEDIMENTS (in ANNUAL FLOOD WATERS), CITY SEWAGE, GREEN MANURE
CROPS (particularly LEGUME CROPS), ANIMAL MANURES, WOOD ASHES, GROUND
SEASHELLS and SALTPETER (POTASSIUM NITRATE). The reason for the benefits
derived from the use of such materials WAS explained several centuries later with
the advent of MODERN CHEMISTRY in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

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 In addition, it was common knowledge that PLANTS grew healthier and
produce more when there was warm WEATHER, bright SUNSHINE and abundant
RAINWATER.
It is also known that when CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS arrived in the NEW
CONTINENT of AMERICA, the NATIVE INDIANS used DEAD FISH to FERTILIZE their
CROPS.
The MODERN STORY of BIOLOGY and BOTANY began in the 16th and 17th
Centuries with the SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY, which emerged to determine the
PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION and to understand what made PLANTS GROW and LIVE.
As it is commonly recorded in the ANNALS of SCIENCE, this story also began
with the early curiosity and desire to learn by intuitive PHILOSOPHERS. The English
Philosopher, SIR FRANCIS BACON (1561 - 1626), believed, like GALILEO and
NEWTON, that KNOWLEDGE should be obtained through the SCIENTIFIC METHOD
of OBSERVATION and EXPERIMENTATION. SIR FRANCIS BACON was the first to
propose that WATER was the PRINCIPLE SOURCE of NOURISHMENT in PLANTS.
During this period, the Flemish Chemist and Physiologist, JAN BAPTISTA VAN
HELMONT was the first scientist to conduct a SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT with a
WILLOW TREE to search for the answer to the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.
VAN HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT became famous because it
marked the beginning of the FANTASTIC JOURNEY in BOTANY, PLANT NUTRITION
and SOIL FERTILITY to pursue the NATURE of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.
VAN HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT

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 JAN BAPTISTA VAN HELMONT
AND HIS WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT

















JAN BAPTISTA VAN HELMONT (1580 - 1644) Flemish Chemist and Physiologist.
JAN VAN HELMONT was the youngest son from a Noble Family.
VAN HELMONT obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1599 at the University of
Louvain and practiced MEDICINE for a short time during the GREAT PLAGUE of
1605. After marrying a wealthy lady, he retired from MEDICINE and dedicated the
rest of his life to CHEMICAL and BOTANICAL EXPERIMENTATION.
VAN HELMONT was influenced by the great Swiss Physician and Alchemist,
PARACELSUS (1493 - 1541) and followed much of PARACELSUS’ IDEAS on
ALCHEMY, but denied the concept of the TRANSMUTATION of METALS.
He believed in SPONTANEOUS GENERATION or the development of LIVING
ORGANISMS from NONLIVING MATTER under PUTRID and DECAYING conditions. It
is obvious that VAN HELMONT was still part of the OLD SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL.

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 VAN HELMONT, like some of the CLASSIC GREEK PHILOSOPHERS, supported
the idea that WATER was one of the BASIC ELEMENTS, which constituted of our
UNIVERSE.
In CHEMISTRY, VAN HELMONT is sometimes regarded as the FOUNDER of
PNEUMATIC CHEMISTRY for his work with GASES. He was one of the first to
recognize that there were other GASES besides AIR, which also had their own
PROPERTIES.
VAN HELMONT studied the GAS produced from BURNING WOOD and he
named it GAS SYLVESTRE (meaning GAS FROM WOOD), which is now known as
CARBON DIOXIDE.
His studies on GASES were continued in the 18th Century by the great
Chemists JOSEPH BLACK, HENRY CAVENDISH, JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, KARL SCHEELE
and DANIEL RUTHERFORD. These were the chemists who DISCOVERED and
ISOLATED CARBON DIOXIDE, HYDROGEN, OXYGEN and NITROGEN. These
discoveries represented the beginning of MODERN CHEMISTRY in the 17th and 18th
Centuries.
VAN HELMONT was the first to use, in 1620, the word GAS to signify CHAOS,
because GASES had no FIXED VOLUMES and could fill a CONTAINER of any SIZE and
SHAPE.
The word GAS was ignored for some time, until the famous French Chemist,
ANTOINE LAVOISIER (1743 - 1794) reintroduced it about 150 years later.
VAN HELMONT is best remembered for his now famous WILLOW TREE
EXPERIMENT.

VAN HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT
In the 1600’s, VAN HELMONT grew a 5-pound WILLOW TREE for five years
in a closed container with 200 pounds of SOIL and added only RAIN WATER (which
is similar to DISTILLED WATER). After the five years, the PLANT had gained about
164 pounds and the SOIL had lost only 2 ounces.
VAN HELMONT concluded, since the PLANT had received only WATER
during the 5 years, that WATER represented the PRINCIPLE SOURCE of

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NOURISHMENT of the plant. He regarded the 2 ounces that the SOIL had lost during
the experiment, as an EXPERIMENTAL ERROR.
VAN HELMONT made two fundamental mistakes with his CONCLUSIONS, as
follows:
First, VAN HELMONT did not take into account the contribution made by the
PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS because this BIOCHEMICAL PROCESS was unknown
at the time. (Actually, PHOTOSYNTHESIS was responsible for much of the INCREASE
in PLANT WEIGHT during the 5-years of the experiment).
Second, the 2 ounces of SOIL lost during the 5 years was not an
EXPERIMENTAL ERROR, but it represented the NUTRIENTS (CHEMICAL ELEMENTS
like NITROGEN, PHOSPHOROUS, POTASSIUM, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, etc.) that the
ROOTS had taken from the SOIL for their NUTRITIONAL NEEDS. This chemical
knowledge was still unknown to the scientific community.
VAN HELMONT could have discovered the PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS,
had he only OVEN-DRIED the PLANT to eliminate the WATER that had been
ABSORBED during the experiment. The OVEN-DRIED WEIGHT of the PLANT would
have been significant and it represented the PLANT MATERIAL created by
PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
The great value of VAN HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT was that it
represented one of the first QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS in the
HISTORY of SCIENCE. This experiment went on to motivate other scientists to
continue the study on the nature of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.
VAN HELMONT’S famous WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT was repeated by the
great Irish Physicist and Chemist, ROBERT BOYLE (1627 - 1691) who confirmed
VAN HELMONT’S results and also agreed that WATER was the PRINCIPLE SOURCE
of NOURISHMENT in PLANTS.
The results of VAN HELMONT’S studies were published after his death by his
son, FRANCISCUS VAN HELMONT, who was a friend of the famous German
Philosopher and Mathematician, GOTTFRIED W. LEIBNIZ (1646 - 1716). LEIBNIZ
was one of the creators of the new mathematics of CALCULUS, about the same time

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when SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) had also developed his NEW
MATHEMATICS of CALCULUS.

JOHN WOODWARD
AND HIS WATER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS


















JOHN WOODWARD (1665 - 1728) English Scholar and Naturalist.
JOHN WOODWARD was an English Naturalist who received a MEDICAL
DEGREE from Cambridge University. In 1692, he was appointed Professor of Physics
and in 1693 he was elected a FELLOW of the prestigious ROYAL SOCIETY of
LONDON.

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 In 1699, WOODWARD published the results of his WATER CULTURE
(HYDROPONICS) EXPERIMENTS, which he performed after knowing about the
WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT by VAN HELMONT and ROBERT BOYLE.
WOODWARD had grown SPEARMINT PLANTS in containers with WATER
from various sources, including: RAIN WATER, RIVER WATER, SEWAGE WATER
and SEWAGE WATER with GARDEN MOLD. This meant that all PLANTS had
received plenty of WATER and the only difference was the AMOUNT of IMPURITIES
in the various WATER SOURCES.
After a few weeks, WOODWARD weighed the PLANTS from the different
containers and determined that the AMOUNT of PLANT GROWTH was proportional
to the AMOUNT of IMPURITIES (TERRESTRIAL MATTER) in the various WATERS.
The MORE IMPURITIES, the LARGER and HEALTHIER the PLANTS grew.
WOODWARD concluded that the TERRESTRIAL MATERIAL (IMPURITIES),
and not the WATER (as VAN HELMONT and BOYLE had concluded) represented the
PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION, or the PRINCIPLE NOURISHMENT of PLANTS.
WOODWARD also experimented by adding various ANIMAL and VEGETABLE
MANURES to the SOIL and observed again that PLANT GROWTH and CROP YIELDS
were proportional to the IMPURITIES (NUTRIENTS) in the various MANURES.
WOODWARD was indeed interested in BOTANY and NATURAL HISTORY and
subsequently, he published in 1695 an essay on the NATURAL HISTORY of ROCKS
and MINERALS (second edition in 1702 and third edition in 1723).
He went on to study FOSSILS and formed a great collection about which he
also published an essay on the NATURAL HISTORY of FOSSILS in 1728-1729.
JOHN WOODWARD created the WOODWARDIAN PROFESSORSHIP of
GEOLOGY at Cambridge University. He gave his marvelous FOSSIL COLLECTION to
the University, which served to start the WOODWARDIAN MUSEUM at Cambridge
University. This collection of FOSSILS was later moved to the SEDGWICK MUSEUM
of EARTH SCIENCES.

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JOHANN RUDOLF GLAUBER (1604 - 1670) German Chemist.
JOHANN GLAUBER, son of a BARBER, was a self-taught Chemist. Some
science historians have described him as one of the first CHEMICAL ENGINEERS. He
was an APOTHECARY who sold his own MEDICATIONS and was also an admirer of
PARACELSUS, the great Swiss ALCHEMIST and PHYSICIAN of the 16th century.
GLAUBER was another Chemist interested in understanding the PRINCIPLE
of VEGETATION, or the NATURE of PLANT NUTRITION. He analyzed SOILS that had
received ANIMAL URINE and MANURE and found that such SOILS were high in
SALTPETER (POTASSIUM NITRATE). He proceeded to apply SALTPETER to SOILS
on which he grew PLANTS and found a significant INCREASE in PLANT GROWTH.
GLAUBER concluded that SALTPETER was part of the PLANT NUTRITION and the
CONCEPT of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.
In 1625, GLAUBER was the first to manufacture HYDROCHLORIC ACID by
combining SULFURIC ACID and TABLE SALT (SODIUM CHLORIDE).
This became and still is, the most convenient way to manufacture
HYDROCHLORIC ACID, which is very useful in CHEMISTRY and INDUSTRY.
However, what really interested GLAUBER was the SODIUM SULFATE SALT
that had been produced by this CHEMICAL REACTION. He named this SALT, SAL
MIRABILIS (meaning WONDERFUL SALT) because it was a MILD LAXATIVE and
could also cure other things (a CURE ALL MEDICATION). This SALT is still called
today, GLAUBER’S SALT.
In 1648, GLAUBER found a way to produce NITRIC ACID by combining
POTASSIUM NITRATE (SALTPETER) with CONCENTRATED SULFURIC ACID.
He also learned to synthesize the ORGANIC SUBSTANCES that are now
known as ACETONE and BENZENE, two very useful chemicals.
GLAUBER wrote many books. One of them was, GERMANY PROSPERITY, in
which he proposed the development of CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES to improve the
GERMAN ECONOMY.
JOHANN GLAUBER was a brilliant Chemist much ahead of his time, given that
the MODERN CHEMISTRY of ANTOINE LAVOISIER, JOHN DALTON, J. J. BERZELIUS
was still to be developed, one century later.

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JOHN MAYOW (1641 - 1679) English Physiologist.
JOHN MAYOW was educated at Oxford University, received his BACHELOR
DEGREE in 1665 and his DOCTORATE DEGREE in 1670.
MAYOW was a brilliant scientist and one of the early investigators of GASES
(or PNEUMATIC CHEMISTRY), just like JAN VAN HELMONT had done a few decades
earlier.
MAYOW studied the function of AIR in the PROCESS of RESPIRATION. He was
among the first to compare RESPIRATION to COMBUSTION and suggested that
BREATHING AIR was like PUFFING AIR into a FIRE.
He accepted ROBERT BOYLE’S IDEA that AIR was NECESSARY for
COMBUSTION. He also indicated that FIRE was supported, not by the AIR as a
WHOLE, but by a more ACTIVE COMPONENT found within the AIR. MAYOW called
this active component of the air, SPIRITUS IGNEO-AEREUS, or NITRO-AEREUS.
LAVOISIER later proved that this ACTIVE COMPONENT of the AIR was the GAS,
OXYGEN. . OXYGEN gas was discovered in 1774 by the English chemist, JOSEPH
PRIESTLEY.
MAYOW argued that the same ACTIVE COMPONENT in the AIR (OXYGEN)
was also used during RESPIRATION. He showed that when an ANIMAL or a
LIGHTED CANDLE was placed under a CLOSED VESSEL full of AIR, the CANDLE soon
went out and shortly after the ANIMAL DIED. He concluded that this ACTIVE
COMPONENT in the AIR was absolutely necessary for LIFE to exist.
He was able to accurately describe the PROCESS of RESPIRATION, indicating
that during RESPIRATION the LUNGS TRANSFERRED this COMBUSTIBLE
PRINCIPLE (OXYGEN) into the BLOOD and then the BLOOD took it to all parts of the
BODY. He also suggested that this COMBUSTIBLE PRINCIPLE was responsible for
turning the DARK VENOUS BLOOD into the BRIGHT ARTERIAL BLOOD.
As far as the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION, MAYOW agreed with GLAUBER
that SALTPETER was an ESSENTIAL SUBSTANCE in PLANT NUTRITION. He also
analyzed the SOIL in the SPRING TIME (before PLANTING) and found HIGH LEVELS
of SALTPETER. After the CROP had been harvested, he analyzed the SOIL again and
found that it was VERY LOW in SALTPETER. He assumed that the SALTPETER had

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been absorbed and used by the CROP (He ignored the LEACHING PROCESS in SOILS,
when the NUTRIENTS are WASHED OUT by the PERCOLATING WATERS to LOWER
LEVELS in the GROUND).

JETHRO TULL (1674 - 1741) English Scholar.
JETHRO TULL, an Oxford educated Scholar, who took an early retirement to
dedicate his life to performing numerous experiments on his FARM with CULTURAL
PRACTICES.
TULL believed that the FARM SOIL should be FINELY PULVERIZED for the
ROOTS to be able to ABSORB the FINE SOIL PARTICLES for their NOURISHMENT. He
called the SOIL PARTICLES the PABULUM, or the PRINCIPLE SOURCE of
NOURISHMENT in PLANTS. The HORSE-DRAWN CULTIVATOR was developed at
that time, based on TULL’S recommendation in AGRICULTURE, to PULVERIZE the
SOIL and INCREASE CROP YIELDS.
JETHRO TULL was soon proven wrong on the idea that the SOIL PARTICLES
themselves were absorbed by PLANT ROOTS for their NUTRITION as part of the
PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION. Soil particles are indeed an important source of PLANT
NUTRIENTS, but they are not a nutrient themselves.

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 HUMPHRY DAVY
THE FOUNDER OF ELECTROCHEMISTRY
DISCOVERED THE PLANT NUTRIENTS
POTASSIUM, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, AND OTHERS

HUMPHRY DAVY (1778 - 1829) English Chemist.
SIR HUMPHRY DAVY was the great English Chemist who created the new
science of ELECTROCHEMISTRY and went on to discover the CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS: POTASSIUM, SODIUM, CALCIUM, MAGNESIUM, BARIUM, and others.
Most of these ELEMENTS were later recognized as ESSENTIAL PLANT NUTRIENTS
in AGRICULTURE.

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 HUMPHRY DAVY LECTURING AT THE PRESTIGIOUS
ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON














This was the beginning of the SCIENCES of PLANT NUTRITION and SOIL
CHEMISTRY, together with the great work of JUSTUS VON LIEBIG (the FOUNDER of
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY) performed a few decades later.
DAVY was among the first to recognize the importance of ORGANIC MATTER
in the SOIL (or HUMUS) and its VALUE as a PLANT NUTRIENT. It was later shown
that HUMUS (like the SOIL PARTICLES) was not absorbed by the ROOTS as a PLANT
NUTRIENT, but that upon DECOMPOSITION, HUMUS released some of the
NUTRIENTS needed by PLANTS such as NITROGEN, PHOSPHOROUS, SULFUR and
others.
DAVY publish in 1813 one of the first TEXTBOOKS on AGRICULTURAL
CHEMISTRY.
DAVY and GAY-LUSSAC demonstrated that HYDROGEN was the ESSENTIAL
COMPONENT of ACIDS and not OXYGEN as LAVOISIER dad proposed. This was a
very significant and FUNDAMENTAL DISCOVERY in the field of CHEMISTRY.

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 DAVY discovered the NITROUS OXIDE GAS (also named the LAUGHING GAS),
which became one of the first CHEMICAL ANESTHETICS to be used in MEDICINE.
It has been said that DAVY’S greatest contribution to science was to discover
the brilliant scientist, MICHAEL FARADAY, the FOUNDER of the THEORY of
ELECTROMAGNETISM.

ARTHUR YOUNG
AND HIS SAND CULTURE EXPERIMENTS
A PROMINENT AGRICULTURAL WRITER

ARTHUR YOUNG (1741 - 1820) English Agriculturist.
ARTHUR YOUNG, son of a Clergyman, was a prominent English Agriculturist
in the 18th Century. YOUNG is considered one of the great English Writers in
AGRICULTURE and one who advocated for the RIGHTS of FARMERS and
AGRICULTURAL WORKERS.

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 In 1763, YOUNG began to devote himself to FARMING and in 1767, he started
a series of experiments whose results were presented in 1770 in a course on
EXPERIMENTAL AGRICULTURE.
YOUNG conducted many POT TESTS (SAND CULTURE) in order to make an in
depth study of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION. He grew BARLEY PLANTS in pots
containing SAND, to which he had added various MATERIALS to test their impact on
PLANT GROWTH. These MATERIALS included: CHARCOAL, POULTRY MANURE,
SALTPETER, GUNPOWDER, OYSTER SHELLS and various SPIRITS of WINE.
The results were inconclusive and gave very little useful information in the
area of PLANT NUTRITION.
YOUNG came to the important conclusion that not one, but several
substances provided the NOURISHMENT that PLANTS needed, or the PRINCIPLE of
VEGETATION.
The significant information obtained when characterizing the PRINCIPLE of
VEGETATION was, so far, that all of these scientists were lost and drowning in a SEA
of CHEMICAL IGNORANCE and MISCONCEPTIONS (and from working with plants
that were drunk because of the use of wine as a plant nutrient, ha ha ha!).
The science of CHEMISTRY (or ALCHEMY) was still based on the old CLASSIC
GREEK IDEA that the UNIVERSE was made of the FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS: EARTH,
WATER, AIR and FIRE. With this kind of SCIENTIFIC NONSENSE it was impossible to
move forward in understanding the CHEMISTRY of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.

THE NEW CHEMISTRY AND THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION
The PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION began to disclose its CHEMICAL,
BIOCHEMICAL and PHYSIOLOGICAL IDENTITY with the advent of MODERN
CHEMISTRY during the 2nd half of the 18th Century.
The new GREAT MEN OF CHEMISTRY brought with them some of the
essential knowledge and technology necessary to penetrate the mysteries of the
PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION, which was so obvious and yet with a deceptive nature
that had defeated several generations of OUTSTANDING SCIENTISTS.

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ANTOINE LAVOISIER (1743 - 1794) French Chemist.
ANTOINE LAVOISIER was the founder of MODERN CHEMISTRY and the one
who advanced the new CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS, CHEMICAL METHODS and
NOMENCLATURE, which paved the way of progress for the chemists of the future.
He created the QUANTITATIVE METHOD of CHEMICAL EXPERIMENTATION
and the LAW of the CONSERVATION of MATTER, which allowed LAVOISIER to
characterize CHEMISTRY with great INTUITIVENESS and CREATIVITY.

JOHN DALTON (1766 - 1844) English Chemist.
JOHN DALTON postulated the new ATOMIC THEORY from the CHEMISTRY
POINT OF VIEW in 1802-1804. Here, DALTON placed the ATOM as the BASIC
BUILDING BLOCK of MATTER, just as DEMOCRITUS had done during the CLASSIC
GREEK ERA.
In his new ATOMIC THEORY each CHEMICAL ELEMENT consisted of its own
UNIQUE kind of ATOM with a SPECIFIC ATOMIC WEIGHT and CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES. DALTON’S ATOM was INDIVISIBLE and with a SOLID and STABLE
STRUCTURE that could not be altered.

JONS J. BERZELIUS (1779 - 1848) Swedish Chemist.
JONS BERZELIUS was the brilliant Swedish Chemist who improved
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY, proposed the new SYMBOLS for the CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS and prepared an accurate TABLE of the ATOMIC WEIGHTS.
BERZELIUS also created the way to write the CHEMICAL FORMULAS of
COMPOUNDS with SYMBOLS and NUMBER SUBSCRIPTS to facilitate the
IDENTIFICATION of their ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION and the UNDERSTANDING of
CHEMICAL EQUATIONS in various REACTIONS and PROCESSES.

JOSEPH BLACK (1728 - 1799) Scottish Chemist.
JOSEPH BLACK was the talented Chemist who discovered the FIXED AIR, or
CARBON DIOXIDE in 1756.

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HENRY CAVENDISH (1731 - 1810) English Chemist and Physicist.
HENRY CAVENDISH was the brilliant Scientist who discovered the
INFLAMMABLE GAS, or HYDROGEN in 1766, and also synthesized WATER in 1783.

JOSEPH PRIESTLEY (1733 - 1804) English Chemist.
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY was the intuitive chemist who discovered the
DEPHLOGISTICATED AIR, or OXYGEN in 1774.

KARL W. SCHEELE (1742 - 1786) Swedish Chemist.
KARL SCHEELE discovered the FIRE AIR, or OXYGEN in 1771-1772. He also
discovered CHLORINE, MANGANESE, BARIUM and MOLYBDENUM.

DANIEL RUTHERFORD (1749 - 1819) Scottish Chemist.
RUTHERFORD had the opportunity to discover NITROGEN in 1772, which
was later named and characterized by LAVOISIER.

DMITRI I. MENDELEEV (1834 - 1907) Russian Chemist.
DMITRI MENDELEEV was the visionary and brilliant chemist who prepared,
for the first time, the famous PERIODIC TABLE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS in
1869.

With the creation of MODERN CHEMISTRY in the 18th and 19th Centuries by
these great MEN OF CHEMISTRY, the new generations of scientists were going to
have at their disposal the NEW KNOWLEDGE and CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY that
would facilitate the unveiling of the HIDDEN COMPONENTS of the PRINCIPLE of
VEGETATION, PLANT NUTRITION, SOIL CHEMISTRY and PLANT PHYSIOLOGY.

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 THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION,
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION.
With the advent of the NEW CHEMISTRY it had now become possible to
characterize the PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS and RESPIRATION and their
contribution to the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.

STEPHEN HALES
AND HIS STUDIES WITH GASES

STEPHEN HALES (1677 - 1761) English Botanist and Chemist.
STEPHEN HALES is regarded as the FOUNDER of MODERN PLANT
PHYSIOLOGY. HALES, like GALILEO and NEWTON, believed in the QUANTITATIVE
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD, which he applied successfully to the field of BIOLOGY.
HALES was among the first to support the idea that some portion of the AIR
(OXYGEN) contributed to the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION. An idea that helped to

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correct VAN HELMONT’S notion that WATER was the PRINCIPLE SOURCE of
NOURISHMENT in PLANTS.
In the 1770’s it had been demonstrated that the ATMOSPHERIC AIR became
VITIATED (polluted with CARBON DIOXIDE) by ANIMAL RESPIRATION,
COMBUSTION and PUTREFACTION (MICROBIAL DECOMPOSITION of ORGANIC
MATERIALS).
The CONCEPTS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS and RESPIRATION were later advanced
by PRIESTLEY, INGENHOUSZ and SENEBIER, one step at a time. This was indeed not
a simple task, but one that was going to require some clear and very intuitive
thinking.

JOSEPH PRIESTLEY (1733 - 1804) English Chemist.
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY was aware that ANIMALS VITIATED the AIR by way of
RESPIRATION (which was not yet understood from a CHEMISTRY POINT OF VIEW).
He also felt that NATURE had to have a PROCESS by which the PURITY of the AIR
could be RESTORED.
PRIESTLEY experimented with MINT PLANTS (a PLANT that was easy to
maintain) by growing them under closed containers and was able to determine that
PLANTS did in fact PURIFY the AIR (i.e., by removing CARBON DIOXIDE and
releasing OXYGEN). This represented the PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS, not yet
discovered. PRIESTLEY had not yet discovered OXYGEN in order to give a
CHEMICAL EXPLANATION to PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
To make things worse, the Swedish Chemist, KARL SCHEELE disagreed with
PRIESTLEY and insisted that PLANTS, like ANIMALS could also VITIATE the AIR.

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 JAN INGENHOUSZ
And HIS STUDIES WITH PHOTOSYNTHESIS & RESPIRATION



















JAN INGENHOUSZ (1730 - 1799) Dutch Physician and Plant Physiologist.
JAN INGENHOUSZ, son of a Leather Merchant, received his MEDICAL DEGREE
from the University of Louvain in 1752-1753. As a Physician he was an expert on
SMALLPOX VACCINATION, which made him famous after successfully
VACCINATING the AUSTRIAN ROYAL FAMILY in 1768.
In the 1770’s, INGENHOUSZ became interested in the GAS EXCHANGE that
took place in PLANTS and found that plants were indeed able to ABSORB and
PRODUCE various GASES.

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 In about 1779-1780, he also determined that, in the presence of LIGHT,
PLANTS ABSORBED CARBON DIOXIDE and RELEASED OXYGEN. INGENHOUSZ had
just discovered PHOTOSYNTHESIS (as it was eventually named) the most important
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESS uniquely performed by GREEN PLANTS. Carbon dioxide
and oxygen had already been discovered.
This was the first time when LIGHT was recognized as being fundamentally
needed in PLANT LIFE.
INGENHOUSZ also determined that at night, PLANTS like ANIMALS, TOOK UP
something from the AIR (OXYGEN) and RELEASED a POLLUTING GAS (CARBON
DIOXIDE). This was the result of the PROCESS of RESPIRATION, which was
performed by both, PLANTS and ANIMALS.
With these studies INGENHOUSZ had been able to reconcile the ideas of
PRIESTLEY and SCHEELE on the EXCHANGE of GASES by PLANTS.
INGENHOUSZ recognized that PLANTS ABSORBED a great deal of CARBON
DIOXIDE. This meant that PHOTOSYNTHESIS was indeed responsible for the
WEIGHT INCREASE that VAN HELMONT had reported in his WILLOW TREE
EXPERIMENT.
INGENHOUSZ was among the first to suggest that PLANTS and ANIMALS
maintained a HEALTHY STATUS in the COMPOSITION of the ATMOSPHERIC AIR. He
showed that while PLANTS released OXYGEN into the AIR (PHOTOSYNTHESIS),
ANIMALS released CARBON DIOXIDE (RESPIRATION), which resulted in a
HEALTHY BALANCE in the AIR between OXYGEN and CARBON DIOXIDE.
We now know that this BALANCE in the ATMOSPHERE is fundamentally
important in maintaining a HEALTHY PLANET. This, SCIENTISTS must monitor and
control to prevent the GREENHOUSE EFFECT (or pollution of the air with carbon
dioxide) from creating disastrous ENVIRONMENTAL and ECOLOGICAL
CATASTROPHES.
The detailed characterization of the PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS was
developed, one step at a time, during the following decades, by several brilliant
PLANT PHYSIOLOGISTS.

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 The detailed PATHWAY of the PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS was fully
characterized by the American Biochemist, MELVIN CALVIN in 1957. The dream
that began with JAN VAN HELMONT in the 17th Century of understanding the
PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION had come to a SUCCESSFUL REALIZATION with our new
knowledge on PHOTOSYNTHESIS, RESPIRATION and PLANT NUTRITION.

JULIUS VON SACHS
IDENTIFIED TROPISM & TRANSPIRATION IN PLANTS.
DETERMINED THAT CHLOROPHYLL & PHOTOSYNTHESIS
OCCURRED IN THE CHLOROPLASTS OF PLANT CELLS.















JULIUS VON SACHS (1832 - 1897) German Botanist.
JULIUS VON SACHS was born on October 2, 1832, son of an Engraver.
SACHS obtained his Ph.D. DEGREE in 1856 at the University of Prague. He
became Professor of Botany at the University of Freiburg and later established a
laboratory at Wurzburg University.

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 His first contribution to BOTANY was to show that PLANTS, like ANIMALS,
did respond to the ENVIRONMENT. SACHS was able to document the phenomenon
of TROPISM, or the manner in which PLANT ORGANS (LEAVES, SHOOTS and
ROOTS) responded to LIGHT, WATER and GRAVITY.
SACHS also demonstrated the PROCESS of PLANT TRANSPIRATION, whereby
the WATER that was taken from the soil, travelled from the ROOTS up the STEM and
then evaporated from the LEAVES into the ATMOSPHERE.
SACHS was particularly interested in the problem of PLANT NUTRITION and
the PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
In 1817, the French Chemist, PIERRE JOSEPH PELLETIER, had discovered a
GREEN PIGMENT in PLANTS that he named CHLOROPHYLL.
SACHS published, in 1865, a treatise in BOTANY where he indicated that
CHLOROPHYLL was found in certain DISCRETE BODIES within the CELL, which
were later called CHLOROPLASTS (or CHLOROPHYLL-CONTAINING PLASTIDS).
He also determined that it was in these CHLOROPLASTS with CHLOROPHYLL
where STARCH GRAINS first formed, when the LEAVES were exposed to LIGHT. This
discovery was indeed an important addition to the understanding of the STORY of
PHOTOSYNTHESIS and the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, JAN INGENHOUSZ and JEAN SENEBIER had shown that
in the presence of LIGHT, GREEN PLANTS converted CARBON DIOXIDE and WATER
into PLANT TISSUE COMPONENTS and at the same time liberated OXYGEN into the
ATMOSPHERE (the PROCESS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS)
SACHS showed that PHOTOSYNTHESIS took place in the CHLOROPLASTS of
CELLS in the presence of CHLOROPHYLL and LIGHT. He also determined that during
RESPIRATION, PLANTS like ANIMALS, consumed OXYGEN and released CARBON
DIOXIDE.
Nearly a century later, it was the American Biochemist, MELVIN CALVIN, who
characterized PHOTOSYNTHESIS in 1957 and for which he received the 1961
NOBEL PRIZE in CHEMISTRY.

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 THE PRINCIPLE OF VEGETATION, PLANT NUTRITION
And SOIL CHEMISTRY
Although unknown during the 18th Century, the characterization of the
PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION required the understanding of three separate but
coexisting and complementary areas of knowledge, as follows:
- The PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS utilized the ATMOSPHERIC AIR
(CARBON DIOXIDE) and WATER from the soil to transform SOLAR ENERGY (LIGHT)
into the CHEMICAL ENERGY in PLANTS.
- PLANT NUTRITION was needed to explain the way CHEMICAL ELEMENTS
from the SOIL met the NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS of PLANTS.
- SOIL CHEMISTRY and SOIL FERTILITY were needed to explain the
MECHANISMS by which the SOIL could supply in the soluble form, the various
NUTRIENT ELEMENTS to PLANTS.
The PROCESS of PHOTOSYNTHESIS, which had been partially characterized
by STEPHEN HALES, JOSEPH PRIESTLEY and JAN INGENHOUSZ, was further
advanced by the work of JEAN SENEBIER and THEODORE De SAUSSURE in the years
ahead.
The knowledge on PLANT NUTRITION and SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY was
later advanced by the studies of JEAN BAPTISTE BOUSSINGAULT, JUSTUS VON
LIEBIG, JOHN B. LAWES, JOSEPH H. GILBERT, HERMANN HELLRIEGEL, MARTINUS
BEIJERINCK, SVANTE ARRHENIUS, SOREN P. SORENSEN and many others.

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 JEAN SENEBIER
AND HIS STUDIES WITH PHOTOSYNTHESIS

















JEAN SENEBIER (1742 - 1809) Swiss Scholar and Plant Physiologist.
JEAN SENEBIER was a brilliant Scholar who did very significant studies in
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY.
SENEBIER was impressed with the studies that had been done on
PHOTOSYNTHESIS by JAN INGENHOUSZ in 1779-1780 and he repeated some of his
experiments. SENEBIER was able to confirm INGENHOUSZ’S conclusions that
PLANTS absorbed CARBON DIOXIDE and released OXYGEN during
PHOTOSYNTHESIS. This meant that the ATMOSPHERE did contribute to the
PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION as a SOURCE of CARBON DIOXIDE.
SENEBIER also established that PHOTOSYNTHESIS was a real BIOLOGICAL
PROCESS that took place in the presence of LIGHT in GREEN PLANTS. Here again,

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SENEBIER had confirmed the fundamental role played by LIGHT (as a source of
SOLAR ENERGY) in PLANT LIFE. The important function of LIGHT became even
more significant when studies were later made, which explained the relative
contribution of the various LIGHT COLORS (WAVELENGTHS) to the PROCESS of
PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
SENEBIER was also able to explain VAN HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE
EXPERIMENT in terms of the MODERN CHEMISTRY that was been introduced by the
brilliant French Chemist, ANTOINE LAVOISIER and other talented CHEMISTS.

THEODORE De SAUSSURE
INTRODUCED THE QUANTITATIVE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD IN HIS
STUDIES WITH PHOTOSYNTHESIS

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THEODORE De SAUSSURE (1767 - 1845) Swiss Chemist and Plant Physiologist.
THEODORE De SAUSSURE was the son of a Geologist and a student of JEAN
SENEBIER.
De SAUSSURE introduced in the 1800’s the QUANTITATIVE EXPERIMENTAL
METHOD in PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, which became instrumental for the success of the
research in PLANT NUTRITION and SOIL CHEMISTRY that was later performed by
JEAN BOUSSINGAULT, JUSTUS VON LIEBIG and others.
De SAUSSURE proved that PLANTS absorbed CARBON DIOXIDE and WATER
in the presence of LIGHT (PHOTOSYNTHESIS) as part of their DAILY SUBSISTENCE.
Consequently, he is considered one of the initial proponents of PHOTOSYNTHESIS,
together with JEAN INGENHOUSZ and JEAN SENEBIER, during the 18th Century. He
also proposed that CARBON DIOXIDE and OXYGEN were essential in PLANT LIFE.
De SAUSSURE was among the first to look at the SOIL as the SOURCE of
PLANT NUTRIENTS, especially NITROGEN. With this observation, he was able to
explain the importance of the TWO OUNCES SOIL that had been lost during VAN
HELMONT’S WILLOW TREE EXPERIMENT.

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 JEAN BAPTISTE BOUSSINGAULT
FOUNDER OF THE FIELD-PLOT RESEARCH METHOD
IN SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY. HE ESTABLISHED ONE OF THE
FIRST AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS



















JEAN BAPTISTE BOUSSINGAULT (1801 - 1887) French Chemist.
JEAN BOUSSINGAULT was one of the first Agricultural Chemists, whose
studies in SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY made significant contributions to the field of
PLANT NUTRITION and which paved the way for the work of the great German
Chemist, JUSTUS VON LIEBIG.

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 BOUSSINGAULT reintroduced De SAUSSURE’S QUANTITATIVE
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS and also introduced the concept of FIELD-PLOT
EXPERIMENTS at his farm in Alsace. For this reason BOUSSINGAULT is regarded as
the FOUNDER of the FIELD-PLOT RESEARCH in SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY.
BOUSSINGAULT became Professor of Chemistry at the University of Lyon and
in 1839 he was appointed Chair of the Department of Agricultural and Analytical
Chemistry.
In 1836, BOUSSINGAULT established the first AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT
STATION in Alsace, France. The famous ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENT STATION in
England was established in 1843 and the GERMAN EXPERIMENT STATION in
Moeckern was established in 1852.
BOUSSINGAULT used De SAUSSURE’S careful techniques of WEIGHING and
ANALYZING everything that he used in his FIELD-PLOT EXPERIMENTS, including
MANURES, SOILS and PLANTS.
He maintained a BALANCE SHEET, which showed how much of the various
PLANT NUTRIENTS (CHEMICAL ELEMENTS) came from the SOIL, RAINWATER and
MANURES. He also analyzed the CHEMICAL COMPOSITION of his PLANTS during the
various stages of PLANT GROWTH, which became a very important and useful idea.
BOUSSINGAULT studied the impact of different CROP ROTATIONS on SOIL
COMPOSITION and CROP YIELDS.
In the 1840’s, BOUSSINGAULT made the significant discovery that LEGUME
CROPS, like PEAS and BEANS, could also obtain NITROGEN from the AIR as well as
the SOIL. Non-legume crops like corn and other grain crops took their NITROGEN
from the SOIL ONLY.
A half-century later, the German Chemist, HERMANN HELLRIEGEL
demonstrated that the NITROGEN which was taken from the AIR by the LEGUME
PLANT, was actually taken up by BACTERIA that were growing in the NODULES of
the PLANT ROOTS. The NITROGEN FIXED by the BACTERIA in the nodules was then
released to the LEGUME PLANT for its NUTRITION and later released to the SOIL
when the CROP had died and had become incorporated into the soil.

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 The NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA was later isolated in the 1880’s by the
famous Dutch Botanist, MARTINUS BEIJERINCK and he named it Bacillus radicicola,
better known today as the RHIZOBIUM BACTERIA. BEIJERINCK was also the one
who first discovered the VIRUS in the leaves of TOBACCO PLANTS infected with the
TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE.

THE NEW ERA OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY
With the advent of MODERN CHEMISTRY during the 18th Century and all the
new discoveries on the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION, PHOTOSYNTHESIS and
RESPIRATION, it was time to start the development of all the fantastic studies that
had been initiated during the 19th Century in the areas of AGRICULTURAL
CHEMISTRY, PLANT NUTRITION and SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY.
The foundation of NEW SCHOOLS of AGRICULTURE and AGRICULTURAL
EXPERIMENT STATIONS were going to provide RESEARCH FUNDS, LABORATORIES,
GREENHOUSES, RESEARCH FIELD PLOTS and many other facilities. These new
conditions created the marvelous opportunity to initiate the development of the
MODERN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES that we have today.

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 JUSTUS VON LIEBIG
FOUNDER OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AND
THE FERTILIZER INDUSTRY
ESTABLISHED ONE OF THE FIRST TEACHING LABORATORIES
IN CHEMISTRY



















JUSTUS VON LIEBIG (1803 - 1873) German Chemist.
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG, son of a Chemical Merchant, was fascinated with
CHEMISTRY at an early age and did not rest until he had received a formal
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
LIEBIG became an Apprentice to an Apothecary and later on went to work for
the famous French Chemist, JOSEPH GAY-LUSSAC. He also became a friend of the

310
famous scientists FRIEDRICH WOHLER, GEORGES CUVIER and ALEXANDER VON
HUMBOLDT. LIEBIG finally obtained his DOCTORATE DEGREE in 1823 from the
University of Erlanger.
LIEBIG made significant contributions to AGRICULTURAL and BIOLOGICAL
CHEMISTRY and he is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of the FERTILIZER
INDUSTRY and the FOUNDER of MODERN AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. He also
established one of the first TEACHING LABORATORIES in CHEMISTRY at the
University of Giessen, which became a MODEL for many other UNIVERSITIES
throughout the world.

LIEBIG IN HIS TEACHING LABORATORY

In 1824, LIEBIG was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of
Giessen thanks to a recommendation by his friend, ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.
At Giessen, LIEBIG became an OUTSTANDING and INSPIRING PROFESSOR.

311
 In the 1830’s, LIEBIG developed a new method to determine the accurate
content of CARBON, HYDROGEN and OXYGEN in various ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.
LIEBIG, like the Swedish Chemist, JONS J. BERZELIUS, believed that
FERMENTATION was purely a CHEMICAL PROCESS. The famous French Chemist,
LOUIS PASTEUR proved later that FERMENTATION was in fact a
MICROBIOLOGICAL PROCESS performed by MILLIONS of MICROORGANISMS.
LIEBIG’S most prominent work was in the area of AGRICULTURAL
CHEMISTRY.
In his famous report to the ROYAL SOCIETY of LONDON in 1840, LIEBIG was
able to demonstrate that PLANTS took most of their CARBON ( AS CARBON
DIOXIDE) from the AIR by way of PHOTOSYNTHESIS and not from the HUMUS in the
SOIL, as the prominent English Chemist SIR HUMPHRY DAVY had proposed. With
this information LIEBIG discarded DAVY’S HUMUS THEORY once and for all.
LIEBIG also agreed with De SAUSSURE that HUMUS and MANURES were not
PLANT NUTRIENTS themselves, but SOURCES of CHEMICAL ELEMENTS as they
underwent DECOMPOSITION in the SOIL.
LIEBIG firmly believed that the NUTRITIONAL NEEDS of PLANTS could be
determined and correlated according to the CHEMICAL COMPOSITION of the PLANT
ASHES. All these conclusions became very useful in the understanding of PLANT
NUTRITION and SOIL FERTILITY.
As far as NITROGEN was concerned, LIEBIG determined that PLANTS took it
as AMMONIUM from the NITROGEN found in the SOIL. He also determined that
LEGUME CROPS took some of the NITROGEN from the ATMOSPHERE as
BOUSSINGAULT had previously indicated.
It had also been established that CARBON, HYDROGEN and OXYGEN in
PLANTS came from the ATMOSPHERIC AIR and WATER.
One of LIEBIG’S important contributions to SOIL FERTILITY was his
MINERAL THEORY, which indicated that PLANTS took the various NUTRIENTS, or
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS, from the SOIL.
LIEBIG showed that the most important and essential PLANT NUTRIENTS
included, NITROGEN, PHOSPHOROUS, POTASSIUM, CALCIUM and MAGNESIUM, all

312
of which could be added to the SOIL in the form of INORGANIC FERTILIZERS and
LIMESTONE.
With his new recommendation on using INORGANIC FERTILIZERS and
LIMESTONE, LIEBIG had started the FERTILIZER INDUSTRY and the new science of
SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY.
In the mid 1800’s, LIEBIG supported another milestone in the field of SOIL
CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY. This was THE LAW of the MINIMUM (originally proposed
by CARL SPRENGEL), which stated that MAXIMUM CROP YIELDS were determined
by those ESSENTIAL PLANT NUTRIENTS (CHEMICAL ELEMENTS) found in the SOIL
in the MOST LIMITED QUANTITIES. In other words, that MAXIMUM CROP YIELDS
could only be attained when ALL of the ESSENTIAL CHEMICAL ELEMENTS in the
SOIL were found in OPTIMUM QUANTITIES
LIEBIG was one of the first to experiment with the application of CHEMICAL
FERTILIZERS in order to increase and maximize CROP YIELDS.
LIEBIG was also one of the first to develop and produce an INORGANIC
NITROGEN FERTILIZER, which became very popular in AGRICULTURE.
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG was the chemist who started the FERTILIZER INDUSTRY
and the MODERN CHEMICAL REVOLUTION, which was to become responsible for
the fantastic AGRICULTURE that we have today.
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG was to MODERN AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY what
ANTOINE LAVOISIER was to MODERN CHEMISTRY and LOUIS PASTEUR was to
MODERN MICROBIOLOGY.

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 ROTHAMSTED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
PLAQUE AND FIELD PLOTS

THE ROTHAMSTED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
The ROTHAMSTED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION is one of the
oldest AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS in the world, founded in 1843 by
SIR JOHN BENNET LAWES. The ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENT STATION is located in
what was JOHN LAWES’ inherited 16th CENTURY ESTATE, or the ROTHAMSTED
MANOR, located in the Harpenden County of Hertfordshire, England.
JOHN BENNET LAWES hired a young chemist, JOSEPH HENRY GILBERT, and
together they started a magnificent journey in AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, which
began with the investigations on the impact of INORGANIC and ORGANIC
FERTILIZERS on CROP YIELDS.
This fantastic journey in AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH was initiated by
THEODORE De SAUSSURE and his QUANTITATIVE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD, by
JEAN BOUSSINGAULT and his FIELD-PLOT RESEARCH TECHNIQUE and by JUSTUS
VON LIEBIG and his application of CHEMISTRY to AGRICULTURE.

314
 JOHN LAWES and JOSEPH GILBERT transformed this initial AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH JOURNEY into one of the most MAGNIFICENT RESEARCH STORIES in the
HISTORY of AGRICULTURE, which is still vibrant and productive.
This fabulous AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ADVENTURE was responsible for
starting the new sciences of SOIL CHEMISTRY-FERTILITY, SOIL MICROBIOLOGY,
PLANT NUTRITION, PLANT PATHOLOGY and ENTOMOLOGY, CROP GENETICS and
FARM MANAGEMENT.

JOHN BENNET LAWES
FOUNDER OF THE ROTHAMSTED AGRICULTURAL
EXPERIMENT STATION

315
JOHN BENNET LAWES (1814 - 1900) Agricultural Scientist.
JOHN LAWES was educated at Oxford University.
Around 1837, LAWES began to experiment on the effect of various MANURES
on PLANTS that were growing in pots. Soon after, he extended his research on the
EFFECT of MANURES on various CROPS using FIELD PLOTS.
In 1842, LAWES patented an INORGANIC FERTILIZER, which he created by
treating PHOSPHATE ROCK with SULFURIC ACID. This was a form of what we now
call SUPERPHOSPHATES (where the PHOSPHOROUS is very SOLUBLE), which
became very popular among farmers and that started the FERTILIZER INDUSTRY.
LAWES hired a young English Chemist, JOSEPH H. GILBERT (1817 - 1901)
with whom he carried out research for more than a half century on the effect of
MANURES and FERTILIZERS on various CROPS and CROP ROTATIONS.
LAWES and GILBERT conducted their FIELD-PLOT experiments following
some of the GENERAL IDEAS that had been used by the French Agricultural Chemist,
JEAN BOUSSINGAULT at his EXPERIMENT STATION in Alsace, France.
The FIELD EXPERIMENTS that were started by LAWES and GILBERT have
been continued year after year, to this day, in the same locations and with very few
alterations. This research has given the ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENT STATION
considerable FAME in AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH all over the world.
Some of the more general results that were obtained at the ROTHAMSTED
EXPERIMENT STATION may be summarized as follows:
- CROPS require PHOSPHOROUS and POTASSIUM for their NUTRITION, but
the COMPOSITION of the PLANT ASHES does not give reliable information as to the
AMOUNTS needed by the PLANTS.
- NON-LEGUME CROPS required a supply of NITROGEN in the SOIL in the
form of NITRATE and AMMONIUM-NITROGEN. Without an adequate supply of
NITROGEN, CROP performance is limited even if PHOSPHOROUS and POTASSIUM
are plentiful. With respect to NITROGEN, LEGUME CROPS behave in an ABNORMAL
MANNER.
- SOIL FERTILITY may be maintained for some years by adding ARTIFICIAL
MANURES (CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS).

316
 - The beneficial effect of FALLOW (not planting a crop in a FIELD) lies in the
resulting increase of AVAILABLE NITROGEN in the SOIL.
All this new information obtained at the ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENT
STATION contributed to answering many of the questions pertaining to the
understanding of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION.

SOREN P. SORENSEN
PROPONENT OF THE CONCEPT OF pH
TO REPRESENT THE ACIDITY - ALKALINITY OF A SOLUTION
( pH = - log H+ )

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 THE CONCEPT OF SOIL pH AND SOIL ACIDITY-ALKALINITY
The concept of SOIL ACIDITY and SOIL ALKALINITY and its effect on SOIL
FERTILITY and LIMESTONE REQUIREMENTS was later resolved by a number of
outstanding SOIL CHEMISTS.

SOREN P. SORENSEN ( 1868 -1939 ) Danish Chemist.
The Danish Chemist, SOREN P. SORENSEN proposed the pH- concept in 1909,
which facilitated the studies of the effect of SOIL ACIDITY-ALKALINITY on SOIL
FERTILITY and NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY in the SOIL.
SORENSEN defined the concept of pH as the NEGATIVE LOGARITHM of the
HYDROGEN ION CONCENTRATION ( pH = - log H+).
It was later determined that most CROPS grew better when the SOIL pH was
between 6.0 and 7.0.
LEGUME CROPS usually required a slightly higher SOIL pH (closer to pH 7.0)
than NON-LEGUME CROPS.

THE ESSENTIAL PLANT NUTRIENTS AND SOIL FERTILITY
The complete characterization of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION required
that PLANT NUTRITIONISTS and SOIL CHEMISTS answered the question: Which are
the ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT ELEMENTS required by PLANTS?
Careful and dedicated studies in PLANT NUTRITION using NUTRIENT
SOLUTIONS (HYDROPONICS) and SAND CULTURES finally gave us the answer.
The ESSENTIAL PLANT NUTRIENTS were classified into two groups:
THE MACRONUTRIENTS - Or the NUTRIENTS required by PLANTS in
relatively large quantities are: NITROGEN, PHOSPHOROUS, POTASSIUM, SULFUR,
CALCIUM and MAGNESIUM.
THE MICRONUTRIENTS - Or the NUTRIENTS required by PLANTS in
relatively small quantities are: IRON, COPPER, ZINC, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM
and BORON.

318
 The STORY of the PRINCIPLE of VEGETATION, which began with JAN VAN
HELMONT in the 17th Century, finally came to a complete and happy conclusion in
the 20th Century with all the marvelous studies that were accomplished by all these
fabulous scientists.

319
 AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
The milestones of the GENERAL HISTORY in the DEVELOPMENT of
AGRICULTURE in the United States may include:
- PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON proposed the establishment of a
NATIONAL BOARD of AGRICULTURE in the 1780’s.
- The DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE was established in 1862.
- The MORRILL ACT was enacted in 1862 to assist in the development of
STATE COLLEGES of AGRICULTURE and MECHANICAL ARTS.
- The first organized AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION was
established in 1875 in Middletown, Connecticut.
- North Carolina established an AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION in
1877, followed by SOUTH CAROLINA, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO,
MASSACHUSETTS and several other states.
- The HATCH ACT was enacted in 1888 to help in the development of STATE
EXPERIMENT STATIONS that would operate in conjunction with the LAND GRANT
COLLEGES.
- The BUREAU of SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE was established in 1933 to
help farmers develop a program on SOIL EROSION CONTROL and WATER
CONSERVATION PRACTICES. THE SOIL CONSERVATION ACT appeared in 1935.

- During the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, the United States
created many outstanding LAND GRANT UNIVERSITIES and AGRICULTURAL
EXPERIMENT STATIONS that are the TRUE PRIDE of this DEDICATED, DYNAMIC,
CREATIVE AND MAGNIFICENT COUNTRY. Here, the QUALITY OF THE PEOPLE IS
THE TRUE MEASURE OF THIS COUNTRY’S FABULOUS INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE
AND LEGACY!

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 THE STORY OF WILLIAM HARVEY
THE HEART, BLOOD & CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
The STORY of the HEART, BLOOD & CIRCULATORY SYSTEM is a very
interesting and amazing story whose functions, compel us to think and believe that
there is indeed a DIVINE BEING who gives us the will and the joy of life.
The discovery of the ATOM and the CELL represented very exciting and
creative moments because we became aware of the existence of ENTITIES that were
FUNDAMENTAL in our UNIVERSE, and yet so small and enigmatic. These were
momentous occasions when we stood at the threshold of understanding and
explaining the inexplicable.
On the other hand, the discovery of our CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM was even
more amazing because it was an entity that existed within us everyday of our lives,
and yet we did not know, nor understood their identity and purpose.
It is actually unbelievable that it was not until the 17th Century when the
great English Physician, WILLIAM HARVEY explained to the SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY for the first time, what was the meaning and purpose of our HEART,
BLOOD and CIRCULATORY SYSTEM and their many BIOLOGICAL MYSTERIES.
The INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT of the HEART and the many fantastic
functions of the BLOOD and CIRCULATORY SYSTEM are indeed magnificent and
providential. It has been said that the BLOOD is our RIVER of LIFE, which has MAGIC
in it, a MAGIC that we are still trying to understand at the SCIENTIFIC LEVEL.
What is the REASON AND SOURCE that makes our HEART TICK with
FAITHFUL RHYTHM, TENACITY and LOVE. I once held in my arms a BEAUTIFUL and
LOVING DYING LADY and witnessed the very last moment of HER EXISTENCE, when
her HEART STOPPED and her SOUL left her BODY. It was an incredibly PAINFUL
EXPERIENCE, but one that will stay with me forever in the DEEP and LOVING
RECESSES of my MIND and SOUL for ALL ETERNITY, so HELP ME GOD.

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 The origin of the fantastic STORY of our HEART, BLOOD and CIRCULATORY
SYSTEM or RIVER of LIFE, may have started with some philosophical and intuitive
enunciation made by the brilliant Philosophers of ANTIQUITY, such as SOCRATES,
PLATO or ARISTOTLE.
The magnificent journey in the understanding of our CARDIOVASCULAR
SYSTEM began with HIPPOCRATES and GALEN (the FOUNDERS of MODERN
MEDICINE) during the CLASSIC GREEK and ROMAN ERA and transcended into the
capable minds of LEONARDO Da VINCI, MONDINO De LUZZI, ANDREAS VESALIUS,
REALDO COLOMBO, FABRICIUS AQUAPENDENTE (the teacher of WILLIAM
HARVEY), MARCELLO MALPIGHI and WILLIAM HARVEY during the ITALIAN
RENAISSANCE ERA.

PRELIMINARY NOTES ON THE ORIGIN OF OUR CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Let us examine some of the events that led to the discovery of our
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM and which outline some of our early ideas and
misconceptions.
The ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS, especially HIPPOCRATES and GALEN
believed that our CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM consisted of the HEART and TWO
DISTINCT NETWORKS of ARTERIES and VEINS, which were not directly connected
and from where the BLOOD dissipated into our various TISSUES and ORGANS, as
part of an OPEN-ENDED SYSTEM.
GALEN claimed that the LIVER produced the BLOOD that was then
distributed to the BODY by some NATURAL FORCE. He also believed that the AIR (or
PNEUMA) was absorbed by the PULMONARY VEINS in the LUNGS and then the
BLOOD was carried by the ARTERIES to the various parts of the BODY.
In SYNTHESIS, the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM was an OPEN-ENDED
SYSTEM in which the BLOOD and AIR simply dissipated at the end of the ARTERIES
into our BODY.
One important misconception was that our BLOOD dissipated from the
VASCULAR SYSTEM into the TISSUES and that NEW BLOOD was created regularly. It
was believed that we did not have our own PERMANENT BLOOD that CIRCULATED

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over and over throughout our BODY. The existence and functions of the CAPILLARY
VESSELS, that connected ARTERIES and VEINS, were unknown at the time. The
Italian Physiologist, MARCELLO MALPIGHI, later discovered them in the 1600’s,
which went on to complete HARVEY’S IDEAS on our CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.
Another misconception was that of the function of the HEART as a PUMP,
which was not understood and therefore it was somewhat ignored.
These ideas on our CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM, which originated during the
CLASSIC GREEK-ROMAN ERA, dominated the MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE for over 16
centuries, until 1628 when DR. WILLIAM HARVEY published his magnificent 72-
page book, ON THE MOTIONS OF THE HEART AND BLOOD.
With this book the ERA of MODERN MEDICINE started to emerge as the
fantastic and incredible MODERN MEDICINE of today.
WILLIAM HARVEY
PROPOSED THE EXISTENCE OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
THE FOUNDER OF MODERN PHYSIOLOGY

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WILLIAM HARVEY (1578 - 1657) English Physician and Anatomist.
WILLIAM HARVEY is regarded as the FOUNDER of MODERN PHYSIOLOGY.
WILLIAM HARVEY, the son of a successful Business Man, graduated from
Cambridge University in 1597 and then travelled to France, Germany and finally to
Italy where he attended the famous University of Padua. HARVEY studied under the
brilliant Italian Anatomist, FABRICIUS AQUAPENDENTE and obtained his MEDICAL
DEGREE in 1602.
HARVEY was in Italy when GALILEO was doing his outstanding work in
PHYSICS and ASTRONOMY. He was impressed with GALILEO’S METHOD of
EXPERIMENTATION, which HARVEY went on to use in his BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
back home in England.
HARVEY returned to England and started his successful medical career. The
famous English Scholar, FRANCIS BACON, was one of his patients.
He eventually accepted a position at the SAINT BARTHOLOMEW HOSPITAL
where he stayed most of his life. HARVEY gave many lectures and his notes are now
preserved in the BRITISH MUSEUM.
HARVEY spent much of his life studying the HEART, ARTERIES and VEINS by
doing many DISSECTIONS and by DIRECT OBSERVATIONS on the FLOW of the
BLOOD in the BODY.
HARVEY studied the works of the Italian Anatomist, REALDO COLOMBO who
first demonstrated the PULMONARY CIRCULATION of the BLOOD and who is
recognized as the forerunner and predecessor of WILLIAM HARVEY.
He also studied the works of his professor, the Italian Anatomist, FABRICIUS
AQUAPENDENTE who had discovered, in 1603, the ONE-WAY VALVES in the VEINS,
which became very important in HARVEY’S CONCEPTION of the CIRCULATORY
SYSTEM of the BLOOD.
The eminent Italian Microscopist and Physiologist, MARCELLO MALPIGHI
was the one who discovered, in the 1600’s, the mysterious CAPILLARY VESSELS
(CAPILLARY meaning HAIR-LIKE) using the newly created MICROSCOPE by ANTON
VAN LEEUWENHOEK.

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 The existence of the CAPILLARY VESSELS went on to complete HARVEY’S
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM of the BLOOD.
MALPIGHI also discovered the BLOOD FLOW through the PULMONARY
VESSELS in the LUNGS, which helped to explain RESPIRATION and the PULMONARY
CIRCULATION of the BLOOD, first observed by REALDO COLOMBO.
In 1628, DR. HARVEY published his now famous book entitled, ON THE
MOTIONS OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, where he made a clear and elegant
presentation of the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM. The main points were: that the
HEART functioned as a PUMP, that our BLOOD was our own and permanent BLOOD
(not created DAILY), that the BLOOD followed a CLOSED and COMPLETE
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM and that the PULMONARY CIRCULATION contributed to the
AERATION of the BLOOD.
HARVEY described the HEART as an INVOLUNTARY MUSCLE, or as a PUMP
that PULSATED the BLOOD to all parts of our body, LEAVING the HEART through
the ARTERIES and RETURNING to the HEART through the VEINS.
He also indicated that the VEINS had ONE-WAY VALVES, which always
directed the BLOOD FLOW TOWARD the HEART and not AWAY from the HEART.
HARVEY described the HEART’S ANATOMY as consisting of TWO UPPER
CHAMBERS (AURICLES) and TWO LOWER CHAMBERS (VENTRICLES) separated by
ONE-WAY VALVES that directed the BLOOD FLOW from the AURICLES to the
VENTRICLES.
The BLOOD LEFT the HEART through the ARTERIES to the various TISSUES
and ORGANS and then RETURNED to the HEART through the VEINS.
HARVEY was never able to find the CAPILLARY VESSELS that connected the
ARTERIES to the VEINS within the various TISSUES. He assumed that these VESSELS
were TOO FINE to SEE. MARCELLO MALPIGHI went on to demonstrate the FINE
CONNECTIONS between ARTERIES and VEINS by means of the CAPILLARY
VESSELS.
The most controversial idea about HARVEY’S CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
was that the BLOOD FOLLOWED a CLOSED and COMPLETE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

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and that we had our OWN and PERMANENT BLOOD, which CIRCULATED
REGULARLY throughout our body.
HARVEY’S new book became one of the GREAT SCIENTIFIC CLASSICS in the
history of SCIENCE, which put an end to the OLD GREEK-ROMAN IDEAS found in the
GALEN’S MEDICINE of ANTIQUITY.
HARVEY’S CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM was controversial at first, but it was
finally accepted by the MEDICAL COMMUNITY with great enthusiasm. RENE
DESCARTES and other famous scientists went on to support HARVEY’S BOOK and
WILLIAM HARVEY became one of the most influential BIOLOGISTS in the world.

JAN SWAMMERDAM (1637 - 1680) Dutch Naturalist.
The AERATION and OXYGENATION of the BLOOD was better understood
after JAN SWAMMERDAM discovered that the BLOOD was not a RED FLUID, but that
the BLOOD consisted of a large number of RED CORPUSCLES (or RED BLOOD
CELLS), which were responsible for its RED COLOR. The discovery of the RED
BLOOD CORPUSCLES was neglected until the Dutch Physician, HERMANN
BOERHAAVE (1668 - 1738) resurrected it in the early 1700’s.
RICHARD LOWER
PIONEERED THE USE OF BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS IN HUMANS

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RICHARD LOWER (1631 - 1691) English Physician.
RICHARD LOWER obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from OXFORD
UNIVERSITY in 1665 and was influential in the development of the MEDICAL
SCIENCES.
He was a friend of JOHN LOCKE, ROBERT HOOKE and THOMAS WILLIS, the
FOUNDER of the ROYAL SOCIETY.
LOWER was a pioneer in 17th Century MEDICINE. He is most remembered for
his studies on TRANSFUSION and the function of the CARDIOPULMONARY
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.
LOWER was among the first to observe and report that the BLOOD in the
ARTERIES left the HEART with a BRIGHT RED COLOR and then returned to the
HEART through the VEINS with a DARK COLOR. He also indicated that the change in
the BLOOD COLOR from DARK to RED took place upon contact with the AIR in the
LUNGS.
It was ANTOINE LAVOISIER who finally explained the PROCESS of
RESPIRATION in terms of his NEW CHEMISTRY and his OXYGEN THEORY.
LOWER was the first to introduce and perform BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS in
HUMANS and ANIMALS, and indicated how to perform this procedure safely.
His first HUMAN TRANSFUSION was done in 1667 and from then on, HUMAN
TRANSFUSIONS became popular and saved many lives all over Europe.
LOWER’S work on TRANSFUSIONS and the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
made a very significant contribution to the history of MEDICINE.

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 KARL LANDSTEINER
DISCOVERED THE VARIOUS TYPES OF HUMAN BLOOD,
WHICH MADE BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS A SAFE MEDICAL PRACTICE



















KARL LANDSTEINER (1868 - 1943) Austrian-American Physician and Biologist.
KARL LANDSTEINER, son of a Newspaper Publisher, obtained his MEDICAL
DEGREE at the University of Vienna in 1891.
LANDSTEINER had a good training in CHEMISTRY, studying under the
famous German Chemist, EMIL FISCHER. In 1908, LANDSTEINER was appointed
Professor of Pathology at the University of Vienna.
In 1908, LANDSTEINER was the first to isolate the POLIOMYELITIS VIRUS
and the first to use MONKEYS as an EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL in POLIO RESEARCH.

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His work with the POLIO VIRUS became very useful later on to JONAS SALK and
ALBERT SABIN in their development of the POLIO VACCINE.
LANDSTEINER is best remembered for his discovery in 1900 of the existence
of the different TYPES or GROUPS of HUMAN BLOOD, which went on to make very
safe the BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS that had been introduced by the English Physician,
RICHARD LOWER in 1667.
BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS had become a COMMON MEDICAL PRACTICE, but
FATAL RESULTS were sometimes encountered and LANDSTEINER decided to
investigate this problem. In fact, some European countries had even prohibited
BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS by the end of the 19th Century.
LANDSTEINER discovered that the HUMAN BLOOD differed in the capacity of
its SERUM to AGGLUTINATE (or clump together) the RED CELLS, which could be
FATAL in some patients.
By 1902, LANDSTEINER and his group had clearly found that the HUMAN
BLOOD consisted of FOUR DISTINCT BLOOD TYPES, which he named: A, B, AB and
O.
With this information, they soon found out which combinations of BLOOD
TYPES would result in the AGGLUTINATION of RED BLOOD CELLS and which did
not. Consequently, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS became safe by determining the BLOOD
TYPES of PATIENTS and DONORS prior to the TRANSFUSION.
By 1910, it was also discovered that these BLOOD TYPES were INHERITED
according to MENDEL’S LAWS.
In 1922, LANDSTEINER was invited to come to the United States and work at
the ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE for MEDICAL RESEARCH (now ROCKEFELLER
UNIVERSITY) where he remained the rest of his life.
In 1927, his group discovered additional BLOOD TYPES (named M, N and
MN), which were not important in BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, but were significant in
ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES.
In 1940, he was also involved in the discovery of the Rh BLOOD GROUPS,
which were associated with a DISEASE in NEWBORN INFANTS, called
Erythroblastosis fetalis.

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 In 1930, KARL LANDSTEINER was awarded the NOBEL PRIZE in MEDICINE
and PHYSIOLOGY for his brilliant work on the discovery of the BLOOD TYPES.



TAXONOMY IS ONE OF THE FEW SCIENCES THAT HAS THE
PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO WORK IN THE FABULOUS AND
MAJESTIC OUTDOOR MUSEUM OF LIVING ORGANISMS

WE MUST ALWAYS BE THE CUSTODIANS AND STEWARDS OF OUR
PRECIOUS LAND AND OUR BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH!!!

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 ABSTRACT ON THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATION AND
CLASSIFICATION

Another fundamental idea that was initiated by the classic Greek and Roman
philosophers, in view of their capacity to rationalize, was THE CONCEPT OF
ORGANIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION, which went on to flourished throughout
Western Science during the 18th and 19th centuries.
THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION has multifaceted
benefits because of the fact that knowledge and information tend to increase
exponentially and it soon becomes unmanageable.
Organization and classification creates a logical and convenient ordering of
things, which transforms chaos into distinct and intelligent groupings, thus simplifying
and facilitating the understanding, memorization and utilization of knowledge.
To illustrate the value of organization and classification of knowledge, the
following natural examples may prove useful:
- An ATOM is not a pile of subatomic particles, but a mathematically organized
BUILDING BLOCK of matter and energy, with a harmoniously quantized
distribution of a mass- energy continuum.
- The MOLECULE is not a pile of ATOMS, but a balanced arrangement of atoms
and bonds with unique spacing, symmetry and coordination.
- A MINERAL is not a pile of ATOMS, and a ROCK is not a pile of MINERALS, but a
conglomerate of ATOMS or MINERALS, following the precise structure and
arrangement dictated by physical, chemical and mineralogical properties and
the laws of nature.
- A CELL is not a pile of ORGANELLES or subcellular components, but a
harmonious and self-sufficient BUILDING BLOCK of LIFE. It is also a well-
organized and self-sustained institution in LIVING ORGANISMS.
- A MICROORGANISM is not a pile of physical, chemical, and biological
components, but a minute and precious representation of the magnificent and

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 evolutionary, SELF-SUFFICIENT ENTITY OF LIFE that was to create our
MICROBIOLOGICAL WORLD AND OUR BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH.
- A PLANT, an ANIMAL is not a pile of CELLS but a well-developed and organized
assembly of tissues, organs and systems that function with an intuitive
harmony that reflects the majesty and beauty of the MASTER PLAN created by
our SUPREME BEING.
- A HOME is not a pile of wood, blocks and tiles, but a well-organized group of
building materials, following a harmonious architectural design based on
sound engineering principles that ensure durability and is aesthetically
pleasing to the eye!
The modern science of TAXONOMY or CLASSIFICATION was created by CARL
LINNAEUS, GEORGES CUVIER, AUGUSTIN CANDOLLE, ANTOINE JUSSIEU, RICHARD
OWEN and JEAN AGASSIZ, among other outstanding BIOLOGISTS.
CARL LINNAEUS is regarded, as the FOUNDER of MODERN TAXONOMY and it
was he who introduced in the 18th century the NEW SYSTEM OF BIOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION and the BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE that we use today. We owe
CARL LINNAEUS our taxonomical name of HOMO SAPIENS (man the wise).

The Author

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 THE STORY OF CARL LINNAEUS
AND MODERN TAXONOMY IN BIOLOGY

The STORY of MODERN TAXONOMY in BIOLOGY, like the magnificent stories
of our BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION and the EARTH’S ECLECTIC GEOLOGY is truly a
story of great complexity that BRINGS to LIFE our beautiful GREEN PLANET EARTH.
The STORY of MODERN TAXONOMY, or the CLASSIFICATION of ALL LIVING
ORGANISMS is a MULTIFACETED and PRODIGIOUS EXPRESSION of the FABULOUS
NATURE of our LIVING CELL in ALL its FORMS.
This exciting rendition of order and organization in the BIOLOGICAL
DOMAIN of the CELL elevates our imagination to intriguing levels of joy that can
only be paralleled by the emotions derived from listening to a SYMPHONIC
COMPOSITION by MOZART, BEETHOVEN or BRAHMS. I can hear Vivaldi’s Four
Seasons playing in the music room to inspire my mind and thoughts.
The STORY of TAXONOMY is an INTELLECTUAL EXPERIENCE of SINGULAR
VALUE in LOGISTICAL INTRICACY, which has CHALLENGED the most intuitive
BIOLOGISTS due to its INNATE COMPLEX NATURE.
The CONCEPT of TAXONOMY, or CLASSIFICATION, has always been one of
the ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS of any SCIENCE that intends to reach its objectives
with EFFICIENCY and EXACTITUDE, as well as with a good understanding of
GENESIS and ORGANIZATION.
It has been previously said that MAN and particularly SCIENTISTS, have an
innate need to ORGANIZE and CLASSIFY in order to SIMPLIFY and FACILITATE the
UNDERSTANDING, MEMORIZATION and UTILIZATION of KNOWLEDGE in any given
DISCIPLINE or SCIENCE.
In the SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY to ORGANIZE KNOWLEDGE, the following
OBJECTIVES immediately surface as IMPERATIVE REQUIREMENTS.
- INDIVIDUALS must be named and defined using RECOGNIZABLE and VALID
CHARACTERISTICS.

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 - A SCIENTIFIC CRITERIA must be selected to base the PROCESS of
ORGANIZATION and CLASSIFICATION.
- The development of MEANS of GENERALIZATION and SIMPLIFICATION
become a PREREQUISITE in the PROCESS of ORGANIZATION in order to reduce the
bewildering variety of ITEMS that may be encountered.
- The LOGICAL DEVELOPMENT of SCIENTIFIC RELATIONSHIPS among
CHARACTERISTICS should strengthen the VALIDITY and USEFULNESS of the NEW
SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION.
- The NEW SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION must SIMPLIFY and FACILITATE the
UNDERSTANDING, MEMORIZATION and UTILIZATION of the NEW BODY of
KNOWLEDGE at hand.
From these GENERAL REQUIRED OBJECTIVES, it becomes obvious that the
CREATION of a LOGICAL and COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION
represents a MONUMENTAL LOGISTICAL ENDEAVOR that requires a great deal of
intuitiveness, dedication and commitment.

TAXONOMIC UNITS OR TAXONS

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 THE TAXONOMIC UNITS OR LEVELS OF CLASSIFICATION
TAXONOMY, a word first suggested in 1813 by the Swiss-French Botanist,
AUGUSTIN CANDOLLE, is the SCIENCE of CLASSIFICATION. The word TAXONOMY is
derived from the Greek word meaning LAWS OF ARRANGEMENT (TAXIS meaning
ARRANGEMENT and NOMOS meaning LAWS).
CLASSIFICATION in BIOLOGY is the ORGANIZATION or GROUPING of
INDIVIDUALS into TAXONOMIC UNITS, known as TAXONS, which vary in their
degrees of GENERALIZATION and SPECIFICITY. The PROCESS of CLASSIFICATION
evolves from GENERAL (with LOW LEVELS of DETAILS) to SPECIFIC (with HIGH
LEVELS of DETAILS), as the SYSTEM of ORGANIZATION is developed and created.
The CLASSIC DEFINITION of TAXONOMY is as follows:
TAXONOMY (or SYSTEMATICS) in BIOLOGY is the SYSTEMATIC
CLASSIFICATION and NAMING of ORGANISMS, both PLANTS and ANIMALS, in
accordance with the CRITERIA accepted by BOTANICAL and ZOOLOGICAL
AUTHORITIES.
The TAXONOMIC UNITS, or LEVELS of ORGANIZATION and CLASSIFICATION
are as follows:
- SIMILAR INDIVIDUALS are GROUPED into VARIETIES, or SPECIES.
- SIMILAR SPECIES are GROUPED into GENERA.
- SIMILAR GENERA are GROUPED into FAMILIES.
- SIMILAR FAMILIES are GROUPED into ORDERS.
- SIMILAR ORDERS are GROUPED into CLASSES.
- SIMILAR CLASSES are GROUPED into PHYLA.
- SIMILAR PHYLA are GROUPED into KINGDOMS (PLANT and ANIMAL KINGDOMS).

In keeping with WESTERN TRADITION we shall begin the STORY of
TAXONOMY in BIOLOGY with the INITIAL CONTRIBUTIONS made by the CLASSIC
GREEK NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS, ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS, some three
centuries before the CHRISTIAN ERA.

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 The STORY of TAXONOMY, which began with an emphasis on PLANT
TAXONOMY, had its origin with FOLK and DOMESTIC TAXONOMY, and the interest
in EDIBLE and MEDICINAL PLANTS.
FOLK TAXONOMY played an important role in ETHNOBIOLOGICAL STUDIES
and in the associations observed among PEOPLES, CULTURES and ORGANISMS.
Some EGYPTIAN WALL PAINTINGS and PAPYRUS ROLLS have given us some
information on the MEDICINAL PLANTS that were used at that time.
Although we begin the STORY with WESTERN CULTURE, some of the
TAXONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE came to Europe from EASTERN COUNTRIES during
the MIDDLE AGES.

THE GREEK AND ROMAN TAXONOMY

ARISTOTLE (384 - 322 B.C.) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist.
ARISTOTLE is considered the FOUNDER of ZOOLOGY (the study of ANIMALS)
and was among the first to introduce the idea of CLASSIFYING ALL LIVING THINGS
in order to simplify and understand the BODY of KNOWLEDGE. Some of his
categories are still used today.
ARISTOTLE was the first to classify ANIMALS into VERTEBRATES and
INVERTEBRATES, which he named ANIMALS with BLOOD versus ANIMALS without
BLOOD. He also divided the ANIMALS with BLOOD into two GROUPS, the LIFE-
BEARING and the EGG-BEARING. He classified the ANIMALS without BLOOD into
GROUPS that are recognized today as: INSECTS, CRUSTACEA and TESTACEA
(MOLLUSKS).
ARISTOTLE founded his own SCHOOL and LIBRARY in Athens, the LYCEUM,
where he taught his student, THEOPHRASTUS who continued ARISTOTLE’S
TAXONOMICAL STUDIES with PLANTS.
ARISTOTLE also accepted DEMOCRITUS’ ATOMIC THEORY and
EMPEDOCLES’ CONCEPT of the FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS: EARTH, WATER, AIR and
FIRE.

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THEOPHRASTUS (372 - 287 B.C.) Greek Philosopher and Naturalist.
THEOPHRASTUS, considered the FOUNDER of BOTANY (the STUDY of
PLANTS), took over the LYCEUM SCHOOL after ARISTOTLE’S retirement.
THEOPHRASTUS began a large PLANT COLLECTION and his own SYSTEM of
PLANT CLASSIFICATION. He wrote a book, DE HISTORIA PLANTARUM, where he
described some 480 PLANT SPECIES.
His system of PLANT CLASSIFICATION was largely based on GROWTH
MORPHOLOGY and some of his PLANT GENERA are still recognized today, such as
NARCISSUS, CROCUS and COMUS. This is due to the fact that CARL LINNAEUS
accepted some of THEOPHRASTUS’ GENERIC NAMES in the 18th Century.
THEOPHRASTUS’ BOOK was used in Europe for TAXONOMIC STUDIES until
the RENAISSANCE ERA.

PLINY (23 - 79) Roman Scholar.
PLINY, the dedicated and ANTHROPOCENTRIC SCHOLAR with a UNIVERSAL
MIND, lived and died during the time of the infamous ERUPTIONS of MOUNT
VESUVIUS.
He placed MAN as the CENTER of EVERYTHING and had a great admiration
for the NATURAL WORLD.
PLINY wrote many BOOKS, including his NATURALIS HISTORIA, consisting of
several volumes describing many PLANTS and giving them their LATIN NAMES.
Some of these names are still used today.
Given that Latin was the LANGUAGE of the SCIENCES during the
RENAISSANCE ERA and the SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION, PLINY is sometimes
regarded as the FOUNDER of BOTANICAL LATIN.

THE ROLE OF HERBALISTS IN EUROPEAN PLANT TAXONOMY
The HERBALISTS were a group of BOTANISTS interested in MEDICINAL
PLANTS who made significant contributions to PLANT TAXONOMY. Some of these
HERBALISTS included men like: OTTO BRUNFELS (1464 - 1534), HIERONYMUS

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BROCK (1489 - 1554), LEONHART FUCHS, PIETRO MATTIOLI, TURNER, L’OBEL and
GERARD.
Some of their names are still recognized in the beautiful PLANTS that were
later named in their honor, by LINNAEUS, such as: BRUNFELSIA, MATTIOLIA,
TURNERA, LOBELIA, FUCHSIA and GERARDIA.
The first BOTANICAL GARDENS were founded in Italy, first in Pisa in 1543
and then in Padua in 1545.

THE EARLY TAXONOMISTS
During the 16th Century, GREEK TAXONOMY was being replaced by the new
and more scientific TAXONOMY that was emerging thanks to various scientific
advances, including the invention of the OPTICAL LENSES and MICROSCOPES.
The MAGNIFYING LENSES facilitated and improved the DETAILED STUDIES
in the PLANT ANATOMY, particularly on the REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS, which
became basic in TAXONOMIC STUDIES, especially those started by CARL LINNAEUS.
The COLLECTION and DISPLAY of SPECIMENS of PLANTS, ANIMALS,
FOSSILS, MINERALS and ROCKS became a very fashionable endeavor with the fast
development of the SCIENCES and the various SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATIONS. This
resulted in the creation of many famous SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS that are found
today in the various UNIVERSITY MUSEUMS and other outstanding MUSEUMS of
NATURAL HISTORY all over the WORLD.

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 LUCA GHINI
CREATED THE FIRST HERBARIUM and
THE FIRST BOTANICAL GARDEN IN ITALY AND EUROPE

LUCA GHINI (1490 - 1556) Italian Physician and Botanist.
LUCA GHINI, son of a Notary Lawyer, studied MEDICINE at the University of
Bologna where he became a Botany Professor.
In 1544, GHINI moved to Pisa where he created the FIRST HERBARIUM and
the FIRST BOTANICAL GARDEN in Italy and Europe.
GHINI was the Professor of two students that became famous Botanists,
CESALPINO and PIETRO ANDREA MATTIOLI.

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 ANDREA CESALPINO
ONE OF THE FIRST PLANT TAXONOMISTS
DURING THE RENAISSANCE ERA

















ANDREA CESALPINO (1519 - 1603) Italian Taxonomist.
ANDREA CESALPINO is sometimes called the FIRST TAXONOMIST.
ANDREA CESALPINO studied at the University of Pisa where he had two
outstanding Professors, the great Italian Anatomist, REALDO COLOMBO and the
famous Italian Botanist, LUCA GHINI.
He taught Botany and medicine at the University of Pisa for many years and
made several botanical explorations in various parts of Italy, which resulted in
significant contributions to Plant Taxonomy.
In 1555, CESALPINO became Director of the BOTANICAL GARDEN in Pisa and
later on Professor of Medicine at the University of Rome, La Sapienza.

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 CESALPINO wrote in 1583, De PLANTIS, where he described some 1500
SPECIES. His PLANT CLASSIFICATION was based on PLANT MORPHOLOGY
(GROWTH HABITS) and on FRUIT and SEED FORMS, and not on their Medicinal
Properties. Some of his TAXONOMIC GROUPS are still recognized today.

JEAN BAUHIN (1541 - 1631) French-Swiss Naturalist.
CASPAR BAUHIN (1560 - 1624) French-Swiss Naturalist.
These two brothers wrote in 1623, the book PINAX THEATRI BOTANICI and
also HISTORIA PLANTARUM UNIVERSALIS, describing a total of about 5,000
SPECIES.
The BAUHIN BROTHERS recognized the GENERA and the SPECIES as MAJOR
TAXONOMIC LEVELS. They used BINOMIAL NAMES and also included SYNONYMS,
which were very useful in IDENTIFYING PLANTS, given that PLANT SPECIES were
commonly assigned DIFFERENT NAMES by various AUTHORS. A scenario that
contributed to creating some degree of confusion.

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 JOHN RAY
AN OUTSTANDING TAXONOMIST WHO WAS COMPARED
TO CARL LINNAEUS

JOHN RAY (1627 - 1705) British Botanist and Naturalist.
JOHN RAY, the son of a Blacksmith, was able to make his way through
Cambridge University, where he also obtained his MASTERS DEGREE in 1651. RAY
stayed as a Lecturer at Cambridge University.
RAY had a passion for NATURAL HISTORY that was all consuming. He had
the habit of riding for many miles through the COUNTRYSIDE observing and
collecting PLANT SPECIMENS, unique for their many interesting characteristics.
In 1660, RAY published a book with the SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTIONS of the
PLANTS that he grew near Cambridge.

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 He was the first to CLASSIFY PLANTS into MONOCOTYLEDONOUS (with ONE
EMBRYONIC LEAF) and DICOTYLEDONOUS (with TWO EMBRYONIC LEAVES).
In about 1662, he had the notion of travelling and preparing descriptions of
all the LIVING SPECIES in his path. His aim was to publish a COMPLETE
CLASSIFICATION of LIVING THINGS, including: MAMMALS, BIRDS, REPTILES,
INSECTS and FISH. He also PIONEERED the studies on ENTOMOLOGICAL
TAXONOMY.
In 1667, RAY published a catalogue of PLANTS found in the BRITISH ISLES
and was elected a member of the ROYAL SOCIETY.
RAY went on to prepare a THREE- VOLUME ENCYCLOPEDIA of PLANT LIFE,
published between 1686 and 1704. In this ENCYCLOPEDIA, which included his
METHODUS PLANTARUM (PLANT SYSTEMATICS), he described some 18,000
different PLANT SPECIES.
Another important contribution by RAY was to establish the SPECIES as the
ULTIMATE UNIT of TAXONOMY.
RAY’S TAXONOMIC STUDIES were regarded as good as LINNAEUS’ WORK
and they laid the FOUNDATION for SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION. RAY’S studies
were brought into their MODERN FORM by CARL LINNAEUS, some 100 years later
in the 18th Century.
In 1691, RAY published a book in which he proposed that FOSSILS were the
PETRIFIED REMAINS of PRE-EXISTING CREATURES. BIOLOGISTS did not accept this
definition of FOSSILS until a century later.

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 JOSEPH PITTON De TOURNEFORT
DEFINED THE CONCEPT OF GENUS IN PLANTS













JOSEPH PITTON De TOURNEFORT (1656 - 1708) French Botanist.
JOSEPH De TOURNEFORT created a BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION that
dominated BOTANICAL TAXONOMY until the time of CARL LINNAEUS.
In 1700, TOURNEFORT published his book INSTITUTIONES REI HERBARIAE,
in which he described some 9,000 SPECIES within 698 GENERA. He placed
PRIMARY EMPHASIS on the GENERA as a TAXONOMIC UNIT and many of his
GENERA were later accepted by CARL LINNAEUS and are still used today.
His PLANT CLASSIFICATION was essentially based on the FLORAL
CHARACTERISTICS of PLANTS.
TOURNEFORT’S SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION was the one used by CARL
LINNEAUS when he was a young student in Sweden.
CARL LINNAEUS went on to create the FOUNDATION for the MODERN
SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION, which is essentially used today.

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 CARL LINNAEUS
THE FOUNDER OF MODERN TAXONOMY IN BIOLOGY

345
 CARL LINNAEUS AND MODERN TAXONOMY IN BIOLOGY
The STORY of TAXONOMY in BIOLOGY, which was initiated by the Greek
Philosophers of NATURAL HISTORY, ARISTOTLE and THEOPHRASTUS, is frequently
divided into the PRE LINNAEAN ERA and the POST LINNAEAN ERA. The main
reason for this artificial, but logical subdivision is the fact that the Swedish Botanist,
CARL LINNAEUS established with his dedication and genius the real beginning of
MODERN TAXONOMY in the BIOLOGICAL WORLD.
CARL LINNAEUS had the foresight and intuitiveness to create a SCIENTIFIC
SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION that was LOGICAL and PRACTICAL, and which could
soon be accepted by the BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY.
It was critical for TAXONOMY to use a PRACTICAL SYSTEM of
CLASSIFICATION capable of accommodating the MAXIMUM NUMBER of
GENERALIZATIONS. Also, one that could handle the DETAILED DEFINITIONS of the
many NEW SPECIES that appeared with the advent of the new AGE of SCIENTIFIC
EXPLORATIONS.
With the introduction of the THEORY of EVOLUTION by CHARLES DARWIN
and the new LAWS of GENETICS proposed by GREGOR MENDEL, it became
imperative for the new science of TAXONOMY to consider the implications of these
two NEW and DYNAMIC BIOLOGICAL IDEAS.
The THEORY of EVOLUTION introduced the ELEMENTS of CHANGE and
DYNAMICS and the NEW LAWS of GENETICS introduced the ELEMENTS of
VARIABILITY and COMPLEXITY into the intricate domain of BIOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION.

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 THE LINNAEAN GARDEN IN UPPSALA

CARL LINNAEUS (1707 - 1778) Swedish Botanist and Zoologist.
CARL LINNAEUS (or CARL VON LINNE) was the son of an amateur Botanist
and Curator, a Lutheran Minister and a Rector of the STENBROHULT SCHOOL.
LINNAEUS obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1735 at the University of
Uppsala where he proved to be a very talented young scholar. At the University,
Professor ROTHMAN showed LINNAEUS that BOTANY was a serious science and
taught him how to CLASSIFY PLANTS according to the system proposed by the
French Botanist, JOSEPH De TOURNEFORT, who used FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
as one of the MAIN CRITERIA for CLASSIFICATION.
Since childhood, LINNAEUS had a passion for PLANTS, particularly
FLOWERING PLANTS. By the age of eight, he had gained the affectionate nickname
of THE LITTLE BOTANIST. His interest in PLANTS remained with him in COLLEGE
and during his entire life.
CARL LINNAEUS is regarded as the FOUNDER of MODERN TAXONOMY and
also the FOUNDER of MODERN ECOLOGY. LINNEAUS became a brilliant, intuitive

347
and dedicated scientist who laid the foundation for MODERN BIOLOGY and
MODERN TAXONOMY.
He developed our MODERN SYSTEM of BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION and
created the BINOMIAL SYSTEM (with GENUS and SPECIES) for naming PLANTS and
ANIMALS that we still use today.
LINNAEUS has the honor of being the first to name the HUMAN SPECIES as
HOMO SAPIENS (MAN WISE) and the first to propose the SYMBOLS for MALE ( )
and FEMALE ( ), which are now widely used in GENETICS.

LINNAEUS’ EXPEDITION TO LAPLAND

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LINNAEUS’ EXPEDITION TO LAPLAND
In 1732, LINNAEUS was awarded a TRAVEL GRANT by the ROYAL SOCIETY
of SCIENCES to travel, under the sponsorship of the University of Uppsala, to the
LAPLAND REGION to study PLANTS, ANIMALS and VALUABLE MINERALS.
LINNAEUS was also interested in the COSTUMES of the NATIVE SAMI
PEOPLE, who were REINDEER-HERDING NOMADS that lived in the vast
SCANDINAVIAN TUNDRA.
Starting in May of 1732, LINNAEUS made a six-month long trip on foot and
horse over 1,200 miles. He returned in OCTOBER after studying and collecting many
specimens of PLANTS, BIRDS and ROCKS. Although the LAPLAND AREA was a
region of LIMITED BIODIVERSITY, LINNAEUS was able to describe about a hundred
new PLANT SPECIES.
As a result of this EXPEDITION, LINNAEUS wrote his book FLORA
LAPPONICA in 1737, where he described 534 species using his new SYSTEM of
PLANT CLASSIFICATION and his BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE.
FLORA LAPPONICA was one of the first examples of BOTANICAL WRITINGS
on PLANT SPECIES. The botanical historian, E. L. GREENE described this book as the
MOST CLASSIC and DELIGHTFUL of LINNAEUS’ WORKS.
LINNAEUS followed this journey with a trip to England and West Europe to
study the FLORA and FAUNA in these regions.

LINNAEUS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS
CARL LINNAEUS made many studies and wrote several books designed to lay
the MODERN FOUNDATION for BIOLOGY and TAXONOMY.
LINNAEUS created a new SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION for PLANTS and
ANIMALS that was CLEAR, METHODICAL and USER- FRIENDLY. His new SYSTEM
overshadowed the outstanding work that JOHN RAY had previously done in England
in the 17th Century.
LINNAEUS also proposed and popularized the BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE,
or the SYSTEM of NAME INDIVIDUALS by using GENUS and SPECIES. A system that
was SIMPLE and which significantly reduced the COMPLEXITY and CONFUSION that

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existed up to that TIME, in naming the various PLANTS and ANIMALS by different
TAXONOMISTS.
In PLANT CLASSIFICATION, LINNAEUS emphasized the use of the
characteristics of the SEX ORGANS (STAMEN and PISTILS) to DIFFERENTIATE the
SPECIES. He also made an effort to develop a clear and concise STYLE to describe
the SPECIES, which facilitated the PROCESS of CLASSIFICATION.
LINNAEUS passion for CLASSIFICATION was evident in all his
TAXONOMICAL STUDIES.
His SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION consisted in:
- GROUPING RELATED INDIVIDUALS into SPECIES.
- GROUPING RELATED SPECIES into GENERA.
- GROUPING RELATED GENERA into FAMILIES.
- GROUPING RELATED FAMILIES into ORDERS.
- GROUPING RELATED ORDERS into CLASSES.
It was the French Anatomist, GORGES CUVIER, who created the PHYLA
CATEGORY to GROUP the RELATED CLASSES.
LINNAEUS classified the HUMAN SPECIES and named it HOMO SAPIENS.
LINNAEUS was only CLASSIFYING the HUMAN BODY. He considered the HUMAN
SOUL to be outside the ANIMAL KINGDOM and part of our DIVINE LEGACY.
LINNAEUS was a firm believer in CREATIONISM.
Although TAXONOMY is a rather amorphous and tedious BIOLOGICAL
ENDEAVOR, LINNAEUS did establish a strong sense of ORGANIZATION,
CLASSIFICATION, and PURPOSE in the FIELD of TAXONOMY.
His philosophy motivated TAXONOMISTS and SCIENTISTS in general, to
believe in TAXONOMY or SYSTEMATICS as a significant DISCIPLINE to understand
BIOLOGY and to develop strong relationships among all sciences.
LINNAEUS’ studies on the ORGANIZATION and CLASSIFICATION of all LIFE,
were an extremely powerful CATALYST, which made BIOLOGISTS observe that
there was a NATURAL SEQUENCE in LIVING ORGANISMS, which strongly suggested
the presence of some kind of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS. This

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EVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION seemed to relate all LIVING ORGANISMS in a way
that created a TREE of LIFE, as DARWIN came to believe.
The GEOLOGIC ORIGIN and EVOLUTION of our PLANET EARTH was also a
magnificent example of the presence of an EVOLUTIONARY NATURAL PROCESS,
which seemed to explain the existence of ALL GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS. This, within
the FRAMEWORK of a LONG and EXTENDED SPAN of TIME. TIME was the KEY
REQUIREMENT, not only in GEOLOGY but also in BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION. An IDEA
that was later fully recognized and proposed by CHARLES DARWIN.
The biologists and taxonomists that followed CARL LINNAEUS went on to
extend and improve LINNAEUS’ SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION. These new
TAXONOMISTS did make a concerted effort to make LINNAEUS’ TAXONOMY less
ARTIFICIAL and more NATURAL, by using CHARACTERISTICS that were more
obvious to the HUMAN EYE. Properties that were easier to recognize and to use in
the PROCESS of DIFFERENTIATION between SPECIES.
The TAXONOMISTS who continued LINNAEUS’ prodigious work were also
MEN of SCIENCE with GREAT CREATIVITY and ENTHUSIASM. These taxonomists
included: JEAN B. LAMARCK, ANTOINE De JUSSIEU, GEORGES CUVIER, AUGUSTIN
CANDOLLE, ROBERT BROWN, RICHARD OWEN and JEAN AGASSIZ.

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LINNAEUS’ PUBLICATIONS
When CARL LINNAEUS appeared in the BIOLOGICAL WORLD, the sciences of
BOTANY and ZOOLOGY were starting to gain some identity, which was largely
associated with the fields of PRACTICAL MEDICINE and MEDICINAL PLANTS.
LINNEAUS wrote several books, which he believed were needed to create a
BODY of INFORMATION that would DEFINE, ORGANIZE and ENRICH the
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. With this effort, LINNAEUS started to give BOTANY and
ZOOLOGY a SERIOUS IDENTITY as SCIENCES of their own. TAXONOMY received the
greatest benefits from LINNAEUS’ STUDIES, WRITINGS, DEDICATION and GENIUS.
In his books, which he wrote after many years of RESEARCH and
EXPEDITIONS into NATURE, LINNAEUS created many BASIC RULES,
NOMENCLATURE, DEFINITIONS and SPECIFIC WAYS to describe the various
SPECIES. This also remains me of the magnificent contributions made by ANTOINE
LAVOISIER to the SCIENCE of CHEMISTRY. These were two GIANTS in the sciences.
A very significant contribution that LINNAEUS made to TAXONOMY was the
introduction of his BINOMIAL SYSTEM of NAMING LIVING ORGANISMS, using the
GENUS and SPECIES NAMES. This new approach in NOMENCLATURE was extremely
useful in SIMPLIFYING and STANDARDIZING the NAMING of SPECIES, which had
become a CONFUSING LABYRINTH of NAMES that lacked UNIFORMITY,
COORDINATION and COMMON SENSE.
The many SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS that were made in the 17th and 18th
Centuries by noted NATURALISTS included the travels of the famous German
Naturalist, ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. His EXPEDITION resulted in the
COLLECTION of many PLANT and ANIMAL SPECIES, which were in need of NAMES
and ORGANIZATION that were PRACTICAL.
In 1753, LINNAEUS himself had counted over 8,000 new SPECIES of
FLOWERING PLANTS.
The two most outstanding BOOKS that LINNAEUS wrote were: SYSTEMA
NATURAE and SPECIES PLANTARUM, which gave MODERN BOTANICAL and
ZOOLOGICAL TAXONOMIES a FIRM SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION that became
respected by the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY all over the world

352

SYSTEMA NATURAE, PUBLISHED IN 1735 AND 1758
The FIRST EDITION (1735) of SYSTEMA NATURAE consisted of 7 pages; the
10th Edition (1758) had expanded into a 2,500-page book, which became a CLASSIC
TREATISE in BOTANY.
In this book, LINNAEUS established a new system of CLASSIFICATION of
SPECIES and presented much information on the GLOBAL FAUNA. He INTRODUCED
a concise STYLE of DESCRIBING SPECIES, which became a CLASSIC MODEL for all
TAXONOMISTS. LINNAEUS also presented in this book his BINOMIAL SYSTEM of
NAMING ORGANISMS using GENUS and SPECIES.
In the case of PLANTS, his new system of CLASSIFICATION was largely based
on the STRUCTURE of the REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. This was a time when
BOTANISTS were even debating whether or not PLANTS had SEXUALITY and
therefore the idea of using SEX ORGANS in TAXONOMY was accepted with some
reservations.

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SPECIES PLANTARUM, PUBLISHED IN 1753
In this book, LINNAEUS presented extensive DATA on GLOBAL FLORA, which
provided the SCIENCE of BOTANY a significant and serious BODY of SCIENTIFIC
INFORMATION.

FLORA LAPPONICA, PUBLISHED IN 1737
Here, LINNAEUS presented a beautiful and comprehensive account of the
SPECIES he had studied during his 1732 EXPEDITION to the region of LAPLAND.

Other publications by LINNAEUS were:
CRITICA BOTANICA, PUBLISHED IN 1735.
Here he presented his ideas on the formation of GENERIC NAMES.
GENERA PLANTARUM, PUBLISHED IN 1735.
This publication included a list and descriptions of all known GENERA.
FUNDAMENTA BOTANICA, PUBLISHED IN 1736.
This book contained his RULES for DESCRIBING the various SPECIES.
CLASSES PLANTARUM, PUBLISHED IN 1737.
This study contained information and descriptions of PLANT CLASSES.
PHILOSOPHIA BOTANICA, PUBLISHED IN 1751
In this book LINNAEUS created and established additional RULES for
describing SPECIES. It also contained a COMPLETE ACCOUNT of his NEW SYSTEM of
CLASSIFICATION. In addition, he described how to keep a TRAVEL JOURNEY and
how to MAINTAIN a BOTANICAL GARDEN.
With the acceptance of CHARLES DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION,
LINNAEUS’ SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION experienced some FUNDAMENTAL
CHANGES, particularly in the TAXONOMIC LEVEL of the SPECIES. The main
implication was the need to change the NEW SCIENCE of TAXONOMY from a STATIC
and PERMANENT SYSTEM to one that could accommodate the NEW DYNAMIC and
EVOLUTIONARY WORLD of CHARLES DARWIN.
In 1741, CARL LINNAEUS, our LITTLE BOTANIST, was appointed CHAIR of
MEDICINE and in 1742, CHAIR of the BOTANY DEPARTMENT.

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 LINNAEUS spent most of his life teaching and was an excellent and inspiring
Professor who sent his students all over the WORLD to look for NEW FORMS of
LIFE. LINNAEUS called his devoted students his APOSTLES.
During the summers, LINNAEUS frequently took his students exploring the
FLORA and FAUNA in the vicinity of Uppsala.
In 1750, LINNAEUS became Rector of Uppsala University, where he started
an ERA when the SCIENCES acquired a great degree of IDENTITY and RESPECT.
In 1761, CARL LINNAEUS was ennobled and was given the right to call
himself CARL VON LINNE. He was also appointed a MEMBER of the SWEDISH
HOUSE of NOBLES.
After his death, his BOOKS and COLLECTIONS were bought by the English
Naturalist, JAMES EDWARD SMITH, who took them to England. LINNAEUS’
COLLECTIONS served as the basis for the establishment of the ENGLISH
BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, now known as the LINNAEAN SOCIETY of LONDON.
CARL LINNEAUS was admired all over the world. The great Swiss
Philosopher, JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU, said, “Tell him I know no greater man on
Earth”. The German Writer, JOHANN W. VON GOETHE, wrote, “With the exception of
Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has
influenced me more strongly”. The Swedish Author, AUGUST STRINDBERG, wrote:
“LINNEAUS was in reality a POET who happened to become a NATURALIST”.
LINNAEUS was also called the “PRINCEPS BOTANICORUM” (the PRINCE of
BOTANISTS), “The PLINY of the NORTH” and “The SECOND ADAM”.
Before CARL LINNAEUS, scientists recognized that all things on EARTH could
be classified into three general categories, or KINGDOMS: The PLANT KINGDOM, the
ANIMAL KINGDOM and the MINERAL KINGDOM.
The KINGDOMS are still the most general TAXONOMIC LEVELS of
CLASSIFICATION.
With CARL LINNAEUS, the classification of all LIVING THINGS became much
more detailed, logical and comprehensive. He created several TAXONOMIC LEVELS
of CLASSIFICATION, namely: SPECIES, GENERA, FAMILIES, ORDERS and CLASSES.

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The last LEVEL, the PHYLA was later introduced by the French Anatomist, GEORGES
L. CUVIER.

See the following table with examples for the various CATEGORICAL LEVELS:

TABLE WITH EXAMPLES OF LINNAEUS’ CLASSIFICATION

LEVELS MAN CHIMPANZEE MONKEY DOG CAT
Kingdom Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia
Phylum Chordata Chordata Chordata Chordata Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebrata Vertebrata Vertebrata Vertebrata
Class Mammalia Mammalia Mammalia Mammalia Mammalia
Order Primate Primate Primate Carnivora Carnivora
Suborder Anthropoidea --- --- --- ---
Family Hominidae Hominidae --- Canidae Felidae
Genus Homo Pan --- Canis Felis
Species Sapiens Triglodytes --- Lupus Catus

According to the American Biologist and Ecologist from CORNELL
UNIVERSITY, ROBERT HARDING WHITTAKER (1920 - 1980) the number of
BIOLOGICAL KINGDOMS have increased from TWO (PLANTS and ANIMALS) to FIVE
and possibly SIX KINGDOMS, namely: ANIMALIA, PLANTAE, FUNGI, PROTISTA,
MONERA and VIRUS.
All these new BIOLOGICAL and TAXONOMIC CHANGES reflected the dynamic
nature of the science of TAXONOMY and of the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES in general.
We shall now present some of the TAXONOMISTS, who followed and
continued to expand the prodigious work of CARL LINNAEUS, namely: JEAN
LAMARCK, ANTOINE De JUSSIEU, GEORGES CUVIER, AUGUSTIN CANDOLLE,
ROBERT BROWN, RICHARD OWEN and JEAN AGASSIZ.

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 THE POST LINNAEAN TAXONOMY
The POST LINNAEAN TAXONOMY represented the continuation and
expansion of the fundamental and visionary work of CARL LINNAEUS by
TAXONOMISTS like JEAN LAMARCK, ANTOINE De JUSSIEU, GEORGES CUVIER and
AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE.
The TAXONOMIC EXPANSION that came during the next decades not only
embraced LINNAEUS’ TAXONOMY, but it also made a concerted effort to use a more
NATURAL APPROACH to CLASSIFICATION. In addition, TAXONOMISTS also made an
attempt to accommodate the implications that came with CHARLES DARWIN’S
THEORY of EVOLUTION and with GREGOR MENDEL’S NEW LAWS of GENETICS
within the domain of SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION.

JARDIN des PLANTES or JARDIN du ROI IN FRANCE

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 JEAN LAMARCK
THE FOUNDER OF MODERN INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
AND TAXONOMY.
THE FIRST TO USE THE TERMS VERTEBRATES AND
INVERTEBRATES.

















JEAN LAMARCK (1744 - 1829) French Naturalist.
JEAN LAMARCK, son of an Aristocratic Family, took a long time fighting
WARS before he was able to find his interest in the SCIENCES.
LAMARCK was a very intuitive Biologist who entered the NEW WORLD of
NATURAL HISTORY with an interest in two new and exciting areas of science,
TAXONOMY and EVOLUTION. These two choices were indeed VISIONARY, given
that TAXONOMY and BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION were to become two of the most
important sciences in the 19th Century.

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 LAMARCK is considered one of the FOUNDERS of MODERN INVERTEBRATE
ZOOLOGY and TAXONOMY. He was also one of the first TAXONOMISTS to introduce
a THEORY of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.
LAMARCK became interested in BOTANY, especially after his visit to the
JARDIN du ROI in Paris, where he became a student of the notable French Naturalist,
BERNARD De JUSSIEU.
Under JUSSIEU, LAMARCK spent ten years studying the FRENCH FLORA. In
1778, he published his observations in a THREE-VOLUME BOOK entitled, FLORE
FRANCOISE, which gave him considerable status as a botanist.
The French Naturalist, GEORGES L. BUFFON (1707 - 1788) helped LAMARCK
gain membership to the FRENCH ACADEMY of SCIENCES in 1779 and then in 1781
he obtained a commission as ROYAL BOTANIST.
In 1793, LAMARCK had the great opportunity to become PROFESSOR of
INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY at the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY in Paris.
CARL LINNAEUS had spent much of his time classifying the VERTEBRATES,
but had had little time to work on the CLASSIFICATION of the INVERTEBRATES.
This task was left for LAMARCK to later investigate.
LAMARCK took the opportunity to start a SERIOUS STUDY on the
CLASSIFICATION of INVERTEBRATES, which was in much disarray.
He differentiated the EIGHT-LEGGED ARACHNIDS (SPIDERS, TICKS, MITES
and SCORPIONS) from the SIX-LEGGED INSECTS. He also established a reasonable
category for the CRUSTACEOUS (CRABS, LOBSTERS, etc.) and for the
ECHINODERMS (STARFISH, SEA URCHINS, etc.).
LAMARCK finally published between 1815 and 1822 a SEVEN-VOLUME
BOOK entitled, NATURAL HISTORY OF INVERTEBRATES, which led to the creation
of MODERN INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY. This book also provided him with much
INTERNATIONAL PRESTIGE as a BIOLOGIST.
LAMARCK was the first to use the terms VERTEBRATES and
INVERTEBRATES, and the first to popularize the use of the word BIOLOGY.

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 In 1809, LAMARCK published his book entitled, ZOOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY,
where he outlined his new THEORY of EVOLUTION.
His THEORY of EVOLUTION was the logical outcome of studying ANIMAL
CLASSIFICATION for many years and observing the VARIABILITY and apparent
GRADATION of CHARACTERISTICS in these ANIMALS, which strongly suggested a
PROCESS of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION. BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION was actually
steering, right in front of their eyes, at every turn!
This was also experienced by other TAXONOMISTS who could not avoid
observing the occurrence of some kind of EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS when studying
the relationships among the various ANIMALS.
LAMARCK was the first of the great BIOLOGISTS to devise a serious scheme
of ORGANIC EVOLUTION. Here, he rationalized an EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT
of LIFE where the various SPECIES were not STABLE and PERMANENT, but where
they CHANGED and EVOLVED into NEW SPECIES.

LAMARCK’S GIRAFFE AND ADAPTATION

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 ANTOINE De JUSSIEU
CREATED A NATURAL SYSTEM OF PLANT CLASSIFICATION

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ANTOINE LAURENT De JUSSIEU (1748 - 1836) French Botanist.
ANTOINE De JUSSIEU was a member of a distinguished family of BOTANISTS.
His uncle, BERNARD De JUSSIEU, was the first to classify SEA ANEMONES and other
related creatures as ANIMALS instead of PLANTS. His uncle, JOSEPH De JUSSIEU had
been a member of a Peruvian expedition, La CONDAMINE.
ANTOINE began his BOTANICAL WORK in 1765 under his uncle BERNARD,
and obtained his DOCTORAL DEGREE in 1770.
ANTOINE was among the first TAXONOMISTS to use and popularize in 1789
a NATURAL SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION for FLOWERING PLANTS. Much of his
SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION remains in use today and many of the PLANT FAMILIES
are still attributed to JUSSIEU.

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 From his study of FLOWERING PLANTS, JUSSIEU published in 1789 the book
entitled GENERA PLANTARUM, where he presented a new METHODOLOGY based
on the use of multiple CHARACTERISTICS to define GROUPS. This was a significant
improvement over the ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM that had been proposed by CARL
LINNAEUS, where LINNAEUS only used the SEXUAL PARTS of FLOWERS, STAMENS
and PISTILS.
JUSSIEU did continue to use LINNAEUS’ BINOMIAL SYSTEM of NAMING
SPECIES (GENUS and SPECIES).
The famous Taxonomists that followed him, such as GEORGES CUVIER and
AUGUSTIN CANDOLLE, continued to use JUSSIEU’S approach to PLANT
CLASSIFICATION.
JUSSIEU was appointed in 1793 Professor of Botany at the JARDIN des
PLANTES in Paris, where he stayed until his retirement in 1826.
JUSSIEU’S NATURAL SYSTEM of PLANT CLASSIFICATION was a magnificent
contribution to MODERN PLANT TAXONOMY.
In 1788, ANTOINE De JUSSIEU was elected a FOREIGN MEMBER of the
ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

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 GEORGES CUVIER
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND
PALEONTOLOGY WHO MADE A CLASSIC STUDY OF FOSSILS

GEORGES LEOPOLD CUVIER (1769 - 1832) French Anatomist and Naturalist.
GEORGES CUVIER, a descendent from the FRENCH HUGUENOTS, was a
precocious child who went on to become a brilliant scientist.
CUVIER became one of the most eminent French and European Naturalists
and Biologists.
GEORGES CUVIER is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of the science of
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY and one of the FOUNDERS of PALEONTOLOGY because of
his outstanding studies on ANIMAL FOSSILS.
CUVIER was also a strong supporter of the THEORY of CATASTROPHISM,
proposed by the Swiss Naturalist, CHARLES BONNET (1720 - 1793), who advanced
the idea that the EARTH’S GEOLOGIC EVOLUTION was a result of a number of
PERIODIC GLOBAL CATASTROPHES (FLOODS, VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, etc.). One of

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the last CATASTROPHES was supposed to have been the GREAT FLOOD described in
GENESIS, as a result of DIVINE INTERVENTION.
CUVIER was also a strong supporter of the THEORY of NEPTUNISM,
proposed by the German Geologist, ABRAHAM G. WERNER (1750 - 1817), who
suggested that much of the EARTH’S GEOLOGY and GEOMORPHOLOGY was created
by VOLCANIC ACTION (VOLCANISM) and by the DEPOSITION of SEDIMENTS due to
the action of WATER and FLOODS.
Opposite to CATASTROPHISM, was the THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM,
proposed by the Scottish Geologist, JAMES HUTTON (1726 - 1797) and SIR
CHARLES LYELL (1797 - 1875). They believed that the EARTH’S GEOLOGIC
HISTORY could be explained in terms of a SLOW and CONTINUOUS PROCESS of
CHANGES of the EARTH’S SURFACE due to the everyday action of WIND and WATER
(LAND EROSION, LAND SLIDES, AVALANCHES, etc.) as we observe today.
Although UNIFORMITARIANISM is accepted today as the predominant
GEOLOGIC PROCESS of CHANGE, CATASTROPHISM also contributes to the
formation of the EARTH’S GEOLOGY and GEOMORPHOLOGY.
The THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM as the SLOW PROCESS responsible for
creating the EARTH’S GEOLOGY and GEOMORPHOLOGY was also more in line with
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION where the EVOLUTION of LIFE took place slowly
through LONG and EXTENDED SPANS of TIME. TIME was the KEY FACTOR.
GEORGES CUVIER actually began his illustrious career in NATURAL HISTORY
in 1795 when he obtained a position at the MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY in Paris.
CUVIER became interested in ANIMAL ANATOMY, especially in comparing
the ANATOMY of one SPECIES relative to other SPECIES.
CUVIER developed such a great knowledge and talent in COMPARATIVE
ANATOMY that from observing a few BONES, he could reconstruct the BONE
ANATOMY of the ENTIRE ANIMAL. This PROCESS was so difficult and complex that
even today, it amazes BIOLOGISTS who admire CUVIER’S creativity and imagination.
This is why CUVIER is regarded as one of the FOUNDERS of COMPARATIVE
ANATOMY.

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 CUVIER’S talents in COMPARATIVE ANATOMY represented such a STRONG
FORCE that it led him toward an enthusiastic dedication to the CLASSIFICATION of
SPECIES.
CUVIER extended and perfected the CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM proposed by
CARL LINNEAUS. He went on to group related CLASSES (which was LINNEAUS’
broadest LEVEL of CLASSIFICATION) into a new and BROADER LEVEL of
CLASSIFICATION, the PHYLA.
CUVIER divided the ANIMAL KINGDOM into FOUR PHYLA: VERTEBRATA,
MOLLUSCA, ARTICULATA and RADIATA.
In his CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM, CUVIER emphasized the use of the
INTERNAL STRUCTURES of ANIMALS rather than the SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS.
Our MODERN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM is more complex than the one
proposed by CUVIER and some two dozens of ANIMAL PHYLA are now recognized.
CUVIER’S PRINCIPLES of CLASSIFICATION have guided BIOLOGISTS ever
since. One of CUVIER’S associates, the Swiss-French Botanist, AUGUSTIN CANDOLLE
went on to apply CUVIER’S ideas to the CLASSIFICATION of PLANTS, which had
been initiated by ANTOINE De JUSSIEU.
CUVIER was among the first to extend LINNEAUS’ SYSTEM of
CLASSIFICATION to FOSSILS. CUVIER observed that EVERY FOSSIL that he had
found, although different from any LIVING FORM, was clearly a MEMBER of one of
the FOUR PHYLA he had established.
In 1796, CUVIER started his FOSSIL CLASSIFICATION with a creature that
was clearly a form of ELEPHANT; however, it did not belong to any of the two
existing LIVING SPECIES of ELEPHANTS. He also showed that an EXTINCT SOUTH
AMERICAN ANIMAL, the MEGATHERIUM, was a GROUND SLOTH related to the
much smaller SLOTHS of today.
In 1812, CUVIER exhibited the spectacular FOSSIL of a FLYING CREATURE,
which had TRUE WINGS, but was nevertheless clearly a REPTILE. He named this
PREHISTORIC and SCARY CREATURE, the PTERODACTYL (meaning an ANIMAL
with WING-FINGERS) because it had an enormous FINGER that was united to the
WINGS by a LARGE MEMBRANE.

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 CUVIER’S MEGATHERIUM

CUVIER eventually saw his first DINOSAUR (discovered in 1822) and
classified it as a MAMMALIAN rather than a REPTILIAN.
CUVIER observed that FOSSILS were indeed FOSSILIZED REMNANTS of
ANCIENT CREATURES that had been buried in DEEP ROCK STRATA. He also made
the significant observation that the DEEPER the FOSSILS were found, the OLDER the
ROCKS were and the more the FOSSILS DIFFERED in STRUCTURE from the
MODERN EXISTING LIFE FORMS.
Given our superior wisdom in hindsight, it was hard to believe that CUVIER
did not develop some sort of EVOLUTIONARY THEORY, as the French Naturalist
JEAN LAMARCK had done before him. CUVIER was a confirmed ANTI-
EVOLUTIONIST and a firm believer in GENESIS.
To explain the relationship between the AGE of FOSSILS and the AGE of ROCK
STRATA, CUVIER used BONNET’S THEORY of CATASTROPHISM, which indicated

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that with each GLOBAL FLOOD, the SPECIES had died and NEW SPECIES had been
created.
Because of CUVIER’S outstanding studies with FOSSILS he is regarded as one
of the FOUNDERS of PALEONTOLOGY.
In 1808, NAPOLEON BONAPARTE placed CUVIER in charge of investigating
the STATE of EDUCATION in France. CUVIER became the CHANCELLOR of the
IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, which is now the University of Paris.
In 1818, CUVIER was elected to the FRENCH ACADEMY of SCIENCES.
In 1831, the new KING, LOUIS PHILIPPE, made CUVIER a BARON.
CUVIER died of CHOLERA during the EPIDEMIC of 1832.
CUVIER was one of the MASTER’S of ERUDITION in the HISTORY of SCIENCE.
It has been reported that CUVIER virtually memorized the ENTIRE content of the
BOOKS in his LIBRARY.

CUVIER ON COMPARATIVE ANATOMY

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 AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE
INTRODUCED A NEW NATURAL SYSTEM OF
PLANT CLASSIFICATION



















AUGUSTIN PYRAME De CANDOLLE (1778 - 1841) Swiss-French Botanist.
AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE was a member of a HUGUENOT FAMILY, one of the
oldest families in Provence, France. He was the first of four generations of
BOTANISTS in the CANDOLLE DYNASTY.
CANDOLLE was an outstanding student with several interests, including
LITERATURE, but eventually he chose BOTANY as his lifetime passion and
profession.

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 In 1796, CANDOLLE moved to Paris where he obtained his MEDICAL
DEGREE in 1804 at the University of Paris. In about 1807-1808, he was appointed
Professor of Botany at the University of Montpellier and began his illustrious career
as a BOTANIST.
In the early 1800’s, CANDOLLE began to prepare a large PLANT STUDY and
eventually he published an ENCYCLOPEDIA and other BOOKS, which impressed the
great French Naturalists, JEAN B. LAMARCK and GEORGES L. CUVIER.
CANDOLLE spent six years making a BOTANICAL and AGRICULTURAL
SURVEY of France at the request of the government, which he published in 1813.
He was the first to propose the word TAXONOMY to identify the SCIENCE of
CLASSIFICATION.
In 1816, CANDOLLE was appointed Professor of Botany and later on became
the head of the DEPARTMENT of NATURAL HISTORY at the University of Geneva,
where he remained the rest of his life.
Although CANDOLLE’S work was mainly on PLANT CLASSIFICATION, he also
contributed to MEDICAL and ECONOMIC BOTANY, AGRONOMY and
PALEONTOLOGY.
CANDOLLE continued to expand the outstanding work on PLANT
TAXONOMY initiated by the French Naturalists, ANTOINE De JUSSIEU and GEORGES
CUVIER, and he went on to made very significant contributions to PLANT
CLASSIFICATION.
CANDOLLE’S main contribution to TAXONOMY was the introduction of a new
NATURAL SYSTEM of PLANT CLASSIFICATION, where he used a more NATURAL
APPROACH than those introduced by LINNAEUS, JUSSIEU and CUVIER.
He spent the rest of his life improving and completing his NATURAL SYSTEM
of BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION, which is largely used today.
CANDOLLE was among the first to recognize the differences between the
MORPHOLOGICAL and the PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES of PLANT ORGANS and to
use them in his TAXONOMY.

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 He was also among the first to introduce the idea of PLANTS being at WAR, or
PLANTS COMPETING with each other for SPACE and other RESOURCES, such as
WATER, NUTRIENTS and LIGHT.
CHARLES DARWIN studied CANDOLLE’S ideas on PLANTS COMPETITION for
RESOURCES and THOMAS MALTHUS’ ideas on PEOPLE COMPETITION for FOOD.
These concepts became an integral part of DARWIN’S IDEAS on the ORIGIN of
SPECIES by MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION.
In 1839, CANDOLLE visited England and DARWIN invited him to dinner,
which allowed them the opportunity to discuss their VIEWS on LIVING ORGANISMS
and their COMPETITION for RESOURCES.
AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE published several major books between 1798 and
1824, which made significant contributions to the SCIENCES of BOTANY and PLANT
TAXONOMY.

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 ROBERT BROWN
DISCOVERED THE BROWNIAN MOVEMENT OF PARTICLES.
USED THE MICROSCOPE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE NUCLEUS
WAS A PERMANENT COMPONENT OF THE CELL.
HE WAS THE FIRST TO SEPARATE HIGHER PLANTS INTO
GYMNOSPERMS AND ANGIOSPERMS

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ROBERT BROWN (1773 - 1858) Scottish Botanist.
ROBERT BROWN, the son of an Anglican Minister, made significant
contributions to BOTANY, PLANT TAXONOMY, CELL ANATOMY and SCIENCE,
through the use of the EARLY MICROSCOPES.
BROWN was the first to recognize in the early 1830’s, the importance of the
CELL NUCLEUS as a PERMANENT COMPONENT of the CELL.
BROWN was also among the first to observe, in 1827, the phenomenon that
we now know as the BROWNIAN MOVEMENT, where POLLEN PARTICLES and
INORGANIC DUST PARTICLES moved RANDOMLY in ALL DIRECTIONS when
suspended in WATER. He recognized that such MOTION was a PHYSICAL PROCESS
not caused by any LIVING ORGANISM, but by the motion of the WATER
MOLECULES.
The phenomenon of BROWNIAN MOVEMENT helped to confirm the
existence of the ATOM and JOHN DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY proposed in 1800.
Also the KINETIC THEORY of GASES proposed in the 1860’s by the Scottish
Physicist, JAMES CLERK MAXWELL. LUDWIG BOLTZMANN and RUDOLF CLAUSIUS
later expanded the KINETIC THEORY. In 1905, ALBERT EINSTEIN also made a
MATHEMATICAL CHARACTERIZATION of the BROWNIAN MOVEMENT.
In PLANT TAXONOMY, BROWN pioneered the use of the MICROSCOPE. He
was the first to separate the HIGHER PLANTS into GYMNOSPERMS and
ANGIOSPERMS. BROWN created a number of new PLANT FAMILIES, GENERA and
SPECIES, still recognized today.
In 1801, with the recommendation of the English Botanist, SIR JOSEPH
BANKS, BROWN was assigned to the post of NATURALIST in a voyage to the new
and unexplored continent of NEW HOLLAND (now known as AUSTRALIA).
In 1805, BROWN returned to England with about 3,400 SPECIES of PLANTS,
where some 2,000 were new SPECIES.
In classifying his PLANT COLLECTION from Australia, BROWN made use of
the MICROSCOPE and applied the NATURAL SYSTEM of CLASSIFICATION that had
been proposed by ANTOINE De JUSSIEU and AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE. He wrote a

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large TREATISE on his AUSTRALIAN PLANTS, which was published in 1810.
BROWN wrote several other significant publications on PLANT TAXONOMY.
In 1811, BROWN was elected to the ROYAL SOCIETY of LONDON.
In 1822, BROWN was also elected a FELLOW of the LINNEAN SOCIETY and a
FOREIGN MEMBER of the SWEDISH ROYAL ACADEMY of SCIENCES.
In 1837, BROWN became the first keeper of the BOTANICAL GARDEN of
LONDON.
ROBERT BROWN served as PRESIDENT of the LINNEAN SOCIETY from 1849
to 1853.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

WHERE SOME OF THE GREAT COLLECTIONS OF NATURAL HISTORY
ARE BEEN PRESERVED FOR THE BENEFIT OF MAN KIND, SCIENCE
AND HISTORY.

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 RICHARD OWEN
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND
PALEONTOLOGY AND THE TRUE SUCCESSOR OF GEORGES CUVIER.
THE FIRST OF THE GREAT DINOSAUR HUNTERS.
HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CREATION OF THE BRITISH
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

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RICHARD OWEN (1804 - 1892) English Anatomist and Paleontologist.
RICHARD OWEN, son of a Merchant, obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1826
from the University of Edinburgh. After completing his education he was appointed
Assistant to the CONSERVATOR of the MUSEUM of the ROYAL COLLEGE of
SURGEONS.
In 1830, OWEN had the opportunity to meet the great French Naturalist and
Anatomist, GEORGES CUVIER when he visited London. This meeting had a
significant impact on OWEN’S career. OWEN then went to Paris to study and became
keenly interested in the field of COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.
OWEN started his studies in ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION and went on to
develop a great reputation in the field of COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, a field that he
enlarged and enriched through the years.
OWEN did extensive dissections of ANIMALS and began to publish, in 1831,
several outstanding ANATOMICAL STUDIES. In 1852 while dissecting a
RHINOCEROS, he discovered the PARATHYROID GLANDS. Another generation
passed before these GLANDS were discovered in HUMANS.
He was another ANATOMIST interested in the SKULL THEORY that had been
supported by the German Naturalist, LORENZ OKEN.
OWEN became particularly interested in comparing TOOTH STRUCTURE, on
which he wrote a large TREATISE in the early 1840’s.
His interest in TEETH was due to the fact that TEETH were the hardest part
of the BODY and the most EASILY PRESERVED in FOSSILS. Moreover, from the
TEETH a great deal could be learned about the FEEDING HABITS and MODE of LIFE
of a CREATURE.
In 1832, OWEN published an outstanding paper entitled, HIS MEMOIR ON
THE PEARLY NAUTILUS, which was soon recognized as a CLASSIC STUDY. OWEN
became a prolific writer and went on to make many important contributions to
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY and ZOOLOGY during the next 50 years.
In 1835, he discovered the PARASITE, Trichina spiralis, which caused the
HUMAN MUSCLE DISEASE, TRICHINOSIS. This was later confirmed by the German
Zoologist, KARL G. LEUCKART, and the FOUNDER of MODERN PARASITOLOGY.

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 OWEN proposed, in 1832, the now universally accepted subdivision of the
MOLLUSCA CLASS into the TWO ORDERS, DIBRANCHIATA and
TETRABRANCHIATA.
In 1852, OWEN named the PROTICHNITES, the oldest FOOTPRINTS
(CAMBRIAN ERA) found on LAND and made by an ARTHROPOD.
OWEN also applied his knowledge of ANATOMY to the study of FOSSILS.
OWEN was the first of the GREAT DINOSAUR HUNTERS and the first to
propose, in 1842, the name DINOSAURIA, or TERRIBLE LIZARDS (from the Greek
words meaning DEINOS, or TERRIBLE and SAUROS, or LIZARD).
In 1854, he prepared the first FULL-SIZED RECONSTRUCTION of a
DINOSAUR for display at the CRYSTAL PALACE in London. This display arose
enormous interest in the field of PALEONTOLOGY.

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 In 1856, OWEN was appointed Superintendent of the NATURAL HISTORY
DEPARTMENT of the BRITISH MUSEUM. He became the true successor of GEORGES
CUVIER in the field of COMPARATIVE ANATOMY through most of the 19th Century.
OWEN was a good friend of CHARLES DARWIN for many years, but after the
publication of DARWIN’S GREAT BOOK, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF
NATURAL SELECTION, OWEN became DARWIN’S enemy and a great opponent of
the THEORY of EVOLUTION. Apparently, professional jealousy became a serious
issue with OWEN.
OWEN was one of the proponents of the creation of the now famous BRITISH
MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY in London, which was established in 1881.
In 1843, OWEN was elected a FOREIGN MEMBER of the ROYAL SWEDISH
ACADEMY of SCIENCES.
In 1884, SIR RICHARD OWEN was KNIGHTED by the QUEEN.
SIR RICHARD OWEN was among the last of the GREAT NATURALISTS and
NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS.

FOSSIL DINOSAUR SKELETONS

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 LOUIS AGASSIZ
HE WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO PROPOSE THE EXISTENCE OF
GLACIATION OR ICE AGES IN EUROPE & NORTH AMERICA.
WROTE AN OUTSTANDING TREATISE ON FOSSIL FISH

JEAN LOUIS AGASSIZ (1807 - 1873) Swiss-American Naturalist.
LOUIS AGASSIZ, son of a Minister, obtained his Ph.D. DEGREE at the
University of Erlanger in 1829, and his MEDICAL DEGREE at the University of
Munich in 1830.
AGASSIZ moved to Paris in 1832 where he became interested in GEOLOGY
because of ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT and in ZOOLOGY because of GEORGES
CUVIER. His interest in ICHTHYOLOGY (the study of FISH) soon became a very
important part of his professional life.
AGASSIZ grew up in Switzerland, the LAND of the GLACIERS and
GLACIOLOGY (the study of GLACIERS) a SCIENCE, which also became a significant
part of his career.

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 AGASSIZ has been recognized as one of the most outstanding scholars on the
EARTH’S NATURAL HISTORY and one of the last GREAT NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS
and HISTORIANS.
After his education, AGASSIZ was appointed Professor of Natural History at
the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland.
AGASSIZ made an important study on FOSSIL FISH, which he published in a
FIVE-VOLUME TREATISE between 1833 and 1844 under the sponsorship of the
GREAT NATURALIST, ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. For this work, AGASSIZ
received the WOLLASTON PRIZE in 1836, presented to him by the great Scottish
Geologist, SIR CHARLES LYELL.
In 1838, AGASSIZ was elected a FOREIGN MEMBER of the ROYAL SOCIETY of
LONDON.
The initial studies made by the German-Swiss Geologist, JOHANN VON
CHARPENTIER (1786 - 1855) and by the Swiss Geologist, IGNATZ VENETZ (1788 -
1859) suggesting that the existing GLACIERS had extended far beyond their present
location, attracted the attention of our young naturalist, LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Between 1836 and 1837, AGASSIZ explored the SWISS GLACIERS and was
able to find evidence that the GLACIERS had in fact moved and that GLACIERS had
existed in areas far beyond their present location and during times not ever
recorded in HUMAN HISTORY.
In 1839, AGASSIZ located a cabin that had been built on a GLACIER in 1827
and found that it had moved nearly a mile down the GLACIER from its original site.
He also drove a STRAIGHT LINE of STAKES clear across the GLACIER and by 1841
the STAKES had moved a good distance and had formed a U-SHAPED FIGURE. The
STAKES in the CENTER had moved faster than those at the EDGES, where the
GLACIER had moved less due to FRICTION with the MOUNTAIN WALLS.
In 1840, AGASSIZ published a TWO-VOLUME BOOK entitled, STUDIES OF
GLACIERS. Here, he presented his conclusions that GLACIERS had MOVED, creating
MORAINES, GROOVING, STRIATIONS and much DEBRIS, which were left in their
PATHS. Furthermore, he proposed that in the relatively recent past, GLACIERS had
moved beyond their present locations and had covered very large areas of the ALPS

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In Europe. He also indicated that Switzerland had been in the past, another
GREENLAND, completely covered with GLACIERS.
AGASSIZ was among the first to suggest that the EARTH had been subjected
to several GLACIATIONS, or ICE AGES, which had contributed with great changes on
the EARTH’S GEOLOGY and GEOMORPHOLOGY.
In 1840, AGASSIZ and the English Geologist and Paleontologist, WILLIAM
BUCKLAND (1784 - 1856) visited the MOUNTAINS of Scotland and found evidence
of the existence of ANCIENT GLACIERS. The MOUNTAINS of England, Wales and
Ireland were also included as GLACIATED AREAS. AGASSIZ reported this discovery
to the GEOLOGIC SOCIETY of LONDON.
In 1846, AGASSIZ was invited to come to the United States to study the
NATURAL HISTORY and GEOLOGY of North America, and to give a series of
LECTURES in Boston. The Scottish Geologist, SIR CHARLES LYELL, who had visited
the United States in the 1840’s to lecture on his THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM,
was the one who suggested that AGASSIZ be invited to lecture on GLACIATION and
FISH FOSSILS.
The success of AGASSIZ’S LECTURES and his interest on the NATURAL
HISTORY of North America, led him to stay in the United States. AGASSIZ spent
much of his life at Harvard University, where he proved to be an outstanding
lecturer and researcher. In 1861, AGASSIZ became an AMERICAN CITIZEN.
AGASSIZ trained a new generation of AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORIANS
who started a SIGNIFICANT MOVEMENT on the DEVELOPMENT of the NATURAL
HISTORY in the United States during the 19th Century.
AGASSIZ helped to develop the MUSEUM of COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY at
Harvard University, which was eventually named after him to honor his magnificent
contributions to NATURAL HISTORY. This MUSEUM was founded in 1858 based on
AGASSIZ’S PERSONAL COLLECTION of SPECIMENS in NATURAL HISTORY.
AGASSIZ continued his GEOLOGIC STUDIES and found many signs of
ANCIENT GLACIATIONS in North America. This indicated that North America had
also undergone an ICE AGE, which covered Canada and parts of Northern United
States.

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 AGASSIZ was also able to identify the existence of an ANCIENT LAKE, which
had once covered North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. This lake was later named
LAKE AGASSIZ in his honor.
The idea of an ICE AGE, which AGASSIZ revealed to the world, has been
extended to SEVERAL ICE AGES. These ICE AGES have contributed significantly to
changes in the EARTH’S GEOLOGIC HISTORY of North America and Europe.
AGASSIZ’S IDEAS on the existence of an ICE AGE made a MONUMENTAL
CONTRIBUTION to our GEOLOGY and our NATURAL HISTORY.
AGASSIZ, like other prominent NATURALISTS, including GEORGES CUVIER,
AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE and RICHARD OWEN, was not able to accept CHARLES
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION, although much of their studies were in fact
supportive of this magnificent THEORY in NATURAL HISTORY.
AGASSIZ is regarded as one of the most prominent NATURALISTS in the
United States and the WORLD.
In 1915, LOUIS AGASSIZ was elected to the HALL OF FAME FOR GREAT
AMERICANS.
By his grave at the MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY in Cambridge, a BOULDER
from a SWISS GLACIAL MORAINE has been placed there to honor his Swiss origin.

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 THE STORY OF CHARLES DARWIN
AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION IN BIOLOGY

The STORY of CHARLES DARWIN and his THEORY of EVOLUTION in the
BIOLOGICAL WORLD represents a magnificent SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY about an
incredibly EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS that was to change our conception of the
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES and LIFE ITSELF, and about our BEAUTIFUL GREEN
PLANET EARTH.
The concept of a BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS as an ESSENTIAL
and FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENT of LIFE and our LIVING ORGANISMS, was one of
the most FABULOUS DISCOVERIES of the 19th Century and one which was about to
create another SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION of unprecedented consequences.
This THEORY became a BIOLOGIC and SCIENTIFIC TSUNAMI with its
EPICENTER at the very core of the CLERGY, SOCIETY and the SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY itself. It sent POWERFUL WAVES that totally disrupted the MORAL
and SOCIAL INTEGRITY of our SCIENTIFIC and INTELLECTUAL FABRIC.
This BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION has been ranked in terms of its SCIENTIFIC
IMPACT, together with COPERNICUS’ HELIOCENTRIC THEORY of our COSMOS,
NEWTON’S LAWS of MOTION and UNIVERSAL GRAVITY, FARADAY’S THEORY of
ELECTROMAGNETISM, EINSTEIN’S THEORY of RELATIVITY and PLANCK’S
QUANTUM THEORY.
The fantastic discovery of the PROCESS of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION by
MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION earned CHARLES DARWIN the title of the
NEWTON of BIOLOGY.
It has been suggested that HUMILITY is a GREAT VIRTUE and a
MAGNIFICENT WAY to attain the ULTIMATE SUCCESS in LIFE. If this assumption is
acceptable then DARWIN, COPERNICUS, NEWTON, FARADAY, EINSTEIN and
PLANCK bestowed our HUMANITY with GREAT HONORS.
The Polish Astronomer, NICOLAS COPERNICUS with his HELIOCENTRIC
THEORY of our UNIVERSE, demoted our BEAUTIFUL PLANET EARTH from being

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the CENTER of our SOLAR SYSTEM to just being a simple and lonely GREEN PLANET
orbiting around the SUN in accordance to NATURAL LAWS, as proposed by
NEWTON and DESCARTES, within the domain of a MECHANICAL UNIVERSE.
The English Naturalist, CHARLES DARWIN, with his THEORY of BIOLOGICAL
EVOLUTION, demoted MAN from being the UNIQUE and DIVINE CREATION of GOD,
to just being a simple and lonely VERTEBRATE MAMMAL of the ANIMAL KINGDOM,
who once held hands with other PRIMATES.
Notwithstanding, we must remember to keep in our CHEST of HUMILITY and
TREASURES, the fact that MAN with his FANTASTIC INTUITIVENESS and WISDOM
has conceived some of the most SUBLIME IDEAS and CREATIONS in the WORLD of
ART, MUSIC and SCIENCE, ever imagined. HUMANITY and HUMILITY are indeed
among the most valuable TREASURES in our NATURAL HISTORY.
The two elite Physicists of all time, ALBERT EINSTEIN and MAX PLANCK
showed the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY that our best SCIENTIFIC
ACCOMPLISHMENTS are indeed, just SIMPLE and FUNDAMENTAL DISCOVERIES
lost in the IMMENSE DOMAIN of our FANTASTIC UNIVERSAL WISDOM.
It has been lucidly proven in the MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES that what we
know is always less than ONE PERCENT of what is there to be LEARNED and
UNDERSTOOD, within the INFINITY of SPACE and the ETERNITY of TIME.
In this context, we should not worry about the future because we will never
get THERE and THEN, simply because our FUTURE represents a TRULY NATURAL
COSMIC ASYMPTOTE.

EARLY IDEAS ON EVOLUTION
(BIOLOGICAL, GEOLOGIC AND COSMIC)
The STORY of EVOLUTION as a measure of CHANGE may be easily traced
back to the CLASSIC GREEK ERA and even further back in time to the SLAMIC and
ORIENTAL SOCIETIES.
The concept of CHANGE in the BIOLOGICAL WORLD as well as in the
GEOLOGIC and COSMIC DOMAIN was a relatively easy phenomenon to observe in

384
the ANIMAL KINGDOM and in the GEOLOGIC HISTORY of our PLANET EARTH. In
our COSMIC WORLD, CHANGES were commonly observed by the early
ASTRONOMERS to make predictions on WEATHER, SEASONS and AGRICULTURE.
These observations became much more detailed and intensified with the advent of
the TELESCOPE in the 16th and 17th Centuries and with GALILEO who found in our
COSMOS a UNIVERSE of DYNAMIC CHANGES.
The EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHERS were keen observers of NATURE and
their ideas on BIOLOGICAL CHANGES began with PHILOSOPHICAL SPECULATIONS
that varied greatly from CREATIONISM to EVOLUTIONISM and everything in
between.

EMPEDOCLES (490 - 430 B.C.) Greek Philosopher.
EMPEDOCLES believed in the creation of ORGANISMS by some
EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS.

EPICURUS (341 - 270 B.C.) Greek Philosopher.
EPICURUS believed in the SPONTANEOUS GENERATION of LIFE followed by
some PROCESS of EVOLUTION and NATURAL SELECTION.
The SCHOOL of ATHENS with PLATO and ARISTOTLE believed in the
creation of LIFE by DIVINE WISDOM. Notwithstanding, they also believed in the
TRANSFORMATION of SPECIES by some PRE-ORDAINED DESIGN. They were among
to first to CLASSIFY LIVING ORGANISMS into PLANTS, ANIMALS and HUMANS.

385
 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
BELIEVED IN CREATIONISM BUT ACCEPTED THE AUTONOMY OF
NATURE TO CHANGE LIVING ORGANISMS ACCORDING TO
A DIVINE DESIGN.



















THOMAS AQUINAS (1225 - 1274) Italian Philosopher and Theologian.
AQUINAS followed the ARISTOTELIAN SCHOOL and believed in the ORIGIN
of LIFE by CREATIONISM, but accepted the AUTONOMY of NATURE to continue to
change LIVING ORGANISMS according to a DIVINE DESIGN.
During the 18th and 19th Century there was also a great interest in studying
the EVOLUTION of the EARTH’S GEOLOGIC HISTORY, which was going to have a
very significant impact on the HISTORY of the EVOLUTION of LIFE on our PLANET.

386
 JAMES HUTTON, CHARLES LYELL and ABRAHAM WERNER introduced the
THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM to explain the EARTH’S GEOLOGIC HISTORY by
means of SLOW GEOLOGIC PROCESSES that took MILLIONS and MILLIONS of
YEARS. An idea that went against the BOOK of GENESIS, which made the EARTH a
much younger PLANET with a maximum age of 6,000 years.
However, the THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM favored DARWIN’S IDEA of
the SLOW EVOLUTION of LIFE by means of NATURAL SELECTION, which also
required LONG SPANS of TIME.

ALFRED WEGENER
PROPOSED THE ORIGIN OF OUR CONTINENTS
BY MEANS OF PLATE TECTONICS OR CONTINENTAL DRIFT

ALFRED WEGENER (1880 - 1930) German Geologist.
ALFRED WEGENER proposed, in the 1900’s, his THEORY of CONTINENTAL
DRIFT to explain the ORIGIN of our CONTINENTS by means of PLATE TECTONICS or
the LATERAL MOVEMENT of the EARTH’S LAYERS.

387
 PIERRE La PLACE - THE FRENCH NEWTON
PROPOSED A THEORY ON THE ORIGIN OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM















PIERRE SIMON La PLACE (1749 - 1827) French Mathematician and Astronomer.
La PLACE, also known as the FRENCH NEWTON, proposed in the 1800’s a
THEORY on the ORIGIN and EVOLUTION of our SOLAR SYSTEM in his book entitled,
CELESTIAL MECHANICS. Here, La PLACE expanded on NEWTON’S and
DESCARTES’S IDEAS that our SOLAR SYSTEM performed like a MECHANICAL
UNIVERSE, which functioned according to NATURAL LAWS, FORMULATED by
precise MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS.
With all these ideas on GEOLOGIC and COSMIC EVOLUTION, it was obvious
that the development of a THEORY on BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION was lagging and
very much in need of attention.
This scenario was soon corrected by the GREAT NATURALISTS and
TAXONOMISTS of the 18th Century.

388
 PRE-DARWIN IDEAS ON BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
The early ideas on the concept of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION came from the
GREAT TAXONOMISTS of the 18th Century, which included CARL LINNAEUS, JEAN
LAMARCK, ANTOINE De JUSSIEU, GEORGES CUVIER and AUGUSTIN De CANDOLLE.
These TAXONOMISTS were BIOLOGISTS in daily contact with individuals
from various SPECIES of ANIMALS, which exhibited different degrees VARIABILITY
in their CHARACTERISTICS.
For example, the observation of VARIATIONS in CHARACTERISTICS such as
the SHAPE and SIZE of the BEAKS and LEGS of BIRDS was a clear indication that
some EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS of CHANGE was taking place. This was actually
EVOLUTION taking place right in front of their eyes, every day!
It was virtually impossible for TAXONOMISTS to ignore these obvious
CHANGES in the various SPECIES and not try to find an explanation. One important
question would have been, what was causing this gradation of BIOLOGICAL
CHANGES in the various SPECIES and how was the ENVIRONMENT involved in
these DYNAMIC PROGRESSIONS.
It was most interesting that these TAXONOMISTS who had the most access to
observing BIOLOGICAL CHANGES and who had ample EVIDENCE of a PROCESS of
BIOLOGIC EVOLUTION right in front of their eyes, were not all able to accept
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION by NATURAL SELECTION.
Great TAXONOMISTS like CUVIER, CANDOLLE, OWEN and AGASSIZ were
firm believers in the ORIGIN of LIFE by way of CREATIONISM, or DIVINE WILL. In
fact, RICHARD OWEN went out of his way to publicly oppose DARWIN’S BOOK, on
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION, when it was first
published.
This ambiguity and ambivalence in the thinking of the early TAXONOMISTS
was perhaps due to the fact that they could OBSERVE DEEPER into the NATURE of
LIVING ORGANISMS and even perceive ALTERNATIVE WAYS to explain the
EVOLUTION of LIFE. This was in fact what occurred in the HISTORY of EVOLUTION.

389
 Before, during and after the appearance of DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION, other BIOLOGISTS had proposed alternative ways to explain
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION. The THEORY of EVOLUTION is in fact a very COMPLEX
and MULTIDIMENSIONAL PROCESS consisting of several closely related
PARAMETERS whose veracity have been challenged throughout the HISTORY of
EVOLUTION on the basis of BIOLOGICAL, TAXONOMICAL, ECOLOGICAL and
MATHEMATICAL EVALUATIONS.
One of the first TAXONOMISTS to make a concerted effort to create and
propose a NATURAL SCHEME of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION was the French
Naturalist, JEAN LAMARCK.


JEAN B. LAMARCK
ONE OF THE FIRST TAXONOMISTS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM OF
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.

390
JEAN BAPTISTE LAMARCK (1744 - 1829) French Naturalist.
JEAN LAMARCK was born on August 1, 1744 and received a LIMITED
FORMAL EDUCATION.
LAMARCK was among the first of the great biologists and taxonomists to
propose a BIOLOGICAL SYSTEM of EVOLUTION, or a TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES
(as EVOLUTION was first named), which proceeded in accordance with NATURAL
LAWS.
He was among the first to give the field of BIOLOGY an identity of its own as a
SPECIFIC SCIENCE just like the sciences of PHYSICS and CHEMISTRY.
LAMARCK was also among the last of the GREAT NATURALISTS who still
belonged to the OLD SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL. He believed in EMPEDOCLES’ FOUR
BASIC ELEMENTS (EARTH, WATER, AIR and FIRE) and in the ORIGIN of LIFE by
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION, two ideas that were to interfere with his future
thinking in the realm of MODERN BIOLOGY.
In 1800, LAMARCK began to develop his ideas on EVOLUTION and in 1809 he
published his book entitled PHILOSOPHIE ZOOLOGIQUE, where he outlined his new
THEORY on the TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES. In this book he proposed that the
various existing SPECIES were not STABLE or PERMANENT and that they had
developed from PREVIOUS SPECIES by means of NATURAL LAWS. He also referred
to GOD as the SUBLIME AUTHOR of NATURE who had provided a PREORDAINED
NATURAL DESIGN of the UNIVERSE.

391















LAMARCK proposed that EVOLUTION was driven by TWO NATURAL
FORCES, namely:
- A FORCE that drove ANIMALS to CHANGE from a SIMPLE to a more
COMPLEX FORM with a greater degree of ORGANIZATION.
- A FORCE that guided ANIMALS to ADAPT to their LOCAL ENVIRONMENT
and to EVOLVE into NEW SPECIES.
In his THEORY of EVOLUTION, LAMARCK emphasized the importance of the
INHERITANCE of ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS as a FUNDAMENTAL MEANS of
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.
LAMARCK believed that ORGANISMS tended to become more COMPLEX, thus
moving up the LADDER of an EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS to a higher level of
DEVELOPMENT and ADAPTATION. He argued that ORGANISMS changed from
SIMPLE to COMPLEX in a STEADY and PREDICTABLE WAY based on
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. This idea is now called THE THEORY of STEADY-
STATE BIOLOGY.

392
 In his view, SIMPLE ORGANISMS never disappeared because they were
constantly being created by SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. Here, it becomes evident
that his OLD BELIEVES were interfering with the development of the MODERN
EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS that came later with CHARLES DARWIN and ALFRED
WALLACE.
The other important component of LAMARCK’S THEORY of EVOLUTION was
his ideas on the ADAPTATION of ORGANISMS to their ENVIRONMENT, a PROCESS
that would result in the development of NEW SPECIES.
LAMARCK argued that these ADAPTIVE FORCES were due to the interaction
between the ORGANISMS and their ENVIRONMENT, and the USE and MISUSE of
some of their ORGANS. He also contended that the ADAPTIVE PROCESS could also
drive ORGANISMS to EVOLUTIONARY BLIND ALLEYS with negative results.
He visualized BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION as the result of an ANIMAL
attempting to ADAPT to the ENVIRONMENT. Like a GIRAFFE trying to develop a
LONGER TONGUE, NECK and LEGS in order to better reach the LEAVES on the
higher branches of a TREE. The idea of CREATIONISM was still present.
JEAN LAMARCK did make a significant contribution to BIOLOGY by bringing
to the attention of the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY the importance and need to develop
a THEORY on the NATURAL EVOLUTION of LIFE.

393
 GEORGES L. BUFFON
BELIEVED IN AN EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS WHERE NATURE WAS
THE PRODUCT OF A GRAND DESIGN



















GEORGES L. BUFFON (1707 - 1788) French Naturalist.
GEORGES BUFFON was born on September 7, 1707 and received his LAW
DEGREE in 1726 from the University of Dijon.
BUFFON became very impressed with the scientific developments in
England. He translated SIR ISAAC NEWTON’S work on CALCULUS and STEPHEN
HALES’ work on PLANTS in order to popularize these two great scientific works.
He was elected to the ROYAL SOCIETY in 1730 and to the ACADEMY of
SCIENCES in 1733. Eventually he became keeper of the FRENCH BOTANICAL

394
GARDENS, or the JARDIN du ROI, where he came to develop a permanent interest in
NATURAL HISTORY.
BUFFON wrote with other collaborators a FORTY-FOUR-VOLUME BOOK on
NATURAL HISTORY, beginning in 1752 and continuing for many years. This
TREATISE was among the first MODERN STUDIES to treat NATURE as an entity of
GRAND DESIGN, using an attractive, popular and generalized style.
As a result of his work on NATURAL HISTORY, BUFFON developed some
ideas on the existence of an EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS in nature. He paid particular
attention to the fact that some ANIMALS had PARTS of their BODIES that were
USELESS, as if they had DEGENERATED into that state for one reason or another.
One example was the LATERAL TOES of PIGS, which appeared to have no purpose.
He also regarded an APE as an IMPERFECT or CORRUPTED MAN and the
DONKEY as an IMPERFECT HORSE, and so on.
Some of BUFFON’S EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS were expanded by the English
Physician, ERASMUS DARWIN, the grandfather of CHARLES DARWIN.
BUFFON also advanced some GENERALIZED NOTIONS concerning the origin
and development of the EARTH. In 1745, he suggested that the EARTH might have
been created by the CATASTROPHIC COLLISION between the SUN and a MASSIVE
COMET.
He also felt that the EARTH might have been in existence for some 75,000
years, with LIFE itself having come into existence during the last 40,000 years.
He was among the first to challenge the BOOK of GENESIS that gave the
EARTH and age of 6,000 years.
BUFFON’S ideas of a relatively YOUNG EARTH were not accepted by
CHARLES DARWIN and by GEOLOGISTS like SIR CHARLES LYELL, who needed a
much older EARTH to explain the THEORY of EVOLUTION and the GEOLOGIC
DEVELOPMENT of our PLANET.

395
 THOMAS R. MALTHUS
MADE A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF THE HUMAN SOCIETY AND
PUBLISHED AN ESSAY ON THE PRINCIPLE OF POPULATION, WHERE
HE DISCUSSED THE EFFECT OF FOOD SUPPLY ON THE HUMAN
POPULATION.















THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766 - 1834) English Economist.
THOMAS MALTHUS was born on February 13, 1766 and represented a
product of the AGE of REASON, when MAN began to depend on his own
resourcefulness to explain the world around himself.
MALTHUS graduated in 1788 from Cambridge University at a time when
England’s population was beginning to grow rapidly. This, due to the onset of the
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, propelled by the NEW SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION with
its many new DISCOVERIES and INVENTIONS.

396
 MALTHUS feared that all this magnificent progress would lead to an
ECONOMIC EXPANSION and a POPULATION GROWTH that was bound to encounter
limitations, especially due to the relatively slow growth of FOOD PRODUCTION.
In 1798, after he had been ordained in the CHURCH of ENGLAND, MALTHUS
published, anonymously, his book entitled ESSAY ON POPULATION. In this book he
presented a THEORY where he maintained that the HUMAN POPULATION always
tended to GROW FASTER than FOOD PRODUCTION. Consequently, FOOD SUPPLY
would become LIMITED and the population would suffer a reduction either by
FAMINE, DISEASES or WARS. This was an idea that had also been presented by our
famous STATESMAN and SCHOLAR, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
MALTHUS’ THEORY was not well received and resulted in much SOCIAL
UNREST and CONTROVERSY.
In 1803, he published a second and enlarged edition of his book, where he
admitted that MORAL RESTRAINT and FAMILY PLANNING could serve to alleviate
the POPULATION and FOOD SUPPLY PROBLEMS.
In 1805, he was appointed Professor of Political Economy at the College of
Haileybury. He was the first professor ever to be appointed to such position.
Eventually, MALTHUS published a book with his ideas on POPULATION that
were better accepted and far less controversial. In this book he proposed the
concept, which is now called THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURN. Here he stated
that POPULATION INCREASES tended to become smaller and smaller with time.
MALTHUS was one of the first to attempt a SYSTEMATIC STUDY of HUMAN
SOCIETY and in this respect he pioneered the field of SOCIOLOGY.
More significant was the impact that his book had on CHARLES DARWIN and
ALFRED WALLACE, and their development of the THEORY of EVOLUTION of the
SPECIES by NATURAL SELECTION and the SURVIVAL of the FITTEST in a world of
LIMITATIONS.

397
 LORENZ OKEN
PROPOSED THE THEORY OF THE SKULL















LORENZ OKEN (1779 - 1851) German Naturalist.
LORENZ OKEN was born on August 1, 1779, son of a poor Farmer.
OKEN’S early ideas were influenced by the German Philosopher and
Mathematician, IMMANUEL KANT and author of the books CRITIQUE OF PURE
REASON and GENERAL HISTORY OF NATURE AND THEORY OF THE HEAVENS.
OKEN eventually became the most important member of the NATURAL
PHILOSOPHERS, which flourished in 19th Century Germany.
In 1807, OKEN was appointed Professor of Natural History at the University
of Jena. There, OKEN started to elaborate his THEORY of the SKULL, first proposed
by the German Poet and Amateur Biologist, JOHANN W. GOETHE. GOETHE was the
one who first used the word MORPHOLOGY to define the SYSTEMATIC STUDY of the
STRUCTURE of LIVING ORGANISMS.

398
 OKEN’S THEORY of the SKULL suggested that the SKULLS of ANIMALS had
developed from a VERTEBRAE. This idea was eventually proven false by the English
Botanist, THOMAS HUXLEY in 1858. However, this THEORY served the purpose of
suggesting the existence of some sort of an EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS in NATURE. In
other words, if a SKULL could evolve from a VERTEBRA given enough
EVOLUTIONARY TIME, then one SPECIES could also EVOLVE slowly into another
SPECIES.
OKEN needed to be cautious in his thinking because mere SPECULATIONS
were no substitute for GENERALIZATIONS based on careful OBSERVATIONS and
EXPERIMENTATION.
OKEN could be quite mystical and obscure. He also considered MAN the
SUMMIT of CREATION.
Some of OKEN’S SPECULATIONS went on to foreshadow the fantastic CELL
THEORY proposed by the German Biologists, MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN and THEODOR
SCHWANN, which resulted in slowing the progress of the biological sciences.
In 1816, OKEN FOUNDED an important BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL (ISIS) that
published outstanding papers in BIOLOGY.
OKEN performed an even greater service by FOUNDING an important
GERMAN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY in which the great German Naturalist, ALEXANDER
VON HUMBOLDT, was a leading member.
He also believed in having ANNUAL MEETINGS of BIOLOGISTS and NATURAL
HISTORIANS to exchange their VIEWS on the LIFE SCIENCES. As we know, many
SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS take place annually all over the world and provide a
fantastic service in the exchange of information in the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.

399
 SIR CHARLES LYELL
ONE OF THE FIRST TO SUPPORT DARWIN’S EVOLUTION.
PUBLISHED, PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY, WHERE HE SUPPORTED
JAMES HUTTON’S THEORY OF UNIFORMITARIANISM.















CHARLES LYELL (1797 - 1875) Scottish Geologist.
CHARLES LYELL was born on November 14, 1797.
LYELL obtained his LAW DEGREE from Oxford University in 1819. During his
student years at Oxford, LYELL was fascinated by lectures on GEOLOGY and
eventually became one of the leading Geologists in Europe.
LYELL did some GEOLOGIC STUDIES in Europe and became more inclined to
believe in the THEORY of VOLCANISM and the PRINCIPLE of UNIFORMITARIANISM
that had been advanced by the Scottish Geologist, JAMES HUTTON, a generation
earlier. This concept was in opposition to the ideas of the German Geologist,
ABRAHAM G. WERNER, who believed in the THEORY of NEPTUNISM, which stated
that virtually all STRATA had been laid down by SEDIMENTATION in WATER.

400
WERNER also believed that HUTTON’S THEORY of VOLCANISM was very much the
exception in GEOLOGIC HISTORY.
In 1833, LYELL went to Paris where he visited with the French Anatomist,
GEORGES CUVIER and the German Naturalist, ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. While
in Paris he had the opportunity to read the book by the French Naturalist, JEAN
LAMARCK.
LYELL also read HUTTON’S BOOK on GEOLOGY and recognized that
HUTTON’S IDEAS paralleled his own views. LYELL travelled through France and
Italy making observations and collecting much DATA that confirmed HUTTON’S
IDEAS.
LYELL and HUTTON believed that the SLOW PROCESS of EROSION, still going
on today, had gradually created most of the changes on EARTH without the need of
CATASTROPHES. This idea represented their PRINCIPLE of UNIFORMITARIANISM.
Geologists also came to believe that something drastic had occurred at the
end of the CRETACEOUS ERA, which resulted in the extinction of the DINOSAURS.
This drastic event was something as dramatic as a COLLISION of the EARTH with a
large ASTEROID, which nearly STERILIZED the EARTH and resulted in the MASS
EXTINCTION of LIFE on our PLANET.
LYELL was the first to name several of the GEOLOGIC ERAS, such as: the
EOCENE, MIOCENE and PLIOCENE. He also estimated that the EARTH’S AGE was
about 240 MILLION YEARS OLD, based on observations made on some of the oldest
FOSSIL-BEARING ROCKS.
This idea of a VERY OLD EARTH was useful in accommodating the GEOLOGIC
HISTORY that had been so far observed, as well as CHARLES DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION, where TIME was a BASIC REQUIREMENT.
CHARLES DARWIN was among the first to accept LYELL’S IDEAS in
GEOLOGY.
LYELL’S most important contribution was to popularize and amplify the
HUTTONIAN IDEAS on UNIFORMITARIANISM in his book PRINCIPLES OF
GEOLOGY, published in THREE VOLUMES between 1830 and 1833. This book
became a CLASSIC in GEOLOGY and went through TWELVE EDITIONS in his lifetime.

401
 The PRINCIPLE of UNIFORMITARIANISM became very popular, particularly
in England.
In the 1840’s, LYELL visited the United States to give lectures in GEOLOGY to
enthusiastic audiences.
LYELL formed a close friendship with CHARLES DARWIN who was also
something of a GEOLOGIST in his youth. When DARWIN published his great book,
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION, LYELL was one of
the first to accept DARWIN’S THEORY, enthusiastically.
In 1863, LYELL wrote his book THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN, which dealt with
ideas on the ORIGIN of MAN.
In 1871, DARWIN himself published his book THE DESCENT OF MAN, where
he finally presented his views on the ORIGIN of MAN by way of EVOLUTION from
LOWER FORMS of LIFE.
LYELL received the COPLEY MEDAL in 1834, was KNIGHTED in 1848 and
was made a BARONET in 1864.
LYELL died while working on the 12th EDITION of his great book,
PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY.
SIR CHARLES LYELL was buried at the WESTMINSTER ABBEY in
appreciation for his contributions to GEOLOGY and BIOLOGY.

402
 THOMAS H. HUXLEY
SUPPORTED DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION AND HELPED TO
POPULARIZE DARWINISM.

















THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY (1825 - 1895) English Biologist.
THOMAS HUXLEY was born on May 4, 1825, the son of a School Master.
HUXLEY was one of the first biologists to accept DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION and he went on to popularize the FANTASTIC IDEAS of DARWINISM as
a FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT in BIOLOGY.
In 1845, HUXLEY obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from London University.
After graduation, HUXLEY travelled as the ship’s SURGEON on a voyage to Australia
between 1846 and 1850.

403
 Like CHARLES DARWIN and ALFRED WALLACE, HUXLEY also had an all-
consuming interest in NATURAL HISTORY. It was he who first named the new
PHYLUM COELENTERATA, which included the unusual JELLYFISH.
In 1851, HUXLEY was elected to the ROYAL SOCIETY of LONDON, and in
1854 he was appointed Professor of Natural History at the ROYAL SCHOOL of
MINES, where he became an outstanding lecturer. HUXLEY had found his true
vocation as a teacher and as an advocate of SCIENCE.

SOME OF HUXLEY’S PERCEPTION OF EVOLUTION

In 1858, HUXLEY was able to disprove the THEORY of the ORIGIN of the
SKULL as a modified VERTEBRAE. A THEORY that began with the German Poet,
JOHANN GOETHE and the German Naturalist, LORENZ OKEN.
The THEORY of the ORIGIN of the SKULL led to the assumption that if A
VERTEBRA could evolve into a SKULL, then one SPECIES could certainly EVOLVE
into another SPECIES.

404
 HUXLEY also came to accept the new CELL THEORY that had been proposed
by the German Biologists, MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN (1838) and THEODOR SCHWANN
(1839), as the BASIC UNIT of LIFE.
When HUXLEY read the ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL
SELECTION, by CHARLES DARWIN, he became an enthusiastic supporter and
exponent of DARWINISM. Since DARWIN was not inclined to confrontations, it was
HUXLEY who did much of the arguing on behalf of his friend, DARWIN.
In 1860, in a meeting of the BRITISH ASSOCIATION for the ADVANCEMENT
of SCIENCE, the BISHOP of OXFORD, SAMUEL WILBERFORCE, asked HUXLEY,
sarcastically, if he had traced his own decent from the APES through his FATHER, or
his MOTHER? In front of a crowd of 700 illustrious attendants, HUXLEY responded
with deep disdain, that if he had to choose for an ANCESTOR between a MISERABLE
APE and an educated man who could introduce such a remark into a serious
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION, he would gladly choose the APE and then he left the
auditorium.
HUXLEY was the one who invented the word AGNOSTIC to identify his
religious beliefs. Here, he indicated that nothing could be truly known about GOD.
HUXLEY spent the rest of his life popularizing DARWINISM and later served
as PRESIDENT of the ROYAL SOCIETY from 1881 to 1885.

405
 ASA GRAY
ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOTANISTS AND HARVARD
PROFESSOR OF THE 19TH CENTURY.
SUPPORTED DARWINISM IN AMERICA BUT BELIEVED THAT
NATURAL SELECTION WAS NOT A RANDOM FORCE BUT ONE
GUIDED BY GOD.















ASA GRAY (1810 - 1888) American Botanist.
ASA GRAY was born on November 18, 1810. GRAY obtained his MEDICAL
DEGREE at the FAIRFIELD ACADEMY in 1831, but practiced only for a brief time.
GRAY devoted his life to what he called his HOBBY, BOTANY, and wrote many
popular books on this subject. He also helped other authors to prepare more
elaborate STUDIES on the FLORA of North America.
GRAY met DARWIN in 1851, corresponded with him and was an ardent
supporter of DARWINISM in America, against OBJECTIONS from the RELIGIOUS
COMMUNITY.

406
 GRAY also debated the concept of EVOLUTION with the prominent ANTI-
EVOLUTIONIST, the Swiss-American Naturalist, LOUIS AGASSIZ, both of which were
illustrious professors at Harvard University.
GRAY was a prominent RELIGIOUS LAYMAN, who believed that NATURAL
SELECTION was not a RANDOM FORCE, but one that was guided by GOD. This meant
that GRAY had his own BRAND of a THEORY of EVOLUTION where GOD was not
totally ignored.
ASA GRAY was a distinguished Professor of Natural History at Harvard
University for 31 years, starting in 1848. There, he created a BOTANICAL GARDEN
and LIBRARY that evolved from humble beginnings to a notable INSTITUTION.
LOUIS AGASSIZ was also a Professor of Natural History at Harvard University for
about 35 years and the MUSEUM of COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY was named in his
honor.
ASA GRAY was President of the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for the
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE between 1863 and 1873.
In 1900, ASA GRAY was elected as a member of the newly established HALL
OF FAME FOR GREAT AMERICANS.

HERBERT SPENCER (1820 - 1903) English Sociologist.
HERBERT SPENCER was born on April 27, 1820, son of a School Master.
SPENCER had little FORMAL EDUCATION because of his ILL HEALTH. He was
mostly TUTORED by his father and his uncle who was a Minister of the CHURCH.
He was a courageous THINKER who was always ready to SPECULATE and
THEORIZE on any subject. His ideas, though always interesting and sometimes
valuable, were often superficial and occasionally incorrect. SPENCER moved to
London in the mid 1840’s and became a Journalist, writing copiously on SOCIOLOGY
and PSYCHOLOGY.
He was definitely an EVOLUTIONIST. Even before CHARLES DARWIN had
published his ORIGIN OF SPECIES, SPENCER was speculating on how the HUMAN
SOCIETY had EVOLVED from a HOMOGENOUS and SIMPLE level to a more
HETEROGENEOUS and COMPLEX STATE.

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 After DARWIN’S BOOK was published, SPENCER started to apply DARWIN’S
EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS to the development of SOCIETY, disregarding the fact that
DARWIN’S OBJECTIVES were not oriented towards SOCIAL and CULTURAL
ASPECTS.
SPENCER popularized the term EVOLUTION, which DARWIN seldom used,
and also the phrase THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
He believed that HUMANS were always in constant competition where the
weaker or the less educated, tended to lose out. Since this ensured the SURVIVAL OF
THE FITTEST, SPENCER considered it to be a good outcome.
SPENCER’S PHILOSOPHY was influential outside the realm of SCIENCE and it
was used to support the cruelest forms of INDUSTRIAL COMPETITION, where the
FITTEST was always the WINNER. It also led to cruel INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
and to the glorification of WARS as a means to weed out the UNFIT. It promoted
certain forms of RACIAL DISCRIMINATION on the basis of FITNESS.
SPENCER’S IDEAS were taken to extremes by others and for purposes not
intended by SPENCER himself and certainly not by DARWIN.
SPENCER’S application of DARWINISM to SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT was
largely unacceptable and DARWIN refused to even consider the matter.
The use of DARWINISM in SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT was also unjustifiable
because it ignored the fact that while MAN could certainly ADAPT, he could also
CHANGE and MODIFY the ENVIRONMENT to suit himself. SPENCER’S IDEAS ignored
and disregarded the dignity and nobility that is inherent in the ESSENCE of
HUMANITY.

ERNST H. HAECKEL (1834 - 1919) German Naturalist.
ERNST HAECKEL was born on February 16, 1834.
HAECKEL obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1857 at the University of Berlin,
but his true passion was really BOTANY.
He studied under the GREAT BIOLOGISTS, JOHANNES P. MULLER, RUDOLPH
C. VIRCHOW, KARL GEGENBAUR and RUDOLF A. VON KOLLIKER.

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 In 1862, HAECKEL became Professor of COMPARATIVE ANATOMY at the
ZOOLOGICAL INSTITUTE of JENA.
HAECKEL met CHARLES DARWIN in 1866 and he was the first German
Biologist to defend DARWINISM. He was also the first to use the term ECOLOGY to
refer to the study of LIVING ORGANISMS in relation to one another and to the
ENVIRONMENT.
HAECKEL was a part of the OLD SCHOOL of NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS. He
had read the ideas of the German-Russian Embryologist, KARL E. BAER, where he
pointing out that in the early stages, the development of EMBRYOS in various
VERTEBRATES was quite similar.
This observation provided another good supporting argument for the
biologists who believed in the EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT of LIFE.
HAECKEL carried BAER’S OBSERVATIONS to some extreme and concluded
that the EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT of an ORGANISM recapitulated the STAGES of
its EVOLUTION. As HAECKEL put it, “ONTOGENY recapitulates PHYLOGENY”. Some
biologists have found a certain level TRUTH in this concept.

RONALD A. FISHER (1890 - 1962) English Biologist.
RONALD FISHER was born on February 17, 1890.
FISHER graduated from Cambridge University in 1912 where he showed
much MATHEMATICAL APTITUDE. He went on to apply his MATHEMATICAL
TALENTS and INTERESTS to the fields of STATISTICS and GENETICS.
In STATISTICS, FISHER developed SAMPLING METHODS to ensure FULL
RANDOMIZATION, as well as METHODS to carry out an ANALYSIS of VARIANCE.
FISHER did consider the STATISTICAL NATURE of HEREDITY in GREGOR
MENDEL’S LAWS and also showed that they adapted well to DARWIN’S IDEAS on
NATURAL SELECTION.
In 1952, SIR RONALD A. FISHER was KNIGHTED.

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 ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE
PROPOSED A THEORY OF EVOLUTION SIMILAR TO THAT OF
CHARLES DARWIN AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME.
A LEADING NATURALIST, EXPLORER AND WRITER.
THE FOUNDER O F BIOGEOGRAPHY

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ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE (1823 - 1913) English Naturalist.
ALFRED WALLACE was born on January of 1823.
WALLACE was an English Naturalist, Biologist and Explorer, who also
developed a THEORY of EVOLUTION through NATURAL SELECTION, similar to that
of CHARLES DARWIN.
He had little formal education and began studying NATURE as a hobby, while
working as a SURVEYOR in the ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE.
WALLACE was considered, in the 19th Century, one of the LEADERS on the
THEORY of EVOLUTION and also an expert on the GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
of ANIMAL SPECIES, for which he is sometimes called the FOUNDER of
BIOGEOGRAPHY.
He established the WALLACE LINE, which separated the INDONESIAN
ARCHIPELAGO into two distinct regions. The WESTERN SIDE where the ANIMALS
were largely of ASIAN ORIGIN and the EASTERN side where the ANIMALS were
more like those in Australia.
He was also a prolific and outstanding WRITER who published a great deal
on SCIENTIFIC MATTERS as well as on SOCIAL ISSUES.
WALLACE felt very inspired with the EXPEDITIONS made by CHARLES
DARWIN and ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.
In 1848, WALLACE had the opportunity to go to the AMAZON BASIN of
Brazil, aboard the SHIP MISCHIEF, as a Naturalist to explore the FLORA, FAUNA and
GEOGRAPHY of the region. He collected many SPECIES of INSECTS and other
ANIMALS in the area of BELEM do PARA an along the RIO NEGRO.
In the AMAZON REGION, WALLACE had the marvelous experience of
observing the fantastic VARIETY of LIFE that existed in the TROPICAL RAINFOREST.
He used this experience to expand his early ideas on a THEORY of EVOLUTION and
used the many SPECIMENS to support his concept on the TRANSMUTATION of
SPECIES. The BIOLOGICAL WORLD of the RAINFOREST was a real OUTDOOR
MUSEUM and a great source of inspiration for his EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS.
On July of 1852, WALLACE returned to England, but lost much of his
collection due to a FIRE on his SHIP.

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 In England, he gave many lectures, published SIX SCIENTIFIC PAPERS and
wrote his two books, TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON and PALM TREES OF THE
AMAZON AND THEIR USES.
In 1854, WALLACE travelled to the MALAY ARCHIPELAGO, or EAST INDIES
(now SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA and INDONESIA) to expand his COLLECTION on
PLANT and ANIMAL SPECIES and to study their NATURAL HISTORY. There, he
collected about 126,000 SPECIMENS, of which several thousands were NEW
SPECIES.
During his 7-8 years in the MALAY ARCHIPELAGO, WALLACE continued to
REFINE his EVOLUTIONARY THEORY on the TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES by
NATURAL SELECTION. His general ideas on a THEORY of EVOLUTION had been
advocated by the French Naturalist, JEAN LAMARCK in the early 1800’s, and a few
years earlier by ERASMUS DARWIN (CHARLES DARWIN’S GRANDFATHER) in his
book ZOONOMIA (1794 - 1796).
In 1889, WALLACE suggested in his book DARWINISM, the concept now
known as the WALLACE EFFECT. Here he indicated that EVOLUTION by NATURAL
SELECTION could prevent HYBRIDIZATION (the CROSS of INDIVIDUALS). The
HYBRID OFF-SPRINGS could then tend to be less WELL-ADAPTED to the
ENVIRONMENT than either PARENTS and therefore they would perish in their
effort to survive.
In 1862, WALLACE returned to England from Malaysia. Back in England he
gave numerous LECTURES on his experiences to various SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES,
including the ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY of LONDON.
WALLACE also visited with several notable scientists, including CHARLES
DARWIN, CHARLES LYELL and HERBERT SPENCER.
In the 1860’s, WALLACE wrote several papers and gave lectures to defend his
ideas on the TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES by NATURAL SELECTION.
In 1869, he published his experiences under the title of THE MALAY
ARCHIPELAGO, which became one of his most popular books on SCIENTIFIC
EXPLORATIONS in the 19th Century.

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 WALLACE’S IDEAS and DARWIN’S IDEAS on EVOLUTION were very similar.
However, while DARWIN emphasized the competition between INDIVIDUALS in the
creation of NEW SPECIES, WALLACE emphasized the competition between
VARIETIES and SPECIES (GROUP COMPETITION) in the PROCESS of NATURAL
SELECTION.













By 1858, WALLACE had already developed his THEORY of EVOLUTION and
had prepared an ESSAY entitled, ON THE TENDENCY OF VARIETIES TO DEPART
INDEFINITELY FROM THE ORIGINAL TYPE. WALLACE sent his ESSAY to CHARLES
DARWIN for review. Because his THEORY of EVOLUTION was so similar to
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION, the decision was taking to present WALLACE’S
ESSAY and DARWIN’S ESSAY (one that he prepared especially for this purpose) to
the LINNEAN SOCIETY of LONDON. A JOINT PAPER of these two ESSAYS on
EVOLUTION was then published.
WALLACE was very happy with DARWIN’S and LYELL’S decision to publish
his ESSAY in a, JOINT PAPER.
The ESSAY by WALLACE convinced DARWIN of the need to publish his great
book, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION was published

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in 1859. DARWIN’S BOOK finally established the THEORY of BIOLOGICAL
EVOLUTION as a FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT in BIOLOGY.
By the 1880’s, the new THEORY of EVOLUTION was widely accepted by the
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE received several awards for his outstanding
work on the THEORY of EVOLUTION and on BIOGEOGRAPHY. Some of these awards
included: the ROYAL MEDAL in 1868, the GOLD MEDAL of the SOCIETE de
GEOGRAPHIE in 1870, the DARWIN MEDAL in 1890, the LINNEAN MEDAL in 1892,
the COPLEY MEDAL in 1908 and the ORDER of MERIT in 1908.

ERASMUS DARWIN
THE GRANDFATHER OF CHARLES DARWIN.
WROTE THE BOOK ZOONOMIA WHERE HE PROPOSED
THE IDEA OF AN EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS IN NATURE

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ERASMUS DARWIN (1731 - 1802) English Physician and Naturalist.
ERASMUS DARWIN, the son of a prosperous Lawyer, studied at Cambridge
University and obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1754 at the University of
Edinburgh.
DARWIN was one of the foremost physicians of his day, who became the
personal physician of KING GEORGE III.
DARWIN was the FOUNDER and MEMBER of the LUNAR SOCIETY, whose
members included the English Chemist, JOSEPH PRIESTLEY and the Scottish
Engineer, JAMES WATT, who invented the STEAM ENGINE.
DARWIN’S most famous accomplishment was his book, ZOONOMIA (on the
LAWS of ORGANIC LIFE) written in 1794-1796. Here, he presented his ideas on
EVOLUTION, which related to the EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS of the French Naturalists,
GEORGES BUFFON and JEAN LAMARCK.
DARWIN argued that the EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS was caused by the direct
influence of the ENVIRONMENT on the ORGANISMS.
ERASMUS DARWIN is most famous for being the GRANDFATHER (by his
FIRST WIFE) of CHARLES DARWIN, the NATURALIST who revolutionized the world
of BIOLOGY with his THEORY of EVOLUTION.

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 CHARLES DARWIN
PROPOSED THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL
SELECTION, A THEORY OF EVOLUTION THAT REVOLUTIONIZED
THE SCIENCES OF GENETICS AND BIOLOGY

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 CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION

CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN (1809 - 1882) English Naturalist and Geologist.
CHARLES DARWIN was born at his family home, THE MOUNT in Shrewsbury,
Shropshire, England on February 12, 1809. This was the same day that ABRAHAM
LINCOLN was born (my father was also born on February 12).
CHARLES DARWIN was the son of a wealthy Society Physician, ROBERT
DARWIN and of SUSANNAH WEDGWOOD (from the famous family that produced
the WEDGWOOD PORCELAIN). His grandfather was the famous Physician and
Naturalist, ERASMUS DARWIN, who wrote the book ZOONOMIA, where he
elaborated on some of his early ideas on a PROCESS of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.
DARWIN graduated from Cambridge University in 1831. He tried to study
MEDICINE to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, but was
discouraged by observing CHILDREN being OPERATED without ANESTHESIA.
During his early years at Cambridge University, DARWIN became very
interested in the NATURAL SCIENCES, especially BOTANY and GEOLOGY. DARWIN
was very impressed when he read the fantastic book, KOSMOS, on NATURAL
HISTORY. This encyclopedic book had been published by the famous Naturalist,
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT (1769 - 1859) after making his SCIENTIFIC
EXPEDITION to South America.
DARWIN had also studied the ideas the Scottish Geologist, SIR CHARLES
LYELL on the THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM. This THEORY attributed the
ORIGIN of the EARTH’S GEOLOGY and GEOMORPHOLOGY to slow and long
PROCESSES of CHANGE, largely by EROSION.
DARWIN learned how GEOLOGIC and ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES had
caused significant BIOLOGICAL and ECOLOGICAL CHANGES, through very long
periods of time (MILLIONS of YEARS). The importance of TIME on the EARTH’S
EVOLUTION became very significant to DARWIN in the development of his THEORY
of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.

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 DARWIN had read the ESSAY on POPULATION by the English Economist,
THOMAS MALTHUS, where he presented the importance of the RELATIONSHIP
between POPULATION GROWTH and FOOD PRODUCTION. In this ESSAY, MALTHUS
emphasized the existing STRUGGLE for SURVIVAL, which also had a very important
impact on DARWIN’S thinking in terms of the SURVIVAL of the FITTEST, or the
CAPACITY of SPECIES to ADAPT to ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES or else perish.
DARWIN was familiar with how BREEDERS selected ANIMALS based on their
characteristics in order to create better BREEDS. DARWIN assumed that NATURE
could also selected (NATURAL SELECTION) those ORGANISMS and SPECIES, which
adapted better to their LOCAL ENVIRONMENT and therefore, they were able to
SURVIVE and REPRODUCE.

DARWIN’S FAMOUS VOYAGE TO SOUTH AMERICA AS A
NATURALIST IN THE H.M.S. BEAGLE.

THE FAMOUS VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE TO SOUTH AMERICA
In 1831, the ship H.M.S. BEAGLE went on a FIVE-YEAR VOYAGE around the
world, from December 27, 1831 to October 2, 1836, under CAPTAIN ROBERT
FITZRAY (1805 - 1865) to survey the coast of South America.

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 DARWIN went on this exploration as the ship’s NATURALIST, a VOYAGE that
was to become DARWIN’S JOURNEY to GREAT FAME. This expedition introduced
DARWIN to SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCES that led him to create his THEORY of
EVOLUTION, which REVOLUTIONIZED and REDEFINED the world of BIOLOGY in
more ways than one.
DARWIN’S VOYAGE on the BEAGLE became the most significant SCIENTIFIC
EXPEDITION ever, in the history of BIOLOGY and SCIENCE.
The BEAGLE arrived in Northern Brazil where they first encountered the
prodigious TROPICAL RAINFOREST with all its GREAT DIVERSITY of LIFE, which
was fantastically impressive and even intimidating.
DARWIN was greatly impressed with the RAINFOREST, which to him was
just like a BIOLOGICAL CATHEDRAL or an OUTDOOR MUSEUM of NATURAL
HISTORY, rich in BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES, MONKEYS, FROGS, SPIDERS, LIZARDS,
RATS, BATS, SNAKES, CROCODILES, ARMADILLOS, as well as PARROTS and
TOUCANS with EXOTIC and COLORFUL PLUMAGE. DARWIN also found in this
majestic RAINFOREST a great variety of JAGUARS, TAPIRS, SLOTHS, CAPYBARAS, as
well as a JUNGLE rich in INSECTS, REPTILES, RODENTS and MAMMALS.
From the BRAZILIAN TROPICAL RAINFOREST, the BEAGLE travelled SOUTH
along the ATLANTIC OCEAN to RIO de JANEIRO and to BAHIA BLANCA in Argentina.
From BAHIA BLANCA, DARWIN went by land to PUNTA ALTA, where he made his
MAJOR DISCOVERY of FOSSIL BONES belonging to the MEGATHERIUM.
DARWIN travelled by horse in the company of GAUCHOS (or ARGENTINIAN
COWBOYS) to the interior of Southern Argentina in order to explore the GEOLOGY
and collect more FOSSILS. During this trip, DARWIN saw REMNANTS of BEACHES
with SEASHELLS elevated to heights far above SEA LEVEL.
From here, the BEAGLE travelled to the FALKLAND ISLANDS, PATAGONIA,
TIERRA del FUEGO and around CAPE HORN to the PACIFIC OCEAN and CHILE.
In CHILE, the LAND of GREAT GEOLOGIC ACTIVITY and YOUNG
LANDSCAPES, DARWIN experienced several EARTHQUAKES and saw much
evidence of LAND UPLIFTS, FAULTING, FOLDING and other signs of much
GEOMORPHOLOGIC ACTIVITY.

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 DARWIN’S BEAGLE ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST OF CHILE AND A
VIEW OF THE YOUNG LANDSCAPE OF THE ANDES DUE TO
TECTONIC ACTIVITIES, VOLCANISM, LAND SLIDES AND OTHER
GEOMORPHOLOGIC PROCESSES

DARWIN travelled by horse to the ANDES where he witnessed the presence
of SEASHELLS and other FOSSIL ANIMALS that had grown at SEA LEVEL on BEACH
SANDS, and which were now located on MOUNTAINS several thousand feet above
SEA LEVEL. This was strong evidence that many LAND UPLIFTS had created these
FANTASTIC MOUNTAINS.
From Southern Chile, the BEAGLE travelled north on the PACIFIC OCEAN,
along the northbound HUMBOLDT CURRENT and along the coast of Chile, where
DARWIN had ample opportunity to see the large ATACAMA DESSERT. One of the
driest DESSERTS in the world, and a great source of MINERALS, like CHILEAN
NITRATES, which are used in the FERTILIZER and CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES.

420
 While travelling along the PACIFIC COAST of South America, DARWIN
experienced several strong EARTHQUAKES and dramatic VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
that were a clear indication of the extremely DYNAMIC GEOLOGIC NATURE of
SOUTH AMERICA. This DYNAMIC GEOLOGIC ACTIVITY was responsible for the
creation of YOUNG LANDSCAPES as a result of TECTONIC MOVEMENTS,
VOLCANISM, LAND SLIDES and other GEOMORPHOLOGIC PROCESSES. YOUNG
LANDSCAPES, which were rich with a legacy of PLATEAUS, MOUNTAIN PEAKS,
VALLEYS, FAST RIVERS, ESCARPMENTS, FAULT LINES, FOLDED LAND SURFACES,
SAND DUNES, DESSERTS and an abundance of ROCK DEBRIS.
From Ecuador, the BEAGLE went to the Galapagos Islands, where DARWIN
spent several weeks studying the rich FLORA and FAUNA of these islands. The
experiences here gave DARWIN some of the starting and basic ideas, which led him
to the creation of his THEORY of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.
From the Galapagos Islands, the BEAGLE travelled back home on the PACIFIC
OCEAN to Australia and South Africa and on the Atlantic Ocean back to England.
DARWIN was fortunate to have read the GEOLOGIC WRITINGS of SIR
CHARLES LYELL on his THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM and how the EARTH’S
GEOLOGY had been created. This facilitated DARWIN’S understanding of the rich
GEOLOGIC HISTORY of SOUTH AMERICA.
In this trip, DARWIN had ample opportunity to observe the many fantastic
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS found in South America. From these magnificent
observations, DARWIN came to the same conclusion expressed by LYELL, that TIME
(MILLIONS of YEARS) was the key for such fantastic GEOLOGIC CHANGES to occur.
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION was also going to require great SPANS of TIME
to explain what EVOLUTION had done to the BIOLOGICAL WORLD.
The author had the opportunity to make similar GEOLOGIC,
GEOMORPHOLOGIC and PEDOLOGIC OBSERVATIONS during 20 years in Central
and South America, staring in 1958.
DARWIN also had the magnificent opportunity to study the FLORA and
FAUNA of the TROPICAL RAINFOREST and to observe the great variety of LIFE and

421
how THE SPECIES had changed as he travelled along the COASTS of South America
and the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos Islands were a NATURALIST’S PARADISE, teaming with a
great variety of EXOTIC LAND and SEA LIFE. This was largely due to the fact that
these islands were located along the EQUATORIAL LINE, off the coast of ECUADOR
and along the path of the famous NORTHBOUND HUMBOLDT OCEANIC CURRENT,
which was rich in PLANKTON and other forms of SEA LIFE. The abundance of SEA
FOOD was also responsible for the accumulation of large deposits of GUANO (SEA
BIRD EXCREMENT) on some of the coastal islands, which became a very important
source of FERTILIZER, sold all over the world.
DARWIN’S OBSERVATIONS of the ANIMAL LIFE during his FIVE-WEEK VISIT
to the Galapagos Islands were very revealing, educational and helpful in the
development of his EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS.
Among DARWIN’S most important observations were those about a group of
BIRDS now called DARWIN’S FINCHES. He noticed that although these FINCHES
were similar in some ways, they could be classified into at least 14 different
SPECIES. Furthermore, these FINCHES had different BEAK SIZES and SHAPES,
unique to the Galapagos Islands. DARWIN concluded that these unique BEAKS were
the result of EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES that were part of a PROCESS of
ADAPTATION to the ENVIRONMENT to facilitate their FEEDING HABITS and their
SURVIVAL.
The question that still remained in DARWIN’S MIND was, what was the
NATURE of the PROCESSES involved in the EVOLUTION and CREATION of these
CHANGES and of the various SPECIES?
The notable French Naturalist, JEAN LAMARCK had previously concluded
that such changes leading to the creation of NEW SPECIES were mainly due to the
PROCESS of the INHERITANCE of ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS, which gave certain
SPECIES an advantage to survive in their ENVIRONMENT.
DARWIN believed more specifically that these NEW SPECIES were the
product of the NATURAL SELECTION of RANDOM CHANGES by the ENVIRONMENT,

422
which gave LIVING ORGANISMS an advantage to adapt to their ENVIRONMENT,
SURVIVE and REPRODUCE
.
DARWIN’S RETURN TO ENGLAND FROM HIS FAMOUS VOYAGE
DARWIN returned to England in 1836 with a load full of BONES and other
SPECIMENS that could have sunk the SHIP. More significant was the fact that he had
also arrived with a mind full of extraordinary ideas on EVOLUTION, which he knew
were going to disrupt the SOCIAL and RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT and even the
SCIENTIFIC and BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY.
DARWIN was fully aware that his new ideas on the TRANSMUTATION of
SPECIES (as he first called his ideas on EVOLUTION) were quite controversial and
with very radical implications at every level of the ENGLISH SOCIETY.
DARWIN was received, back in England, as a CELEBRITY in the various
SCIENTIFIC and SCHOLARLY CIRCLES.
DARWIN visited his family and relatives and then returned to Cambridge
University to visit with his Botany Professor and friend, JOHN S. HENSLOW. He was
also looking for a place to store his collection and for experts that could DESCRIBE
and CLASSIFY his SPECIMENS.
DARWIN met the Geologist, SIR CHARLES LYELL for the first time and LYELL
introduced him to the notable Anatomist, RICHARD OWEN, who had the FACILITIES
at the ROYAL COLLEGE of SURGEONS to STUDY and CLASSIFY DARWIN’S FOSSIL
BONES and other SPECIMENS.
OWEN actually found among DARWIN’S SPECIMENS some extraordinary
FOSSILS of EXTINCT CREATURES. Some of these FOSSILS included:
- A giant EXTINCT GROUND SLOTH that OWEN named a MEGATHERIUM.
- A huge ARMADILLO-LIKE CREATURE that he named a GLYPTODON.
- The SKULL of a giant RODENT that he named a TOXODON.
All these EXTINCT CREATURES were related to LIVING SPECIES found in
South America.

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 DARWIN gave his MAMMAL and BIRD SPECIMENS to the ZOOLOGICAL
SOCIETY in LONDON. The Ornithologist there, JOHN GOULD, told DARWIN that his
GALAPAGOS BIRDS belonged to 12 SEPARATE SPECIES of FINCHES.
DARWIN wrote his first paper on the GEOLOGY of SOUTH AMERICA and read
it to the GEOLOGIC SOCIETY of LONDON in 1837. That same year DARWIN was
elected to the COUNCIL of the GEOLOGIC SOCIETY on recommendation of SIR
CHARLES LYELL. In 1838, he became secretary of the GEOLOGIC SOCIETY.
DARWIN’S FIVE-YEAR VOYAGE on the BEAGLE and his writings on his
GEOLOGIC OBSERVATIONS established him as an eminent geologist, whose
observations and theories supported the great Scottish Geologist, CHARLES LYELL
and his THEORY of UNIFORMITARIANISM on the EARTH’S GEOLOGIC HISTORY.
After his EXPEDITION, DARWIN published his first book, JOURNEY OF THE
VOYAGE, which impressed the famous German Naturalist, ALEXANDER VON
HUMBOLDT and also made DARWIN a popular author in NATURAL HISTORY.

PREPARATIONS FOR DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION
After returning to England in 1836 from his famous VOYAGE on the BEAGLE,
DARWIN devoted many years to study his FIELD NOTES and his extensive
COLLECTION of SPECIMENS, which he used to develop his ideas on a THEORY of
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.
Although DARWIN discussed his ideas on the TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES
(as DARWIN first called his EVOLUTION of SPECIES) with a few close relatives and
friends, he kept them pretty much to himself because he was fully aware that they
went contrary to the SOCIAL, THEOLOGICAL and SCIENTIFIC ESTABLISHMENT. He
knew that his THEORY of EVOLUTION was founded on LOGICAL and SCIENTIFIC
PRINCIPLES, but they were still very different, controversial and dangerous.
DARWIN did not want to publish his ideas until he had developed a
COMPREHENSIVE and SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND THEORY with examples to
substantiate every aspect of his PROCESS of EVOLUTION. In fact, it took over 20

424
years after his SCIENTIFIC VOYAGE for DARWIN to publish his great book on
EVOLUTION.
DARWIN was not only a perfectionist, but also a responsible and serious
NATURALIST who had to protect his name and family, and at the same time live up
to the prestige of his profession and colleagues.
DARWIN was not aware of the studies by GREGOR MENDEL (1822 - 1884) on
the LAWS of INHERITANCE, which did not become public until the Dutch Botanist,
HUGO MARIE De VRIES (1848 - 1935), brought MENDEL’S LAWS of INHERITANCE
to the attention of the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY in 1900.
The LAWS of INHERITANCE would have helped DARWIN explain how the
SMALL CHANGES among INDIVIDUALS had occurred, a point that represented a
WEAK LINK in DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION.
The CONCEPT of MUTATIONS also appeared after DARWIN’S TIME when De
VRIES published his book, THEORY OF MUTATIONS in 1886. The American
Geneticist, THOMAS H. MORGAN (1866 - 1945) went on to discover the existence of
MANY MUTATIONS in the early 1900’s, which he then presented in his book of
1926, THE THEORY OF THE GENE.
One of DARWIN’S CONTENTIONS was that a biologist should be able to
explain the ORIGIN of LIFE on our PLANET, just as geologists were explaining the
ORIGIN of the EARTH’S GEOLOGY, by simply using NATURAL PROCESSES that
everyone could observe and understand.
Furthermore, DARWIN seldom used the word EVOLUTION (instead he used
TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES) nor the phrase, SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. These
two terms were popularized by the English Sociologist, HERBERT SPENCER (1820 -
1903) in his book, ORIGIN OF SPECIES, where he speculated on the ORIGIN of MAN
and SOCIETY.

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 SOME OF DARWIN’S INITIAL IDEAS ON EVOLUTION
DARWIN began to develop his THEORY on the TRANSMUTATION of SPECIES
and worked on it for many years, as follows:
- He started from his initial observation that INDIVIDUALS within SPECIES
could exhibit SMALL DIFFERENCES in some of their CHARACTERISTICS.
- These SMALL DIFFERENCES were then passed on to FUTURE
GENERATIONS, especially if such differences gave the individuals an ADVANTAGE to
ADAPT to the ENVIRONMENT and consequently SURVIVE and REPRODUCE.
- With TIME, these SMALL DIFFERENCES (created by GENETIC DEVIATIONS,
MUTATIONS and other GENETIC ABERRATIONS) could turn into LARGER
DIFFERENCES, generation after generation, and eventually result in NEW
VARIETIES, SPECIES, GENERA and so on. This, by way of an increase in the
POPULATION of those INDIVIDUALS with GENETIC ADVANTAGES.
- The basic idea was that the INDIVIDUALS with ADVANTAGES to better
ADAPT to the ENVIRONMENT were the ones who survived and continued to
procreate. This represented the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST by means of NATURAL
SELECTION.
- DARWIN was convinced that the PRINCIPLE of NATURAL SELECTION,
where the FORCES of the ENVIRONMENT selected those INDIVIDUALS with
GENETIC ADVANTAGES, was in fact the DOMINANT ELEMENT in his THEORY of
EVOLUTION.
- Furthermore, DARWIN believed that the entire PROCESS of BIOLOGICAL
EVOLUTION simulated the way a TREE GREW and DEVELOPED a COMPLETE
SYSTEM of BRANCHES. DARWIN called this tree his TREE OF LIFE. DARWIN
believed that the MAIN TRUNK represented the ANCIENT COMMON ANCESTOR
from which ALL LIVING ORGANISMS originated, and that the development of
BRANCHES represented the creation of SPECIES, GENERA, FAMILIES, etc.

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 DARWIN’S TREE OF LIFE

















THE PUBLICATION OF DARWIN’S GREAT BOOK ON EVOLUTION
In 1842, after reading MALTHUS’ ESSAY on the PRINCIPLE of POPULATION,
DARWIN wrote a brief abstract of 35 pages, outlining his THEORY of EVOLUTION.
In 1844, DARWIN enlarged his ABSTRACT into a 230 page ESSAY that was to
become the first draft of his great book, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF
NATURAL SELECTION.
DARWIN continued for 15 more years to elaborate on his THEORY of
EVOLUTION. He consulted with his close friends, SIR CHARLES LYELL and THOMAS
HUXLEY and corresponded with the notable American Botanist, ASA GRAY, in the
United States.
A significant incident occurred that forced DARWIN to come public with his
THEORY of EVOLUTION. DARWIN received a paper for review from the English

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Naturalist, ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, where he presented his own THEORY of
EVOLUTION, one that was very similar to DARWIN’S IDEAS on EVOLUTION.
To prevent further controversy, DARWIN agreed to present a JOINT-PAPER
with WALLACE to the LINNEAN SOCIETY in London on July 1, 1858. This turned out
to be a wise and peaceful decision in the eyes of the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, which
knew that DARWIN had the SUPREMACY on the THEORY of EVOLUTION.
Under the advice of his family and friends, especially SIR CHARLES LYELL,
DARWIN decided to write the final edition of his great book under the title of, THE
ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION OR THE PRESERVATION
OF FAVORED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. DARWIN’S great book is now
commonly known as, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION.

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 In 1859, CHARLES DARWIN finally published his fantastic book. Only 1,250
copies were printed and every single copy was sold the first day of its publication.
His book is still being reprinted to this day, over a century later.
The ORIGIN OF SPECIES is regarded as one of the greatest CLASSICS in
SCIENCE (similar to ISAAC NEWTON’S PRICIPIA MATHEMATICA) and it represents
the MYSTERY of MYSTERIES in the BIOLOGICAL WORLD, magnificently inspired by
the MAJESTY and VARIETY of LIFE in NATURE.
DARWIN’S ORIGIN OF SPECIES created a SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION with a
powerful epicenter in the very core of the CHURCH, SCIENCE, SOCIETY and MAN
HIMSELF.
This BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION has been compared to those
created by NICOLAS COPERNICUS, SIR ISAAC NEWTON, MICHAEL FARADAY,
ALBERT EINSTEIN and MAX PLANCK, in the HISTORY of SCIENCE. CHARLES
DARWIN has been called, with due justification, the NEWTON of BIOLOGY.
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION was to BIOLOGY, what NEWTON’S LAWS
of MOTION and UNIVERSAL GRAVITY were to ASTRONOMY and EINSTEIN’S
THEORY of RELATIVITY and MAX PLANCK’S QUANTUM THEORY were to MODERN
PHYSICS.
The THEORY of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION was LIFE in ACTION and it
represented the UNIFYING THEORY of the LIFE SCIENCES, which explained the
great DIVERSITY of LIFE and its EVER CHANGING ENIGMATIC NATURE.

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 A CARTOON DEPICTING MAN’S EVOLUTION

In 1871, over ten years after THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF
NATURAL SELECTION was published, DARWIN published his second great book,
THE DESCENT OF MAN AND SELECTION IN RELATION TO SEX, where he answered
the BIG QUESTION! Was MAN included in his THEORY of EVOLUTION by NATURAL
SELECTION and the SURVIVAL of the FITTEST?
In the DESCENT OF MAN, DARWIN confirmed what was already implicit in
his great book, THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. He proposed that MAN had descended
from a LOWER FORM, or a SUBHUMAN FORM of LIFE. This indicated that
somewhere back in time, some of our ILLUSTRIOUS ANCESTORS had held hands
with, and were related to the CHIMPANZEES and other PRIMATES.
It is most interesting and puzzling to notice how many GREAT SCIENTISTS
have been in favor and against DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION.
Among those SCIENTISTS in favor, are:
- The English Naturalist, ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE.
- The English Zoologist, THOMAS H. HUXLEY.
- The Scottish Geologist, SIR CHARLES LYELL.
- The French Naturalist, JEAN BAPTISTE LAMARCK.
- The American Botanist, ASA GRAY.

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- The German Naturalist, ERNST H. HAECKEL.
- The British Sociologist, HERBERT SPENCER.
- The American Biologist, STEPHEN JAY GOULD.
- The American Mathematician, JACOB BRONOWSKI.
- The American Astrophysicist, CARL SAGAN.

Among those SCIENTISTS not in favor, are:
- The English Zoologist and Anatomist, SIR RICHARD OWEN.
- The German Pathologist, RUDOLF C. VIRCHOW.
- The Swedish Taxonomist, CARL LINNAEUS.
- The French Anatomist, GEORGES L. CUVIER.
- The Swiss-French Botanist, AUGUSTIN P. CANDOLLE.
- The Swiss-American Naturalist, JEAN L. AGASSIZ.

There are a number of SCIENTISTS who believe in some INTERMEDIATE
THEORY between BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION and CREATIONISM. These SCIENTISTS
do justice to both ideas, which represent a REASONABLE and NATURAL
COMPROMISE with valid arguments in favor of EVOLUTION or CREATIONISM. In the
sciences, as in LIFE, this kind of DUALITY and AMBIVALENCE is very common and
for very good reasons. We may in fact be dialing with a
CREATIONISM/EVOLUTIONISM CONTINUUM leading to a magnificent BIOLOGICAL
WORLD of its own!!!

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 EVALUATION OF THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF
NATURAL SELECTION
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION represented a serious effort to explore
deep into the fantastic and enigmatic NATURE of LIFE and into the innermost
secrets pertaining to the ORIGIN, EVOLUTION and DESTINY of LIVING ORGANISMS
and HUMANITY at large.
DARWIN’S CONCEPT of EVOLUTION was an attempt to INTEGRATE the
DYNAMIC PHYSICAL WORLD of the ATOM and the ENVIRONMENT with the
DYNAMIC and COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL WORLD of DNA, the CELL and ALL LIVING
ORGANISMS.
DARWIN’S CONCEPT of EVOLUTION was not designed to eliminate DIVINE
WISDOM from our lives, but to make us think how DIVINE WISDOM participated in
the MAGNIFICENT CREATION of the INFINITELY COMPLEX ENTITY of LIFE through
EVOLUTION and a NATURAL PROCESS of SELECTION.
DARWIN’S IDEA of a TREE of LIFE to characterize the ORIGIN, EVOLUTION
and DESTINY of LIFE, was an incredibly INTUITIVE and VISIONARY idea that made
the PROCESS of EVOLUTION come to life with magnificent simplicity.
DARWIN found in our GEOLOGIC HISTORY, one of the most important
components of EVOLUTION, the need for TIME to accommodate the LONG and
COMPLEX PROCESS of EVOLUTION by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION. The
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY believed that LIFE and our PLANET were only a few
thousand years old. This amount of time was not sufficient to accommodate the
extensive and complex GEOLOGIC HISTORY of our PLANET, nor the equally long and
complex NATURAL HISTORY of LIFE.
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION also found support and vindication in the
FUNDAMENTAL GENETIC DISCOVERIES that appeared later, one by one, in our
BIOLOGICAL HISTORY, such as:
- MENDEL’S discovery of the LAWS of INHERITANCE.
- FLEMMING’S discovery of CELL DIVISION and the DIVISION of the
CHROMOSOMES in the CELL NUCLEUS.

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 - De VRIES’ and MORGAN’S discovery of GENETIC MUTATIONS and other
GENETIC ABERRATIONS.
- CRICK’S and WATSON’S creation of the DOUBLE HELIX DNA MODEL.
All these fabulous discoveries provided some of the information needed to
explain the DIFFERENCES among INDIVIDUALS, the INHERITANCE of ACQUIRED
CHARACTERISTICS, the SELECTION by means of NATURAL FORCES and the
existence of such a FABULOUS VARIETY of LIFE on our BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET
EARTH.
In 1864, CHARLES DARWIN received the COPLEY MEDAL of the royal
society.
CHARLES DARWIN died on April 19, 1882 and was buried with FULL
HONORS at the WESTMINSTER ABBY, next to SIR ISAAC NEWTON, MICHAEL
FARADAY and his friend SIR CHARLES LYELL. DARWIN had become the NEWTON of
BIOLOGY with his intuitive BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTIONS.
With THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION,
DARWIN uncovered some of the GREAT HIDDEN TREASURES of LIFE and presented
them with great lucidity as FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS, which have
ascended with time to the status of NATURAL LAWS.

Some closing comments by CHARLES DARWIN from the end of his book:

“ As all the living forms of life are the lineal descents of those which lived long before
the Cambrian Epoch, we may feel certain that the ordinary succession by generation
has never once been broken, and that no cataclysm has desolated the whole world.
Hence we may look with some confidence to a secure future of great length. And as
natural selection works solely by and for the good of each being, all corporeal and
mental endowments will tend to progress towards perfection.”
“ There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been
originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that from so
simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been,

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and are being evolved.” By CHARLES DARWIN. These are certainly, words with
great meaning and significance.

AN ABSTRACT ON THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

THREE FUNDAMENTAL NATURAL LAWS DERIVED AND DEDUCED FROM
DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION

1. The NATURAL LAW of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION and the DIVERSITY of LIFE.
The NATURAL LAW of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION simply states that ALL LIVING
ORGANISMS are in a CONSTANT STATE of EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE, which proves
that they are in fact ALIVE and it also CREATES the DIVERSITY of LIFE.
This BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION is due to INTERNAL GENETIC CHANGES and to
CHANGES IMPOSED by EXTERNAL PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL FORCES.
The NATURAL GENETIC CHANGES and the GENETIC ABERRATIONS
(MUTATIONS, etc.) in the CELL are FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENT of the NATURAL
LAW of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.

2. The NATURAL LAW of BIOLOGICAL SELECTION and The SURVIVAL of the FITTEST.
The NATURAL LAW of BIOLOGICAL SELECTION simply states that the
NATURAL FORCES in the INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT of the CELL and the EXTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT of NATURE are constantly EVALUATING and SELECTING the
BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES in the CELL as well as the CHARACTERISTICS of LIVING
ORGANISMS, which best adapt to the ENVIRONMENT.
The PROCESS of BIOLOGICAL SELECTION chooses the most effective
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES in the CELL and the most efficient LIVING ORGANISMS in
adapting to the ENVIRONMENT. This ensures the SURVIVAL of the FITTEST and the
IMPROVEMENT of BIOLOGICAL POPULATIONS.
In essence, BIOLOGICAL SELECTION results in the GRADUAL SELECTION of
SMALL, but USEFUL GENETIC DEVIATIONS leading to the CREATION of BIOCHEMICAL
PROCESSES, ORGANS and INDIVIDUALS, which can best adapt to the INTERNAL and

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EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS and ensure the SURVIVAL of the FITTEST and the
CREATION of NEW SPECIES and better adapted BIOLOGICAL POPULATIONS.
3. The NATURAL LAW of UNIVERSAL CHANGE or The SUPREME LAW of CHANGE in
NATURE
The NATURAL LAW of UNIVERSAL CHANGE is the SUPREME LAW of CHANGE
in NATURE.
The MOST FUNDAMENTAL and the MOST POWERFUL LAW in NATURE is the
UNIVERSAL LAW of CHANGE, which simply states that EVERYTHING from the ATOM
to the CELL and the LIVING ORGANISMS, is in a CONSTANT STEADY STATE of
CHANGE, which proves the EXISTENCE of MATTER, ENERGY, SPACE, TIME and LIFE
ITSELF. In SYNTHESIS, if an ENTITY does not CHANGE, then it does not EXIST.
If we were asked to present a NATURAL LAW that could best substantiate,
validate and prove the existence of a SUPREME BEING (GOD) I would give without
hesitation the NATURAL LAW of UNIVERSAL CHANGE, or the SUPREME LAW of
CHANGE, because it is indeed the EMBODIMENT of ALL THINGS MAGNIFICENT,
INTUITIVE and DIVINE.
The SUPREME LAW of CHANGE is the one that best supports the FACT that the
NATURAL LAWS of our UNIVERSE are DYNAMIC and cannot be ALTERED because
they were created by a SUPREME BEING, who is the only one that can deal with the
INDEFINABLE ASYMPTOTES and ENIGMAS that surround us at every turn of our
existence.
The THEORY of EVOLUTION proposed by CHARLES DARWIN represents, today,
the BEDROCK, the FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURE and the MAJOR GUIDING
FORCE that DEFINES and SUSTAINS LIFE in our BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH.
It has been suggested that the LAW of NATURAL SELECTION used by DARWIN
in his THEORY of EVOLUTION, was and is an INSTRUMENT of DIVINE DESIGN.
In essence, we may venture to say that in his attempt to somehow UNITE
EVOLUTIONISM and CREATIONISM, DARWIN gave CREATIONISM a more NATURAL
and SECULAR IDENTITY. In so doing, DARWIN delivered the ORIGIN, EVOLUTION and
DESTINY of LIFE and HUMANITY to MAN and to GOD in a JOINT VENTURE with a
magnificent future full of adventures, enigmas and asymptotes.

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 The most challenging question in EVOLUTION is indeed the one about the
HUMAN SOUL. The most DIVINE ATTRIBUTE in MAN’S POSSESSION is that he
inherited a SOUL, which allows him the UNIQUE FUNCTION and RESPONSIBILITY to
THINK, CREATE and LOVE!
The answer to this inevitable question on the possession of our SOUL, is still
pending in the DOMAIN of NATURAL CREATIONS and it represents the GREATEST
CHALLENGE to EVOLUTION and HUMANITY.
It is relatively easy to explain BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL and PHYSICAL
CHANGES in terms of EVOLUTION, but explaining the EMOTIONAL CHANGES and
CONTENT of our SOUL is another ENIGMA and ASYMPTOTE in the DOMAIN of the
ABSTRACT, the SUPERNATURAL and the DEVINE WISDOM.

THE EVOLUTIONARY TRINITY
The THEORY of EVOLUTION consists of THREE FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS
that make possible an EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS capable of CREATING NEW SPECIES
by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION and our BEAUTIFUL GREEN PLANET EARTH,
which is indeed a NATURAL OUTDOOR MUSEUM with a magnificent variety of LIVING
ORGANISMS.
These THREE EVOLUTIONARY PARAMETERS represent the EVOLUTIONARY
TRINITY responsible for the CREATION of our PRODIGIOUS and ENIGMATIC
BIOLOGICAL WORLD, and they are:

1. The DNA MOLECULE with its INFINITE CAPACITY to produce NEW SPECIES by way
of NORMAL and ABNORMAL GENETIC MECHANISMS.

2. The ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES capable of SELECTING those INDIVIDUALS whose
properties are conducive to a better PROCESS of ADAPTATION to the ENVIRONMENT
and therefore to the SURVIVAL and CREATION of NEW SPECIES and better adapted
BIOLOGICAL POPULATIONS.
3. And the SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM, which is the PARAMETER that provides the
VEHICLE and the MEANS for the CREATION of NEW SPECIES and the NATURAL
SELECTION of the FITTEST INDIVIDUALS in a COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT.

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EVOLUTIONISM VS. CREATIONISM
When dealing with the CONCEPT of EVOLUTION, the CLERGY must exercise
some degree of OPEN MINDEDNESS and when dealing with the CONCEPT of
CREATIONISM ,the SCIENTISTS must also exercise some degree of OPEN
MINDEDNESS.
Any person or scientist who fails to recognize the participation of a SUPREME
BEING in the CREATION of LIFE, OUR UNIVERSE and our NATURAL LAWS, is bound to
have some LIMITATIONS in UNDERSTANDING the MAGNIFICENCE and VIRTUOSITY of
MOTHER NATURE and our UNIVERSE, as well as the necessity for some DIVINE
INTERVENTION in the CONCEPTION and CREATION of such FANTASTIC and
PRODIGIOUS NATURAL and SUPERNATURAL WORLD and CREATIVE LAWS.
EVOLUTIONISM and CREATIONISM are believed to INTERTWINE in such an
INTIMATE and FABULOUS way that it becomes almost impossible to DIFFERENTIATE
between them and to DETERMINE where ONE ENDS and the OTHER BEGINS.
The CONCEPT of BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, as well as the EXISTENCE of the
HUMAN MIND and SOUL, are FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS of a FANTASTIC and
ENIGMATIC CONTINUUM of EVOLUTIONISM-CREATIONISM, which is but ONE DIVINE
PHENOMENON.

A GREAT DILEMMA IN OUR BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION AND HISTORY
When we study the BIOLOGICAL HISTORY of our PLANET it becomes almost
incredible to believe and impossible to explain how LIFE on our PLANET changed from
DINOSAURS in the MESOZOIC ERA to the KINDS of ANIMAL SPECIES that we have
TODAY.
It is quite obvious that EXTRAORDINARY BIOLOGICAL and NON-BIOLOGICAL
EVENTS occurred that might help us explain, not only our GREAT DIVERSITY of LIFE,
but also the GREAT CHANGES that TRANSFORMED our LIFE FORMS from the
DINOSAURS of PREHISTORIC TIMES to the CROCODILES, IGUANAS and LIZARDS that
exist today.

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 It is true that CATASTROPHIC and NON-CATASTROPHIC GEOLOGIC PROCESSES
took place that made a FANTASTIC IMPACT on our BIOLOGICAL HISTORY and which
contributed to CHANGES in our LIFE FORMS.
Notwithstanding, we may venture to add that BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION still
has a few GREAT HURDLES to cross, such as: How can EVOLUTION produce GREAT
CREATURES like DINOSAURS at one time and then only produce such diminutive
CREATURES as IGUANAS and LIZARDS at another time?
BIOLOGICAL CHANGES in terms of NATURAL SELECTION and TIME, may have
a problem or two in trying to explain this GREAT DILEMMA of the FANTASTIC
VARIATIONS in the SIZE of our LIFE FORMS and more significantly, the precious
existence of the magnificent MIND and SOUL that somehow resides within the HUMAN
BODY and nowhere else! I am truly puzzled! The Author

THE CREATIONISM- EVOLUTIONISM CONTINUUM IS CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING A MAGNIFICENT LANDSCAPE AND OUR BEAUTIFUL
GREEN PLANET EARTH WITH EXQUISITE FINESSE, CREATIVITY
AND IMAGINATION.

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 THE STORY OF GREGOR MENDEL
GENETICS AND THE LAWS OF HEREDITY

The STORY of GREGOR MENDEL, GENETICS and the LAWS of HEREDITY is as
FASCINATING, INTUITIVE and COMPREHENSIVE as the STORY of CHARLES
DARWIN and BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, both SCIENTIFICALLY and HISTORICALLY.
In fact, the STORY of GENETICS and the LAWS of HEREDITY represents a
very LOGICAL, COMPLEMENTARY and SUPPORTIVE continuation of the STORY of
EVOLUTION by NATURAL SELECTION. This by virtue of the fact that the ideas in
both stories tend to STRENGTHEN each other and INTERACT in very interesting and
creative ways.
The PROCESSES in GENETICS and EVOLUTION intertwine in such DIVERSE
PATTERNS that it takes an EXPERT WEAVER to follow the RIGHT THREADS and
DIFFERENTIATE between these two PROCESSES as LIFE EVOLVES with TIME.
GENETICS and the LAWS of HEREDITY are so FUNDAMENTAL in
UNDERSTANDING EVOLUTION by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION that even
DARWIN himself felt WANTING for BASIC INFORMATION.
For example, DARWIN was unable to clearly explain, to his own satisfaction,
why some INDIVIDUALS in the SAME SPECIES had developed DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS and if these NEW CHARACTERISTICS were going to be
INHERITED by the OFFSPRING. Another problem that DARWIN had, was believing
that during CROSSBREEDING of SPECIES or VARIETIES with DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS, the resulting OFFSPRING would show a BLENDING of these
DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS into a COMBINATION SET. This was not the case,
and GREGOR MENDEL went on to show that the OFFSPRING had either the
characteristics of ONE PARENT or characteristics of the OTHER PARENT.
The answers to DARWIN’S DILEMMAS were to be found in MENDEL’S LAWS
of HEREDITY, which were unknown to DARWIN at the time.
Before DARWIN’S and MENDEL’S TIME (just a few years apart ) some studies
in GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION (the CROSSING of DIFFERENT INDIVIDUAL

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PLANTS or ANIMALS) had been conducted as a hobby and sometimes as a
SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOR. However, the results of these EARLY STUDIES in GENETICS
were not INTERPRETED and PRESENTED in terms of LAWS of HEREDITY, and
therefore they were not fully understood and inconclusive.
DARWIN himself had read the works on GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION by
several BIOLOGISTS, but the results were not conclusive and they did not provide
DARWIN with the information he needed to explain the VARIABILITY of
PROPERTIES between INDIVIDUALS and SPECIES, as well as the DIVERSITY of LIFE.

SOME EARLY IDEAS ON GENETICS AND HYBRIDIZATION
During the CLASSIC GREEK ERA, HIPPOCRATES, ARISTOTLE and
THEOPHRASTUS were the first PHILOSOPHERS and NATURALISTS to present some
of the most influential EARLY IDEAS on TAXONOMY, GENETICS and EVOLUTION.
ARISTOTLE was among the first to suggest that the FORM-GIVING
PRINCIPLES (or GENETIC FACTORS or CODES) in ORGANISMS were TRANSMITTED
by way of the MALE’S SEMEN and the FEMALE’S MENSTRUAL BLOOD, which
interacted in the WOMB to DIRECT the DEVELOPMENT of the NEW EMBRYO and
INDIVIDUAL.
Even as early as the GREEK ERA, the INHERITANCE of ACQUIRED
CHARACTERISTICS was an accepted CONCEPT. A concept that needed to be
addressed and explained by an adequate THEORY of HEREDITY and EVOLUTION.
The HINDU PHILOSOPHY of GURUS and AYURVEDA (a form of
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE) suggested that FOUR FACTORS determined the
CHARACTERISTICS of a CHILD:
- Those FACTORS provided by the MOTHERS REPRODUCTIVE MATERIAL.
- Those FACTORS provided by the FATHERS SPERMS.
- Those FACTORS provided by the DIET of the PREGNANT MOTHER.
- Those FACTORS provided by the SOUL, which entered into the FETUS.
Such ideas in GENETICS were very LOGICAL, but were also very LACKING in
SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS.

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 The MODERN IDEAS in GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION did not appear until
the RENAISSANCE ERA and the SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION of the 17th and 18th
Centuries, when the NATURAL SCIENCES attained the required SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE-BASE and MATURITY.

GENETICS AND HYBRIDIZATION DURING THE 18TH CENTURY
The STORY of GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION and how the characteristics in
LIVING ORGANISMS (PLANTS and ANIMALS) were TRANSMITTED, GENERATION
after GENERATION, had always been a fascinating and challenging SCIENTIFIC
JOURNEY in itself.
The marvelous BIOLOGICAL JOURNEY in GENETICS became more fantastic
after the CELL THEORY was proposed by MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN (in 1838) and
THEODOR SCHWANN (in 1839), and even more so after the PROCESS of CELL
DIVISION had been fully characterized by WALTHER FLEMMING (in 1882).
GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION was being observed by the WOMAN of the
HOUSE in the FLOWERING PLANTS and FRUIT TREES growing in their yards. It was
also being observed by the FARMERS in the SEED, FRUIT and FIBER CROPS in their
fields.
The practice of BREEDING DOMESTIC ANIMALS to improve their MILK,
MEAT and WOOL PRODUCTION, as well as their capacity to RACE and HUNT, and
their beauty, was a common ENDEAVOR.
A few other GENETIC CHANGES took place by way of MUTATIONS and other
GENETIC ABERRATIONS that puzzled the FARMERS, because their answers were
unknown.
All these observations and practices at HOME and in their FARMS became a
very important part of the early EFFORTS in the field of GENETICS and
HYBRIDIZATION.
The creation of a SYSTEM of BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION by CARL
LINNAEUS and of the THEORY of EVOLUTION by CHARLES DARWIN also created a

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significant need to understand the LAWS of GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION, which
were somewhat unknown.
Consequently, this lack of knowledge motivated many studies by notable
scientists, which became THE FOUNDATION of GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION in
the years to come.
RUDOLF CAMERARIUS
FIRST TO RECOGNIZE THAT PLANT HAD SEX ORGANS















RUDOLF J. CAMERARIUS (1665 - 1721) German Botanist and Physician.
The German Botanist, RUDOLF CAMERARIUS, was among the first to
recognize, in 1694, that PLANTS had SEX ORGANS. These SEX ORGANS were the
STAMEN (MALE ORGAN) and the PISTIL (FEMALE ORGAN).
The botanists JOHN RAY and NEHEMIAH GREW had also observed that
PLANTS had SEX ORGANS in some form and they suggested that the POLLEN in the
flowers was the MALE FERTILIZING AGENT.

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 CAMERARIUS did experiments and demonstrated that if the MALE and
FEMALE SEX ORGANS in PLANTS were separated, then the PLANT would produce
FRUITS without SEEDS due to the LACK of FERTILIZATION. In the case of PLANTS
like CORN, if FERTILIZATION did not take place the CORN PLANT did not produce
any CORN SEEDS at all.
The Swedish Botanist CARL LINNAEUS, the FOUNDER of TAXONOMY, was
among the GREAT NATURALISTS to first recognize that PLANTS had SEX ORGANS.
Furthermore, he went on to use the SEX ORGANS as one of the BASIC
CHARACTERISTICS to IDENTIFY and CLASSIFY PLANTS in his NEW TAXONOMIC
SYSTEM. In fact, LINNEAUS won the FIRST PRIZE from the ACADEMY of SCIENCES
for an article that he wrote in 1760 DEMONSTRATING and CONFIRMING the
EXISTENCE of SEX ORGANS in PLANTS.
CARL LINNAEUS and the German Naturalist, JOSEPH G. KOLREUTER, were
also among the first botanists to create, in the 1760’s, the first PLANT HYBRIDS by
means of HYBRIDIZATION or ARTIFICIAL HAND CROSS-POLLINATION.
The famous German Botanist, JOSEPH GAERTNER and his son KARL
FRIEDRICH VON GAERTNER, were the first to start a SCIENTIFIC STUDY of PLANTS
and PLANT BREEDING in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.

EARLY STUDIES ON HYBRIDIZATION DURING THE SECOND HALF
OF THE 18TH CENTURY

GREGOR MENDEL, the CREATOR of the LAWS of HEREDITY, defined
HYBRIDIZATION as the PROCESS of HAND CROSS-POLLINATION of TWO
DIFFERENT PEA PLANTS in order to produce a NEW GENERATION of HYBRID PEA
PLANTS.
SELF POLLINATION is the PROCESS by which a PLANT is allowed to
POLLINATE ITSELF in order to maintain its GENETIC PURITY and INTEGRITY.
HYBRIDIZATION, or CROSS-POLLINATION is a very important GENETIC
PROCESS, which is performed widely in EXPERIMENT STATIONS in order to

443
improve PLANT or CROP CHARACTERISTICS. CROSS-POLLINATION is done by
POLLINATING the FEMALE ORGAN of ONE PLANT with the POLLEN from ANOTHER
PLANT, in order to obtain the desired PLANT CHARACTERISTIC.
HYBRIDIZATION, is done to improve PLANT or CROP PROPERTIES, such as:
- QUALITY and QUANTITY of CROP PRODUCTION.
- ADAPTABILITY of the CROP to various AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, such as
MECHANICAL HARVESTING and CULTIVATION.
- CROP RESISTANCE to DISEASES and INSECTS as well as TOLERANCE to
ADVERSE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.

In ANIMALS, HYBRIDIZATION and CROSSBREEDING is an important
GENETIC PROCESS performed to improve the QUALITIES of OFFSPRING in FUTURE
GENERATIONS.
The ANIMAL QUALITIES that are usually considered for improvement are:
- Improvement to DISEASE and INSECT RESISTANCE and ADAPTABILITY to
STRESSFUL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
Other more specific QUALITIES may be:
- In CATTLE: Better MEAT and MILK PRODUCTION.
- In SHEEP: More and better quality of WOOL.
- In HOGS: More and leaner MEAT PRODUCTION.
- In CHICKENS: Higher MEAT and EGG PRODUCTION.
- In HORSES: Higher STRENGTH, SPEED and BEAUTY.
- In DOGS: Usefulness in GUARDING, HERDING, HUNTING and BEAUTY.

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 JOSEPH KOLREUTER
CONDUCTED SOME OF THE EARLY OUTSTANDING STUDIES ON
HYBRIDIZATION WITH TOBACCO PLANTS.



















JOSEPH GOTTLIEB KOLREUTER (1733 - 1806) German Botanist and Naturalist.
JOSEPH KOLREUTER was born on April 27, 1733 in Karlsruhe, son of an
Apothecary.
KOLREUTER studied MEDICINE at the University of Tubingen under the
Physician and Botanist, JOHANN G. GMELIN and received his Ph.D. DEGREE in 1755.
After graduation he moved to St. Petersburg (1756-1761) where he worked as a
NATURAL HISTORIAN at the ACADEMY of SCIENCES. There, he found time to study
the STRUCTURE of FLOWERS and their MECHANISM of POLLINATION.

445
 By 1761, he had produced his first HYBRID PLANTS. KOLREUTER was among
the first botanists to produce HYBRID PLANTS for SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES, especially
working with TOBACCO PLANTS (Nicotiana rustica and Paniculata).
In 1763, KOLREUTER moved back to Karlsruhe in the BLACK FOREST, where
he was appointed Professor of Natural History and Director of the Margrave’s
Gardens.
KOLREUTER started his early HYBRIDIZATION STUDIES in the FAMILY
GARDEN of his friend, the German Botanist, JOSEPH GAERTNER.
In his new position, KOLREUTER had good facilities to continue his work on
HYBRIDIZATION. He is regarded as one of the PIONEER in the field of PLANT
HYBRIDIZATION.
KOLREUTER continued, in the mid 1700’s, with his experiments on
HYBRIDIZATION with many PLANT SPECIES. This was done about the same time
that CARL LINNAEUS was also working on PLANT HYBRIDIZATION and on creating
his NEW SYSTEM of BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION.
In 1760, KOLREUTER published a book on PLANT BREEDING and PLANT
SEXUALITY, which became a CLASSIC in the HISTORY of HYBRIDIZATION.
KOLREUTER’S outstanding and prolific work on HYBRIDIZATION was
somewhat ignored by his contemporaries because of POOR SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNICATION. Also because the 18th Century was more the AGE of CARL
LINNAEUS and his NEW SYSTEM of BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION. This was also
the AGE of the NEW CHEMISTRY of LAVOISIER, PRIESTLEY, CAVENDISH and
BLACK.
Great SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS in NATURAL HISTORY also took place,
which dominated the attention of the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. These included the
fantastic expeditions by CHARLES DARWIN and ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.
Notwithstanding, the great studies on HYBRIDIZATION by KOLREUTER
became well known during the 19th Century.
CHARLES DARWIN studied KOLREUTER’S WORK, which became part of
DARWIN’S THINKING on the ORIGIN OF SPECIES BY MEANS OF NATURAL

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SELECTION. In fact, KOLREUTER’S NAME appears several times in DARWIN’S
GREAT BOOK on EVOLUTION.
KOLREUTER’S EXPERIMENTS on HYBRIDIZATION were repeated by the
French Agronomist, AUGUSTIN SAGERET (1763 - 1851), by the German Botanist,
KARL FRIEDRICH VON GAERTNER and by other botanists, which testified to the
accuracy and veracity of KOLREUTER’S outstanding work in GENETICS.
KARL VON GAERTNER was the one botanist who made significant
contributions to GENETICS by repeating and extending KOLREUTER’S WORK on
HYBRIDIZATION.
The studies on HYBRIDIZATION by JOSEPH KOLREUTER and by KARL VON
GAERTNER laid the foundation for the outstanding studies by GREGOR MENDEL and
the creation of his LAWS of HEREDITY.
JOSEPH KOLREUTER died in 1806 after making a significant contribution to
the study of PLANT POLLINATION and HYBRIDIZATION, which served as a guide to
BOTANISTS and PLANT BREEDERS all over the world for many decades.

GAERTNER’S STUDIES WITH TOBACCO PLANTS

447
 KARL VON GAERTNER
CONDUCTED SOME OF THE EARLY OUTSTANDING STUDIES ON
HYBRIDIZATION WITH TOBACCO PLANTS.



















KARL FRIEDRICH VON GAERTNER (1772 - 1850) German Botanist.
KARL VON GAERTNER was born on May 1, 1772. His father was JOSEPH
GAERTNER (1732 - 1791), a WORLD FAMOUS BOTANIST and a friend of JOSEPH
KOLREUTER.
GAERTNER was sent to a MONASTERY SCHOOL near Tubingen, were he
received an excellent education in the SCIENCES. Subsequently, GAERTNER received
his MEDICAL DEGREE in 1796, from the CARLS AKADEMIA in STUTTGART.

448
 After his father’s death in 1791, KARL worked on the publication of his
fathers THREE-VOLUME BOOK on BOTANICAL STUDIES, which became a CLASSIC
in the field BOTANY.
By 1824, GAERTNER had started his fantastic career on the HYBRIDIZATION
of various PLANT SPECIES, which included repeating some of KOLREUTER’S
EXPERIMENTS on the HYBRIDIZATION of various TOBACCO VARIETIES.
GAERTNER continued his prolific work on PLANT HYBRIDIZATION for
another 20 years, which became a great source of valuable information to
GENETICISTS for several generations.
In the 1830’s and 1840’s, he published many papers on HYBRIDIZATION and
lectured at BOTANICAL CONFERENCES in Heidelberg, Erlangen and Stuttgart.
In 1849, GAERTNER published his book, EXPERIMENTS AND
OBSERVATIONS ON HYBRIDIZATION IN THE PLANT KINGDOM.
His book became a BOTANICAL MASTERPIECE containing information on
many experiments with about 700 SPECIES, which resulted in the production of
over 250 different HYBRID PLANTS.
GAERTNER’S BOOK marked the culmination of his great work on
HYBRIDIZATION, which paved the way for the HYBRIDIZATION STUDIES that
resulted in the creation of FANTASTIC SPECIES and VARIETIES of many important
WORLD CROPS.
Several important biologists followed KOLREUTER’S and GAERTNER’S
FOOTSTEPS. These included the British Horticulturists, THOMAS ANDREW KNIGHT,
ALEXANDER SETON and JOHN GOSS, as well as the American Botanists, THOMAS
GOODSPEED, EDWARD EAST and R. E. CLAUSEN.
CHARLES DARWIN read GAERTNER’S BOOK and commented that the book
contained much valuable information that it should be known by many other
NATURALISTS and BOTANISTS.
GREGOR MENDEL also read GAERTNER’S BOOK and remarked that the book
contained RECORDS of many valuable EXPERIMENTS and OBSERVATIONS.

449
 KARL VON GAERTNER died in 1850, not knowing of the FAME and
ADMIRATION that he was to receive from the next generation of NATURALISTS and
BOTANISTS all over the world.
KARL VON GAERTNER may be regarded as the DIRECT SUCCESSOR to
JOSEPH KOLREUTER and the DIRECT PREDECESSOR of the great Austrian Botanist,
GREGOR MENDEL.

CHARLES NAUDIN
DID EXTENSIVE STUDIES ON HYBRIDIZATION AND DIVERSIFICATION OF PLANT
SPECIES IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

CHARLES VICTOR NAUDIN (1815 - 1899) French Botanist and Naturalist.
CHARLES NAUDIN was born on August 14, 1815.
NAUDIN graduated in 1837 from the University of Montpellier. In 1842, he
obtained his DOCTORATE DEGREE and then spent several years teaching.

450
 In 1846, NAUDIN joined the HERBARIUM of the NATURAL MUSEUM of
NATURAL HISTORY as a NATURALIST. In 1863, he became a member of the
ACADEMY of SCIENCES.
In 1869, NAUDIN created an EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN and began his studies
in GENETICS. In 1878, he was appointed Director of the Botanical Garden of Villa
Thuret of Antibes (now an INRA LABORATORY).
NAUDIN collaborated with AUGUSTIN SAINT-HILARIE on the publications of
the BRAZILIAN FLORA and continued to study the FLORA of Brazil for a number of
years.
NAUDIN became interested in the DIVERSIFICATION of PLANT SPECIES,
particularly PUMPKINS, and in the ACCLIMATIZATION of NEW SPECIES to the
RIVIERA REGION of France.
NAUDIN established the NON-PERMANENCE of HYBRID PLANTS, which was
contrary to the general accepted view at the time. He also believed that NEW
SPECIES were formed in the same way as our CULTIVATED VARIETIES, by way of a
PROCESS of SYSTEMATIC SELECTION.
NAUDIN, like CARL LINNAEUS, JOSEPH KOLREUTER and KARL VON
GAERTNER, conducted extensive experiments in HYBRIDIZATION, especially with
HYBRID PLANTS. In these studies, NAUDIN observed several PHENOMENA in
GENETICS, including the development of DOMINANT PROPERTIES, HYBRID
STERILITY and of HIGH VARIABILITY of PROPERTIES resulting from BACK
CROSSES.
Both, CHARLES DARWIN and GREGOR MENDEL studied NAUDIN’S WORK in
GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION.
CHARLES NAUDIN is regarded as one of the PRECURSORS of MODERN
GENETICS.

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 FRANCIS GALTON
A CHILD PRODIGY AND COUSIN OF CHARLES DARWIN.
AMONG THE FIRST TO APPLY STATISTICS TO GENETIC STUDIES



















FRANCIS GALTON (1822 - 1911) English Anthropologist.
FRANCIS GALTON was born on February 16, 1822, in a wealthy family and
was the first cousin of the famous Naturalist, CHARLES DARWIN.
GALTON was a CHILD PRODIGY who could read before he was three and was
studying LATIN at age four.
GALTON graduated in MATHEMATICS from TRINITY COLLEGE, Cambridge
University in 1844 and afterwards he obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE.

452
 During the late 1840’s he travelled throughout AFRICA and wrote several
books on his experiences as an EXPLORER in 1853 and 1855.
He then became interested in METEOROLOGY and in 1863, he wrote a book
called METEREOGRAPHICS, in which he FOUNDED the MODERN TECHNIQUE of
WEATHER-MAPPING. He was the first to DIFFERENTIATE between HIGH PRESSURE
FRONTS (which usually bring FAIR and CALM WEATHER) and LOW PRESSURE
FRONTS (which usually bring STORMY WEATHER).
When CHARLES DARWIN’S THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES was first published in
1859, GALTON became interested in the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES and consequently
he spent the latter half of his life dedicated to the study of ANTHROPOLOGY with
emphasis on HEREDITY.
It was rather unfortunate that MENDEL’S WORK on the LAWS of HEREDITY
were not known by the SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY during GALTON’S TIME.
GALTON believed that the characteristics of an INDIVIDUAL, BLENDED upon
CROSSBREEDING and therefore the OFFSPRING represented an INTERMEDIATE
STATE. MENDEL went on to show that CHARACTERISTICS did not BLEND and
instead, that they maintained their INTEGRITY, generation after generation.
DARWIN died before knowing that MENDEL had confirmed and
strengthened his THEORY of EVOLUTION by proving that CHARACTERISTICS BRED
TRUE and maintained their integrity through time.
GALTON lived long enough to learn about MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY,
when the Dutch Botanist, HUGO De VRIES rediscovered MENDEL’S PAPERS in the
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.
GALTON did make important advances in the study of HEREDITY. He was the
first to stress the importance of applying STATISTICAL ANALYSIS to the
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. He also introduced the concept of STATISTICAL
CORRELATIONS in 1888.
He was the first to study IDENTICAL TWINS, where HEREDITY might be
considered IDENTICAL, thus allowing to recognize the DIFFERENCES due only to
the ENVIRONMENT.

453
 GALTON demonstrated the INDIVIDUALITY of the FINGER PRINTS of a
PERSON and developed the SYSTEM of FINGER-PRINT IDENTIFICATION.
In 1869, GALTON showed that MENTAL ABILITY among people followed a
BELL-SHAPED CURVE DISTRIBUTION, just as the Belgian Astronomer and
Statistician, LAMBERT QUETELET, had observed for the PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS in HUMANS. GALTON concluded from his studies that MENTAL
ABILITY was INHERITED.
GALTON also believed that DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS in HUMANS could
be increased and improved by PROPER BREEDING and in 1883 he proposed the
name of EUGENICS for the SCIENCE dealing with the IMPROVEMENT of HUMAN
GENETICS. Unfortunately, the MODE of INHERITANCE of HUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS is very complex and not well understood, even today.
MENDEL’S discovery of RECESSIVE CHARACTERISTICS and the discovery of
SPONTANEOUS MUTATIONS made EUGENICS even more complex. It is now
understood that BREEDING OUT (ELIMINATING) UNDESIRABLE
CHARACTERISTICS in any SPECIES takes a very long time and there are no
guarantees.
The idea of EUGENICS was again brought to the attention of the SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY by the American Biologist and Nobel Laureate, HERMANN MULLER, in
the 1900’s. EUGENICS is sometimes associated with the idea of RACISM.
GALTON received many HONORS, including the GOLD MEDAL of the ROYAL
SOCIETY (in 1888), the HUXLEY MEDAL (in 1901), HONORARY FELLOW of TRINITY
COLLEGE (in 1902) and DARWIN’S MEDAL of the ROYAL SOCIETY (in 1902).
SIR FRANCIS GALTON was KNIGHTED in 1909.

During the 18th Century, several outstanding botanists, including CARL
LINNAEUS, JOSEPH KOLREUTER, KARL VON GAERTNER, CHARLES NAUDIN,
AUGUSTIN SAGERET and many others, performed numerous studies in PLANT
HYBRIDIZATION and produced a great deal of information, which indicated that
some very DEFINITE GENETIC TRENDS were actually taking place. This meant that

454
the time had come for someone to try to explain and make some kind of sense, out of
all this magnificent, but confusing body of information.
It was an unknown and modest Austrian Monk and Botanist by the name of
GREGOR MENDEL, who made the first successful attempt to explain all these DATA
on PLANT HYBRIDIZATION in terms of SIMPLE GENETIC LAWS that could be
expressed MATHEMATICALLY and properly evaluated STATISTICALLY.

GREGOR MENDEL
THE UNASSUMING MONK AND BOTANIST WHO STARTED THE
MODERN SCIENCE OF GENETICS

455
 THE ERA OF GREGOR MENDEL’S GENETICS - 19TH CENTURY

GREGOR JOHANN MENDEL (1822 - 1884) Austrian Monk and Botanist.
GREGOR MENDEL was the son of a Peasant. After a childhood of POVERTY he
tried to support himself and obtain an EDUCATION by TUTORING and by taking care
of the FRUIT TREES of the LORD’S FARM.
In 1840, MENDEL entered the faculty of PHILOSOPHY at the University of
Olomouc. The head of the department of NATURAL HISTORY, JOHANN KARL
NESTLER and one of his professors, FRIEDRICH FRANZ, were doing extensive
research on HEREDITY of PLANTS and ANIMALS and this attracted MENDEL’S
attention.
In 1843, MENDEL entered the AUGUSTINIAN ST. THOMAS ABBEY and began
his training as a MONK. At that time he changed his name from JOHANN to GREGOR.
MENDEL was ordained as a PRIEST in 1847.
In 1851, MENDEL was sent to the University of Vienna to obtain more
FORMAL EDUCATION under the sponsorship of the Abbott, C. F. NAPP.
In 1854, MENDEL was given permission to start his investigations on PLANT
BREEDING at the MONASTERY’S EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN (about 4.9 ACRES in
SIZE), a GARDEN that had been started in 1830 by NAPP.
MENDEL was always very much interested in BOTANY and MATHEMATICS
and he combined these two SCIENCES to create his hobby in PLANT BREEDING that
resulted in a life of great accomplishments and the development of his LAWS of
INHERITANCE and SEGREGATION.
MENDEL is regarded as the FOUNDER of the SCIENCE of GENETICS for his
outstanding studies in PLANT BREEDING and for the development of his LAWS of
HEREDITY.
In 1857, MENDEL began his BREEDING EXPERIMENTS with PEA PLANTS
(Pisum sativum), which lasted eight years. To start his studies, MENDEL selected
several PLANT CHARACTERISTICS, which appeared to be INHERITED
INDEPENDENTLY, such as PLANT SIZE, SEED SHAPE, POD SHAPE, FLOWER COLOR,

456
FLOWER LOCATION and a few others. He was very careful about keeping NOTES on
the various CHARACTERISTICS of his PEA PLANTS and in saving the SEEDS from the
INDIVIDUAL SELF-POLLINATED PLANTS for his future BREEDING EXPERIMENTS.
MENDEL also SELF-POLLINATED each PLANT and wrapped them to prevent
accidental CROSS-POLLINATION by INSECTS or WIND. This ensured that the
INHERITED CHARACTERISTICS came from a SINGLE PARENT PLANT. The SEEDS
produced by EACH SELF-POLLINATED PEA PLANT were then planted separately to
study the properties of the NEW GENERATION of PLANTS.
MENDEL was the first to use the term DOMINANT and RECESSIVE for the
various PLANT CHARACTERISTICS.
Between 1856 and 1863 MENDEL experimented with some 29,000 PEA
PLANTS.

DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE RESULTS OF CROSS-POLLINATION.

457
RESULTS FROM MENDEL’S BREEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH PEA PLANTS
MENDEL began by SELF-POLLINATING TALL PLANTS and DWARF PLANTS.
Next -
He planted the RESULTING SEEDS from the INDIVIDUAL SELF-POLLINATED
PLANTS (TALL and DWARF) and studied the CHARACTERISTICS of the NEXT
GENERATION of PLANTS.
Results on Segregation -
The SEEDS from SELF-POLLINATED DWARF PLANTS produced only DWARF
PLANTS and these DWARF PLANTS BRED-TRUE, generation after generation.
The SEEDS from SELF-POLLINATED TALL PLANTS did not always BREED-
TRUE and the results were as follows:
1/3 of TALL PLANTS BRED-TRUE, producing TALL PLANTS generation after
generation. These were the PUREBRED DOMINANT PLANTS.
2/3 of TALL PLANTS did not BREED-TRUE and produced THREE TIMES
more TALL PLANTS than DWARF PLANTS.
This indicated that there were TWO KINDS of TALL PLANTS, the TRUE-
BREEDERS (1/3) and the NON TRUE-BREEDERS (2/3).
MENDEL went one step further:
He CROSSBRED TALL PLANTS (100% TRUE BREEDERS) with DWARF
PLANTS (100% TRUE BREEDERS) and the results on SEGREGATION were as
follows:
All the SEEDS from the resulting HYBRID PLANTS produced ALL TALL
PLANTS, which indicated that TALL PLANTS represented a DOMINANT TALL
CHARACTERISTIC.
The DWARF PLANTS had disappeared in this generation of plants, indicating
that the DWARF PLANTS represented a RECESSIVE DWARF CHARACTERISTIC.
Next - MENDEL SELF-POLLINATED these HYBRID TALL PLANTS (the CROSS of
TRUE-BREEDERS, TALL and DWARF PLANTS) and the results on SEGREGATION
were as follows:

458
 The FIRST GENERATION produced ALL NON TRUE-BREEDERS.
The SECOND GENERATION produced as follows:
1/4 were TRUE-BREEDERS RECESSIVE DWARF PLANTS.
1/4 were TRUE-BREEDERS DOMINANT TALL PLANTS.
1/2 were NON TRUE-BREEDERS HYBRID TALL PLANTS.
The NON TRUE-BREEDERS HYBRID TALL PLANTS (1/2) continued to
produce TALL and DWARF PLANTS following the simple PROPORTIONS indicated
above: 1/4, 1/4, 1/2.
MENDEL had proven that PLANT CHARACTERISTICS were indeed
INHERITED by FUTURE GENERATIONS and that BOTH PARENT PLANTS
contributed to the FUTURE GENERATIONS of PLANTS.
MENDEL studied other characteristics in PEA PLANTS in a similar way and
found another FUNDAMENTAL RULE of HEREDITY.
MENDEL observed that when two plants with DIFFERENT
CHARACTERISTICS were CROSSBRED (like TALL and DWARF PLANTS) these
characteristics DID NOT BLEND into an INTERMEDIATE CONDITION; instead the
DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS retained their integrity. In other words, the
RESULTING PLANTS were either TALL or DWARF and there were no MEDIUM- SIZE
PLANTS.
MENDEL’S LAW of HEREDITY and SEGREGATION became very useful to
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION by showing that NATURAL SELECTION could
take place SLOWLY and that the various CHARACTERISTICS in a VARIETY or
SPECIES, maintained their INTEGRITY and IDENTITY with TIME, generation after
generation.
MENDEL’S LAW of HEREDITY demonstrated two important rules:
- PLANT CHARACTERISTICS were INHERITED and passed on to FUTURE
GENERATIONS.
- PLANT CHARACTERISTICS DID NOT BLEND in FUTURE GENERATIONS.

MENDEL’S LAW of HEREDITY complemented and vindicated DARWIN’S
THEORY of EVOLUTION. He went on to use SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL RULES and

459
PROPORTIONS, based on whether PLANT CHARACTERISTICS were DOMINANT or
RECESSIVE.
MENDEL published his GROUNDBREAKING and FUNDAMENTAL RESULTS
on HYBRIDIZATION and SEGREGATION in his first paper of 1865 and in his second
paper of 1869 in the TRANSACTIONS OF THE BRUNN NATURAL HISTORIC SOCIETY.
MENDEL sent a copy of his papers to the well-known Swiss Botanist, KARL
VON NAGELI in the 1860’s with the hope of receiving some SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT
and RECOGNITION, but NAGELI ignored them and failed to recognize the value of
MENDEL’S WORK.
Unfortunately, MENDEL’S LAW of HEREDITY remained ignored for several
decades, partly due to the rather obscure journal in which he had published his
outstanding and fundamental work in GENETICS.
MENDEL did not continue his research in GENETICS, perhaps due to the lack
of incentives and facilities, and because in 1868 he was appointed ABBOTT at his
MONASTERY and much of his time went into his ADMINISTRATIVE and RELIGIOUS
DUTIES.
GREGOR MENDEL did maintain his AMATEUR INTEREST in METEOROLOGY
and continued to keep careful records of the DAILY WEATHER; just as the FOUNDER
of our MODERN ATOMIC THEORY, the English Chemist JOHN DALTON had done a
half century earlier.
MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY made a significant contribution to PLANT
BREEDERS all over the world by facilitating their work on improving many CROPS
and their capacity to produce HIGHER YIELDS and MORE NUTRITIOUS FOOD, and to
tolerate infestations and adverse climatic conditions.
MENDEL died in 1882 without knowing that his LAWS of HEREDITY were
going to be explained and confirmed by the CELL THEORY proposed by the German
Biologists, MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN and THEODOR SCHWANN and by the
characterization of CELL DIVISION advanced by the German Biologist, WALTHER
FLEMMING.
GREGOR MENDEL also died never aware that he was going to become a
famous BOTANIST and the FOUNDER of GENETICS and HEREDITY.

460
 CHARLES DARWIN also died not knowing that GREGOR MENDEL’S work on
HEREDITY was going to help confirm with exquisite finesse, his THEORY of
EVOLUTION by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION.
As we all know, SCIENCE has a whimsical and enigmatic MIND OF ITS OWN
when it comes to unveiling the MYSTERIES of NATURE.
With his magnificent studies in GENETICS and the creation of his LAWS of
HEREDITY, GREGOR MENDEL had started the MODERN AGE of GENETICS by the
end of the 19th Century.

GENETICS AFTER GREGOR MENDEL
GREGOR MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY were not widely accepted until after
his death. During MENDEL’S TIME most biologists, including CHARLES DARWIN,
believed that ALL CHARACTERISTICS were passed on to the NEXT GENERATION by
way of a BLENDING INHERITANCE, where the characteristics from each parent
were AVERAGED into an INTERMEDIATE CONDITION. MENDEL’S WORK
determined that during CROSSBREEDING there was NO BLENDING and that the
INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS retained their INTEGRITY and IDENTITY.
Instances of BLENDING of CHARACTERISTICS have been OBSERVED under
more COMPLEX GENETIC SITUATIONS involving MULTIPLE GENES with
QUANTITATIVE EFFECTS.
In 1900, almost half a century after his papers were published, three
biologists rediscovered GREGOR MENDEL’S PAPERS during a REVIEW of the
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. This helped to publicize MENDEL’S outstanding LAWS of
HEREDITY during the next decades.
These biologists were the Dutch Botanist, HUGO De VRIES, the German
Botanist, KARL CORRENS and the Austrian Botanist, ERIC VON TSCHERMAK. These
three biologists had done, independently, research similar to MENDEL’S WORK and
had come to the same conclusions. Notwithstanding, all three biologists were very
generous in acknowledging and accepting that GREGOR MENDEL had been the first
to create the LAWS of HEREDITY.

461
 Soon after MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY were rediscovered, MENDEL’S
WORK was given the SCIENTIFIC RECOGNITION that it deserved and GENETICS
began to be recognized as a NEW SCIENCE of its own with all its MAGNIFICENT
RAMIFICATIONS.
Biologists studied MENDEL’S WORK and began to reevaluate his ideas
experimentally. GENETIC STUDIES began to interpret GENETIC RESEARCH in terms
of GENOTYPIC PROPERTIES (in the GENES) and in terms of the PHENOTYPIC
PROPERTIES (VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS), which had been emphasized by
MENDEL and other GENETICISTS up to this time.
Several STATISTICAL STUDIES on PHENOTYPIC VARIATIONS were made by
various BIOMETRISTS, including KARL PEARSON (1857 - 1936) and W. F. R.
WELDON (1860 - 1906). Also by the English Biologists, RONALD A. FISHER (1890 -
1962) and WILLIAM BATESON (1861 - 1926).
WILLIAM BATESON became a strong supporter of MENDEL’S LAWS of
HEREDITY and translated MENDEL’S PAPERS into English. BATESON introduced the
word GENETICS and other terminology and became the first Professor of Genetics at
Cambridge University in 1908.
Research in GENETICS after MENDEL’S STUDIES, resulted in bringing
together MENDEL’S GENETICS and DARWIN’S EVOLUTION to create the NEW
SCIENCE of EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY.

KARL WILHELM VON NAGELI (1817 - 1891) Swiss Botanist.
KARL VON NAGELI was born on March 27, 1817, the son of a Physician.
NAGELI went on to become a renowned botanist in Europe.
NAGELI graduated in BOTANY in 1840 from the University of Zurich, where
he studied under the notable Swiss-French Botanist, AUGUSTIN CANDOLLE (the
creator of the word TAXONOMY).
In 1857, NAGELI became a Professor of Botany at the University of Munich
were he remained the rest of his life.
NAGELI became interested in the CELL THEORY that had been proposed by
the German Botanist, MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN, who believed that NEW CELLS were

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produced by the BUDDING-OFF from the SURFACE of the NUCLEUS in the MOTHER
CELL.
NAGELI was among the first to disagree with SCHLEIDEN on how CELLS
DIVIDED. However, the complete and correct explanation of how CELLS really
DIVIDED came from the famous German Anatomist, WALTHER FLEMMING in the
1870’s.
FLEMMING was among the first to use the new STAINING TECHNIQUES to
study and explain the entire PROCESS of CELL DIVISION. Here, he observed that the
MOTHER CELL SPLIT in HALF to produce the TWO NEW DAUGHTER CELLS. In
other words, there was no BUDDING-OFF in the PROCESS of CELL DIVISION.
NAGELI also received a copy of the paper on GENETICS and the LAWS of
INHERITANCE from an unknown MONK, GREGOR MENDEL.
MENDEL had sent in the mid 1860’s the results of his studies in GENETICS to
NAGELI for review and comments. NAGELI ignored MENDEL’S PAPERS and this
resulted in delaying the development of MODERN GENETICS and PLANT BREEDING
for a full generation.
It was the Dutch Botanist, HUGO De VRIES, who rediscovered in 1900
GREGOR MENDEL’S PAPERS while doing a REVIEW of the LITERATURE for his own
research, which was very similar to MENDEL’S WORK.
NAGELI was also the biologist who accepted DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION with some reservations. NAGELI could not accept the RANDOM
PROCESS of NATURAL SELECTION as the ONLY FORCE driving the EVOLUTIONARY
DEVELOPMENT of SPECIES. He believed that there was also an INNER PUSH in
LIVING ORGANISMS that guided the EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES in a particular
direction, apart from the ENVIRONMENT.
This kind of thinking created confusion in understanding the ORIGIN of
SPECIES by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION in terms of ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES.
NAGELI believed that EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES were not always SMOOTH and
CONTINUOUS, but that they could proceed in JUMPS. This notion was supported by
the discovery of the BIOLOGICAL MUTATIONS by HUGO De VRIES, who went on to
propose his THEORY of MUTATIONS a generation later.

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 HUGO De VRIES
THE BRILLIANT GENETICIST WHO REDISCOVERED
GREGOR MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE.
PROPONENT OF THE CONCEPT OF THE GENES
AND THE THEORY OF MUTATIONS.

HUGO MARIE De VRIES (1848 - 1935) Dutch Botanist and Geneticist.
HUGO De VRIES was born on February 16, 1848, the eldest son of GERRIT De
VRIES (1818 - 1900), a LAWYER, a MENNONITE DEACON and PRIME MINISTER of
the Netherlands (1872 - 1874). His mother MARIA E. REUVENS was the daughter of
an Archeology Professor at Leiden University.

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 HUGO De VRIES was a great Dutch Botanist and one of the first GENETICISTS
who is best remembered for proposing the CONCEPT of the GENES and the
MUTATION THEORY in BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION. De VRIES was also the first to
rediscover GREGOR MENDEL’S PAPERS on the LAWS of INHERITANCE.
From an early age, De VRIES was very much interested in BOTANY and won
several prizes for a HERBARIUM that he had prepared at home.
De VRIES studied BOTANY under the notable German Botanist, JULIUS VON
SACHS at Leiden University and graduated in 1870.
In 1877, De VRIES became a Professor of Plant Physiology at the newly
founded University of Amsterdam and in 1881 he became a full Professor. In 1885,
he also became Professor and Director of the AMSTERDAM BOTANICAL INSTITUTE
and GARDEN until 1918.
In 1883, De VRIES studied the effect of the CONCENTRATION of SALT
SOLUTIONS on PLANT CELLS. This inspired the Dutch Physical Chemist, JACOBUS
VAN’T HOFF to do his THEORETICAL ANALYSIS of the PROPERTIES of SOLUTIONS,
for which he won the 1901 NOBEL PRIZE in CHEMISTRY.

THE CONCEPT OF THE GENES
In 1889, De VRIES published his book, INTRACELLULAR PANGENESIS. In this
book, he postulated that the different characteristics of individuals had different
CARRIERS and that the INHERITANCE of these CHARACTERISTICS was due to the
TRANSFER of these CARRIERS, or PARTICLES, which he called PANGENES. In 1909,
the Danish Botanist, WILHELM L. JOHANNSEN, suggested that these PANGENES, or
GENETIC PARTICLES should be called GENES (from the Greek word meaning, TO
GIVE BIRTH TO). From the word GENES, other words were also created, such as:
GENOTYPE and GENETICS.

REDISCOVERY OF GREGOR MENDEL’S PAPERS IN THE LATE 1890’S
To support his new THEORY of PANGENES (or GENES), De VRIES conducted,
in the 1890’s, a series of experiments where he HYBRIDIZED VARIETIES of
SEVERAL SPECIES. Although unaware of MENDEL’S WORK, he also used the

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CONCEPTS of DOMINANT and RECESSIVE CHARACTERISTICS. He found similar
results to those that GREGOR MENDEL had obtained a few years earlier.
De VRIES found a SEGREGATION with a 3:1 RATIO in the PHENOTYPES
(VISUAL PROPERTIES) of the SECOND GENERATION, Namely: 1/4 of DOMINANT
TRUE BREEDERS, 1/4 of RECESSIVE TRUE-BREEDERS and 2/4 (1/2) of NON TRUE-
BREEDER HYBRID PLANTS.
De VRIES’ results also confirmed his HYPOTHESIS that the INHERITANCE of
INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS in PLANTS came by way of INDIVIDUAL
PARTICLES, or PANGENES (GENES). He suggested that INDIVIDUAL GENES could
CROSS the SPECIES BARRIERS, thus resulting in CROSSBREEDING between SPECIES.
In the late 1890’s, De VRIES found MENDEL’S PAPERS on his LAWS of
INHERITANCE and decided to change the TERMINOLOGY he had used in his work to
one that matched MENDEL’S TERMINOLOGY.
In 1900, De VRIES published the results of his experiments and
acknowledged that he was CONFIRMING the information that had been published
by MENDEL a generation earlier.
De VRIES and two other Botanists, KARL CORRENS and ERICH VON
TSCHERMAK, separately acknowledged that GREGOR MENDEL was the original
proponent of the LAWS of INHERITANCE and that their results had been presented
to only confirm the veracity of MENDEL’S WORK. This was certainly a dignified and
noble chapter in the HISTORY of SCIENCE, which revealed the ideal INTEGRITY
usually found in TRUE SCIENTISTS.

THE MUTATION THEORY
De VRIES was a brilliant Geneticist who also advanced MENDEL’S WORK by
way of his MUTATION THEORY.
In 1886, while going for a walk along a meadow, De VRIES came across a
beautiful field of EVENING PRIMROSE (Oenothera lamarckiana) so named in honor
of the French Naturalist, JEAN LAMARCK.
De VRIES collected some PRIMROSE SEEDS and planted them in his
EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN. He found that these seeds produced several VARIETIES

466
including some NEW VARIETIES, which were very different from the rest of the
PRIMROSE PLANTS. De VRIES considered that these NEW VARIETIES were the
product of some GENETIC ABERRATION, which he named MUTATIONS (from the
Latin word meaning TO CHANGE).
In his TWO-VOLUME PUBLICATION, THE MUTATION THEORY (1900 - 1903),
De VRIES proposed his NEW IDEAS on MUTATIONS. Here, he suggested that
DARWIN’S EVOLUTION of SPECIES could also took place by way of these DRASTIC
and UNEXPECTED GENETIC CHANGES or MUTATIONS, in addition to the more
normal GENETIC CHANGES, commonly observed.
One of the weaknesses of DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION was his lack of
a proper explanation on how INDIVIDUALS from the same SPECIES had developed
different characteristics.
De VRIES’ discovery of MUTATIONS in 1886, added a significant amount of
veracity to DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION. MUTATIONS actually represented
the PROCESS of EVOLUTION taking place right in front of our eyes, within a short
span of time of just a few months.
The concept of MUTATIONS became a very important factor in explaining
DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION in terms of GENETICS. MUTATIONS were also a
source of inspiration to the American Geneticist, THOMAS HUNT MORGAN who did
studies on MUTATIONS with FRUIT FLIES, a generation later.
In 1903, De VRIES published another paper were he suggested the
occurrence of RECOMBINATION between HOMOLOGOUS CHROMOSOMES, a
PROCESS now known as CHROMOSOMAL CROSSOVER.
In 1902, the American Geneticist, WALTER S. SUTTON was able to show that
ALL CHROMOSOMES existed in PAIRS and he suggested that CHROMOSOMES were
most likely the CARRIERS of the HEREDITARY FACTORS that GREGOR MENDEL had
proposed a half century earlier. In 1903, SUTTON also indicated that
CHROMOSOMES carried the GENES (that De VRIES had proposed) and that each SEX
CELL provided only ONE of the CHROMOSOMES in EACH PAIR.
In 1905, De VRIES was elected a FOREIGN MEMBER of the ROYAL SOCIETY
of LONDON and in 1910 a member of the ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY of SCIENCES.

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HUGO De VRIES was awarded the DARWIN MEDAL in 1906 and the LINNEAN
MEDAL in 1929.
GREGOR MENDEL was the humble MONK and BOTANIST who FOUNDED the
SCIENCE of GENETICS with his outstanding, GROUNDBREAKING and
FUNDAMENTAL research on the development of the BASIC LAWS of HEREDITY.
However, it was the Dutch Botanist, HUGO De VRIES who took MENDEL’S STUDIES
as well as his own outstanding research in PLANT BREEDING to advance the new
SCIENCE of GENETICS by proposing his CONCEPT of the GENES, his THEORY of
MUTATIONS and other outstanding ideas.
Other great biologists, especially the brilliant American Geneticist, THOMAS
HUNT MORGAN went on to advance the field of GENETICS to great and unexpected
levels of intuitiveness and accomplishment.

KARL ERICH CORRENS (1864 - 1933) German Botanist and Geneticist.
KARL CORRENS was born on September 19, 1864, son of an Artist.
CORRENS married a niece of the notable Swiss Botanist, KARL VON NAGELI,
under whom he had studied at the University of Munich, and were he graduated by
the end of the 1880’s.
Like De VRIES, CORRENS was engaged in GENETIC RESEARCH, which
eventually led him to his INDEPENDENT DISCOVERY of the LAWS of INHERITANCE.
CORRENS, like De VRIES, also rediscovered GREGOR MENDEL’S PAPERS on
his LAWS of INHERITANCE, after he had done his own work. CORRENS published, in
1900, the results of his experiments, but only to confirm MENDEL’S OUTSTANDING
WORK.
CORRENS, De VRIES and ERICH VON TSCHERMAK (who had also discovered
the LAWS of INHERITANCE) all agreed that GREGOR MENDEL was the ORIGINAL
FOUNDER of GENETICS and the PRINCIPLES of HEREDITY.
CORRENS discovered the CYTOPLASMIC INHERITANCE, an important
extension of MENDEL’S WORK on GENETICS, which demonstrated the existence of
EXTRA-CHROMOSOMAL FACTORS on PHENOTYPES. His paper on CYTOPLASMIC
INHERITANCE, which included CONCLUSIVE EXAMPLES, was published in 1909.

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 CORRENS also published the correspondence between GREGOR MENDEL
and KARL VON NAGELI, which revealed the shortsightedness of his uncle-in-law
(NAGELI) on the great value of MENDEL’S STUDIES in GENETICS.
In recognition for his outstanding work in GENETICS, KARL CORRENS was
appointed, in 1913, the FIRST DIRECTOR of the newly founded, KAISER WILHELM
INSTITUTE for BIOLOGY in Berlin.
It was also found that the American Agronomist, WILLIAM JASPER
SPILLMAN had previously discovered, independently, the PRINCIPLES of HEREDITY
as GREGOR MENDEL had proposed a few years earlier.

ERICH VON TSCHERMAK (1871 - 1962) Austrian Botanist and Agronomist.
ERICH VON TSCHERMAK was born in Vienna on November 12-15, 1871, son
of a Mineralogist. His maternal grandfather was the famous Botanist, EDUARD
FENZI, who taught GREGOR MENDEL BOTANY during his student days in Vienna.
TSCHERMAK received his DOCTORATE DEGREE from the University of Halle,
Germany in 1896. In 1901, TSCHERMAK accepted a teaching position at the
University of Agricultural Sciences in Vienna.
In 1898, TSCHERMAK began to perform experiments on the HYBRIDIZATION
of PEA PLANTS and by 1900 he had developed, independently, his own LAWS of
HEREDITY, which were similar to those initially proposed by GREGOR MENDEL.
TSCHERMAK published his results in 1900, mainly to CONFIRM the LAWS of
HEREDITY, which GREGOR MENDEL had postulated a few years earlier.
In 1912, TSCHERMAK was elected MEMBER of the ROYAL SWEDISH
ACADEMY of AGRICULTURE and in 1951, a MEMBER of the ROYAL SWEDISH
ACADEMY of PHYSIOLOGY.
In 1950, TSCHERMAK received an honorary DOCTORATE DEGREE from the
University of Vienna and in 1951 he also received the RING of HONOR of the city of
Vienna and the AUSTRIAN DECORATION for SCIENCE and ART.

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 WILLIAM JASPER SPILLMAN
FOUNDER OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC.
THE FIRST AMERICAN AGRONOMIST TO REDISCOVER MENDEL’S
LAWS OF HEREDITY. THE PLANT BREEDERS WHO DEVELOPED THE
WINTER-WHEAT VARIETIES FOR WASHINGTON STATE.



















WILLIAM JASPER SPILLMAN (1863 - 1931) American Agronomist.
WILLIAM SPILLMAN was born on October 23, 1863, son of a Farmer.
SPILLMAN is considered the FOUNDER of AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS and
he is best remembered for being the FIRST AMERICAN BREEDER to independently
discover the LAWS of HEREDITY, which were also similar to those proposed earlier
by GREGOR MENDEL.

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 SPILLMAN grew up in a 200-ACRE FARM in Southwest Missouri. In his mid-
teens he began to teach at a RURAL SCHOOL near his home. In 1886, he received a
B.S. DEGREE at the University of Missouri and in 1890, a M.S. DEGREE (in
ABSENTIA) and married Miss MATTIE RAMSAY (1865 - 1935).
In 1889, the SPILLMANS moved to Oregon were he was appointed Professor
of Science at the Oregon State Normal School (today known as the WESTERN
OREGON UNIVERSITY at MONMOUTH). Their only son, RAMSAY SPILLMAN was
born on September 21, 1891.
In 1894, SPILLMAN became Professor of Agriculture at the Washington
Agricultural College and School of Science (now known as the WASHINGTON STATE
UNIVERSITY at PULLMAN, a LAND-GRANT COLLEGE).
SPILLMAN started there his important WHEAT BREEDING PROGRAM that
still continues to this day. He used GENETICS to develop the WINTER-WHEAT
VARIETIES that FARMERS needed. He also started to develop his ideas on
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS and on AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, which became
very useful in the agricultural development of this area.
SPILLMAN became known as the PRACTICAL AGRONOMIST with the
knowledge to assist FARMERS, instead of a LABORATORY or THEORETICAL
AGRONOMIST.
It was at this time when SPILLMAN developed his own PRINCIPLES of
HEREDITY while working on the HYBRIDIZATION of WHEAT VARIETIES in
PALOUSE COUNTY. SPILLMAN also rediscovered GREGOR MENDEL’S papers on his
famous LAWS of HEREDITY.
In 1901, SPILLMAN published his PRINCIPLES of HEREDITY in a paper
entitled, QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE TRANSMISSION OF PARENTAL
CHARACTERS TO HYBRID OFFSPRINGS.
With this work, SPILLMAN popularized the acceptance of MENDEL’S LAWS of
HEREDITY among scientists and agriculturists in America.
In 1901, SPILLMAN presented the results of his studies at the meetings of the
ASSOCIATION of AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES and EXPERIMENT
STATIONS in Washington, D.C..

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 In 1902, he accepted a position at the U.S. DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE.
At the USDA, SPILLMAN and a selected crew (which followed him from
Washington State University in Pullman) started a program on the SCIENTIFIC
MANAGEMENT of FARMS. This he accomplished, partly by preparing various
PRACTICAL BULLETINS and SPEECHES directed to the FARMER’S NEEDS.
In 1905, SPILLMAN accepted the position of Head of the new OFFICE of
FARM MANAGEMENT and in 1918 he became Editor of the influential, FARM
JOURNAL, until 1921. SPILLMAN was asked to rejoin the USDA and remained there
until his death in 1931.
During this time, SPILLMAN was asked to make a SURVEY of INDIAN
AFFAIRS (1927-1928) particularly with reference to their ECONOMIC and
AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS. The results of his SURVEY were published by the
BALTIMORE JOHNS HOPKINS PRESS in 1928, under the title of THE PROBLEM OF
INDIAN ADMINISTRATION.
SPILLMAN also served as Part-time Professor of COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY
at the FOREIGN SERVICE SCHOOL of Georgetown University until 1931.
In 1910, SPILLMAN was elected the FIRST PRESIDENT of the AMERICAN
FARM ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION in recognition for his outstanding contribution to
FARM MANAGEMENT and AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS. In 1910, SPILLMAN
received an honorary DOCTORATE DEGREE from his ALMA MATER, the University
of Missouri.
The AGRONOMY FARM at Washington State University was established in
1955 and in 1961 it was named in his honor, the WILLIAM JASPER SPILLMAN
AGRONOMY FARM. Here is where SPILLMAN had become the FIRST WASHINGTON
STATE UNIVERSITY WHEAT BREEDER.
The 382-ACRE FARM, five miles southeast of Pullman, had its 50th YEAR
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION on July 7, 2005. At this time, a review was prepared
on the many years of CROP BREEDING that had been started by WILLIAM JASPER
SPILLMAN. For this occasion, a BIG SIGN was prepared to advertise what the old
farmers of the region used to say, “Don’t send us an expert, just send SPILLMAN”.

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 WILHELM JOHANNSEN
PROPOSED THE WORD GENE TO NAME MENDEL’S FACTORS OF
HEREDITY. FIRST TO USE THE WORDS GENOTYPE AND
PHENOTYPE

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WILHELM LUDWIG JOHANNSEN (1857 - 1927) Danish Botanist and Geneticist.
WILHELM JOHANNSEN was born on February 3, 1857, son of a Danish Army
Officer.
JOHANNSEN could not afford a UNIVERSITY EDUCATION and in 1872, he
became an apprentice to a PHARMACIST.
In 1881, he began to work as an Assistant in the Chemistry Department of the
KARLSBERG LABORATORY, under the notable Danish Chemist, JOHANN G.
KJELDAHL (1849 - 1900).
JOHANNSEN studied the METABOLISM of DORMANCY and GERMINATION in
SEEDS, TUBERS and BUDS and was able to show that their DORMANCY could be
broken by various ANESTHETIC COMPOUNDS, such as DIETHYL ETHER and
CHLOROFORM.
In 1892, he was appointed Lecturer at the ROYAL VETERINARY and
AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY and in 1903 he became Professor of Botany and Plant
Physiology.
JOHANNSEN did research with PURE LINES of SELF-FERTILE common
BEANS and was able to show that even in POPULATIONS without GENETIC
VARIATION, the SEED SIZE followed a NORMAL DISTRIBUTION CURVE.
JOHANNSEN’S research led him to oppose CONTEMPORARY DARWINISTS
such as the notable English Scientists, SIR FRANCIS GALTON and KARL PEARSON,
who held that the occurrence of a NORMAL DISTRIBUTION in a PROPERTY was an
indication of a GRADUAL GENETIC VARIATION on which SELECTION had occurred.
However, it was later determined that VARIATIONS needed to be INHERITED in
order to be available for NATURAL SELECTION.
JOHANNSEN published a book in 1905-1909 with the results of his work, in
which he used, for the first time, the terms PHENOTYPE and GENOTYPE.
After MENDEL’S WORK had been rediscovered by HUGO De VRIES and
others in 1900, the concept of the FACTORS of INHERITANCE became of great
importance in GENETIC STUDIES. It was JOHANNSEN who suggested, in 1909, the
use of the word GENES (from the Greek word meaning TO GIVE BIRTH TO) instead

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of the word PANGENES (used previously by HUGO De VRIES) to name the FACTORS
of INHERITANCE.
JOHANNSEN’S BOOK became an important TEXTBOOK in GENETICS and in
1905 he was appointed Professor of Plant Physiology at the University of
Copenhagen.
In 1910, JOHANNSEN was invited to give a lecture before the AMERICAN
SOCIETY of NATURALISTS and his paper was published in the AMERICAN
NATURALIST (1911). In 1911 he was also invited to give a series of lectures at
Colombia University.
In 1917, WILHELM JOHANNSEN became VICE-CHANCELLOR, or RECTOR, of
the University of Copenhagen. What an accomplishment, by a scientist that had not
ever received a FORMAL EDUCATION.


CHROMOSOMES EXIST IN PAIRS

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 WALTER SUTTON
INDICATED THAT ALL CHROMOSOMES EXISTED IN PAIRS AND
THAT CHROMOSOMES CARRIED THE GENES OR FACTORS OF
HEREDITY. ALSO THAT SEX CELLS CONTRIBUTED ONLY ONE OF
THE CHROMOSOMES IN EACH PAIR



















WALTER S. SUTTON (1877 - 1916) American Geneticist and Physician.
WALTER SUTTON was born in Utica, New York on April 5, 1877, son of a
Farmer who moved his family to Kansas when young WALTER was only ten years
old. On the FARM, SUTTON developed a MECHANICAL APTITUDE, which he used
later in his life to develop OIL DRILLING RIGS and other MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS.

476
 In 1896, SUTTON enrolled at the University of Kansas in Engineering, but
later changed his major to BIOLOGY with an interest in MEDICINE. By 1901, he had
received his B.S. and M.S. DEGREES.
SUTTON distinguished himself as student and was elected to PHI BETA
KAPPA and to SIGMA XI. SUTTON obtained his MEDICAL DEGREE from Colombia
University in 1907 and practiced MEDICINE until his premature death due to a
RUPTURED APPENDIX (there were no ANTIBIOTICS at that time).
While doing GRADUATE STUDIES in ZOOLOGY at Colombia University,
SUTTON published two SIGNIFICANT PAPERS that made a FUNDAMENTAL
CONTRIBUTION to the field of GENETICS.
In 1902, SUTTON published his first paper entitled ON THE MORPHOLOGY
OF THE CHROMOSOME GROUP in BRACHYSTOLA MAGNA (BIOLOGY BULL. 4:24-
39). In this paper he indicated that ALL CHROMOSOMES existed in PAIRS and
pointed out that the CHROMOSOMES, most likely, represented the FACTORS of
HEREDITY that GREGOR MENDEL had proposed in his LAWS of INHERITANCE.
In 1903, SUTTON published his second paper entitled, THE CHROMOSOMES
IN HEREDITY (BIOLOGY BULL. 4:231-251). In this paper he maintained that
CHROMOSOMES CARRIED the GENES (FACTORS of HEREDITY) and that each SEX
CELL contributed only ONE of the CHROMOSOMES in EACH PAIR.
These two papers on the CHROMOSOME and GENE THEORY started the
fabulous development of MODERN GENETICS by great Geneticists, including: the
American Geneticist THOMAS HUNT MORGAN, the American Biologist HERMANN
MULLER, the English Biologist WILLIAM BATESON and the American Botanist
ALBERT F. BLAKESLEE.
The German Cytologist, THEODOR BOVERI (1862-1915) had, independently,
reached the same conclusions that SUTTON had obtained, and their NEW CONCEPTS
are sometimes referred to as the SUTTON-BOVERI CHROMOSOME THEORY.
SUTTON’S ideas on GENETICS were soon widely accepted by most biologists,
particularly by CYTOLOGISTS. The studies by THOMAS HUNT MORGAN at Colombia
University helped to provide UNIVERSAL ACCEPTANCE to the CHROMOSOME

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THEORY by 1915. WILLIAM BATESON also continued to study the CHROMOSOME -
GENE THEORY.

WILLIAM BATESON
FIRST TO USE THE WORD GENETICS TO DESCRIBE
THE STUDY OF HEREDITY.
PROPOSED THE CONCEPT OF GENE-LINKAGE, WHICH WAS LATER
CONFIRMED BY THOMAS MORGAN.
TRANSLATED AND POPULARIZED MENDEL’ LAWS OF HEREDITY.

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WILLIAM BATESON (1861 - 1926) English Geneticist and Biologist.
WILLIAM BATESON was born on August 8, 1861, son of WILLIAM HENRY
BATESON, Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge University.
BATESON obtained his B.A. DEGREE in 1883 (FIRST in the NATURAL
SCIENCES) at St. John’s College.
He was strongly influenced by CHARLES DARWIN’S IDEAS on BIOLOGICAL
EVOLUTION and by FRANCIS GALTON’S QUANTITATIVE (BIOMETRIC) METHODS.
BATESON was also a strong supporter of GREGOR MENDEL’S IDEAS, after
HUGO De VRIES had rediscovered MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY in 1900. It was
BATESON who first translated MENDEL’S PAPERS into English.
In 1894, BATESON published the book entitled, MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY
OF VARIATION, where he indicated that GENETIC VARIATIONS could be
CONTINUOUS in NATURE for some CHARACTERISTICS and DISCONTINUOUS for
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS. He also suggested in 1897 that VARIATIONS of a
DISCONTINUOUS NATURE might play a more important role in the EVOLUTION of
NEW SPECIES.
After doing additional research, BATESON reported that not all
CHARACTERISTICS were INHERITED INDEPENDENTLY and that some
CHARACTERISTICS were in fact INHERITED TOGETHER, as if their GENES were
found LINKED TOGETHER in the same CHROMOSOME. This became known as
GENE-LINKAGE, which became a FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT IN GENETICS.
The CONCEPT of GENE-LINKAGE was eventually proven and explained by
the American Geneticist, THOMAS H. MORGAN in the early 1900’s.
CHARLES DARWIN believed in the SLOW and GRADUAL EVOLUTION of
CHARACTERISTICS (or GRADUALISM). BATESON on the other hand, favored the
idea of SALTATIONISM, where the EVOLUTION of CHARACTERISTICS was
DISCONTINUOUS as a result of UNPREDICTABLE CHANGES (such as MUTATIONS)
in the EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS.
The discovery of GENETIC MUTATIONS by HUGO De VRIES and later by
THOMAS MORGAN supported BATESON’S IDEAS on the importance of
DISCONTINUOUS VARIATIONS (MUTATIONS) in the EVOLUTION of SPECIES.

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Subsequently, the STATISTICAL GENETIC STUDIES by the English Biologist,
RONALD A. FISHER (1890 - 1962) showed that DISCRETE MUTATIONS were
compatible with the PROCESS of GRADUAL EVOLUTION (or MODERN
EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHESIS).
BATESON was the first to use the word GENETICS in 1905-1906. Later on, it
was the Danish Botanist, WILHELM JOHANNSEN, who suggested in 1909 to use the
word GENE to identify the FACTORS of HEREDITY that had been proposed by
GREGOR MENDEL and HUGO De VRIES.
In 1894, BATESON was elected a FELLOW of the ROYAL SOCIETY.
In 1904, he won the DARWIN MEDAL and in 1920 the ROYAL MEDAL.
In 1908, WILLIAM BATESON was the first Scholar at Cambridge University to
be appointed PROFESSOR of GENETICS.
In 1919, BATESON FOUNDED the GENETICS SOCIETY, one of the FIRST
ACADEMIC SOCIETIES dedicated to GENETICS.

THOMAS MORGAN’S FRUIT FLY

480
 THOMAS HUNT MORGAN
CHARACTERIZED THE ROLE OF CHROMOSOMES AND GENES IN
THE PROCESS OF HEREDITY. REESTABLISHED THE CHROMOSOME -
GENE THEORY PROPOSED BY WALTER SUTTON.
CONFIRMED THE MUTATION THEORY PROPOSED BY De VRIES.
PUBLISHED HIS BOOK, EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION
SUPPORTING THE CONCEPT OF EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES.
SUPPORTED MENDEL’S LAWS OF HEREDITY AND THE CONCEPT OF
GENE-LINKAGE PROPOSED BY WILLIAM BATESON..

481
THOMAS HUNT MORGAN (1866 - 1945) American Geneticist, Embryologist and
Evolutionary Biologist.
THOMAS MORGAN was born on September 25, 1866 in an elite southern
farm family. He was the great grandson of FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, the author of the
STAR SPANGLED BANNER and of JOHN EAGER HOWARD, governor and senator
from Maryland.
THOMAS MORGAN was a brilliant Geneticist, Embryologist and Evolutionary
Biologist who won the 1933 NOBEL PRIZE in PHYSIOLOGY and MEDICINE for his
outstanding studies on the role of CHROMOSOMES in the PROCESS of HEREDITY.
MORGAN graduated valedictorian in 1886 with a BACHELOR in SCIENCE
from the STATE COLLEGE of KENTUCKY (now University of Kentucky) and a
MASTERS of SCIENCE in 1888. He obtained his Ph. D. DEGREE in 1890 from the
newly founded JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, the first RESEARCH-ORIENTED
American University.
In 1890, MORGAN was appointed Professor of Biology at Johns Hopkins’
sister school, the BRYN MAWR COLLEGE, where he was an enthusiastic teacher.
In 1904, MORGAN became a Professor at Colombia University where he
dedicated himself to a BRILLIANT life of BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
MORGAN began his work in EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY and became
increasingly focused on the MECHANISMS of HEREDITY and EVOLUTION.
By 1903, MORGAN had published his book, EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION,
where he supported the CONCEPT OF THE EVOLUTION OF SPECIES. However, he
had doubts about the veracity of DARWIN’S MECHANISM of NATURAL SELECTION,
acting on SMALL and CONTINUOUS variations of properties in organisms.
Extensive studies in BIOMETRY (STATISTICAL ANALYSIS) seemed to
indicate that the PROCESS of CONTINUOUS NATURAL VARIATIONS of properties
had DISTINCT LIMITS and did not always represent HEREDITARY CHANGES.
The important CONCEPT of THE INHERITANCE OF ACQUIRED
CHARACTERISTICS (proposed by the French Naturalist, JEAN LAMARCK), which
DARWIN emphasized in his THEORY of EVOLUTION was not accepted by several
biologists.

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 MORGAN also had reservations about LINNAEUS’ TAXONOMIC
CLASSIFICATION and he felt strongly that the CONCEPT of SPECIES (representing a
given POPULATION of ORGANISMS) was to a degree an ARTIFICIAL CREATION that
DISTORTED the NATURAL CLASSIFICATION of LIVING ORGANISMS.
However, while MORGAN was skeptic about DARWIN’S NATURAL
SELECTION for many years, his ideas on HEREDITY came to eventually agree with
MENDEL’S PRINCIPLES on HEREDITY and SEGREGATION.
By the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century, the field of
GENETICS had started to develop very rapidly. This new SCIENTIFIC IMPETUS was
partly the result of several great events that took place in GENETICS.
One was the creation of the LAWS of HEREDITY by GREGOR MENDEL and the
proposal of the GENES and CHROMOSOMES by WALTER SUTTON as the FACTORS of
HEREDITY, both of which became the FOUNDATION of MODERN GENETICS.
Another was the creation of the CELL THEORY by MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN
and THEODOR SCHWANN.
Another was the CHARACTERIZATION of the entire PROCESS of CELL
DIVISION by WALTHER FLEMMING and the discovery of the CHROMATIN (now
called CHROMOSOMES) inside of the CELL NUCLEUS and its role during CELL
DIVISION.
Another was the discovery of MUTATIONS by HUGO De VRIES and later
CONFIRMED by THOMAS MORGAN.
All these fantastic new developments in GENETICS were going to guide
MORGAN into a promising and challenging research career in the realm of
GENETICS and EVOLUTION.
For his studies, MORGAN chose as his MODEL RESEARCH ORGANISM, the
FRUIT FLY (Drosophila melanogaster) because it was very convenient to BREED,
MANAGE and STUDY under LABORATORY CONDITIONS.
The first dilemma in GENETICS was that CELLS (including HUMAN CELLS)
only contained a few dozens of CHROMOSOME PAIRS, which could not account for
the LARGE NUMBER of CHARACTERISTICS found in the various SPECIES. Therefore,

483
it was obvious that each CHROMOSOME would also have to contain a LARGE
NUMBER of GENES, or FACTORS of HEREDITY.
The idea that CHROMOSOMES consisted of a LARGE NUMBER of GENES
created a new question, such as: Are GENES inherited INDIVIDUALLY or in GROUPS
(GENE-LINKAGE) as part of INDIVIDUAL CHROMOSOMES?
The second dilemma in GENETICS was answered by the German Anatomist,
WALTHER FLEMMING, who had established that CHROMOSOMES maintained their
INTEGRITY during the PROCESS of CELL DIVISION. Therefore, this suggested that
the GENES in each of the CHROMOSOMES would have to be inherited as a GROUP.
This new CONCEPT of GENE-GROUP INHERITANCE came to be known as
GENE-LINKAGE, which indicated that GENES (or CHARACTERISTICS) were not
always inherited INDIVIDUALLY, but in association with other GENES.
In MENDEL’S STUDIES something unique and therefore somewhat
misleading had taken place. The CHARACTERISTICS (GENES) that he had studied in
his PEA PLANTS were all located in different CHROMOSOMES, thus suggesting that
the GENETIC FACTORS (GENES) were inherited individually, which is not really the
case in most instances.
With this information at hand, MORGAN now had to prove,
EXPERIMENTALLY, if GENE-LINKAGE was a GENERAL and COMMON CONDITION in
GENETICS, or just an EXCEPTION of some kind.
In 1907-1908, MORGAN started to play with his FRUIT FLIES and set out to
find the answer to the GENE-LINKAGE QUESTION.
The DROSOPHILA FRUIT FLY was indeed a fantastic EXPERIMENTAL INSECT
because it could be BRED in LARGE NUMBERS, it was VERY PROLIFIC and it
MULTIPLIED very frequently. It also contained only FOUR PAIRS of
CHROMOSOMES, which kept the nature of the research relatively simple.
MORGAN followed the progress of various GENERATIONS of FRUIT FLIES
and was able to demonstrate that the various GENES were indeed LINKED and
therefore INHERITED TOGETHER in GROUPS (GENE-LINKAGE).

484
 The only prerequisite for GENE-LINKAGE to occur was that the GENES had to
be found in the SAME CHROMOSOME. (The UNIT of MEASUREMENT for the DEGREE
of GENE-LINKAGE was named a MORGAN in his honor).

THE FRUIT FLY- Drosophila melanogaster











During his DROSOPHILA GENETIC RESEARCH, MORGAN also discovered
various cases of MUTATIONS, or UNEXPECTED CHANGES (ABERRATIONS). These
were the MUTATIONS that HUGO De VRIES had discovered a generation earlier.
MORGAN had thus CONFIRMED the De VRIES’ MUTATION THEORY.
The rediscovery and confirmation of the existence of MUTATIONS by
MORGAN, helped to indicate that DARWIN’S EVOLUTION of SPECIES could also take
place by JUMPS, or by UNEXPECTED (ERRATIC) and DISCONTINUOUS
TRANSFORMATIONS (MUTATIONS) as part of the EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS by
NATURAL SELECTION.
The phenomenon of MUTATIONS also helped to explain ERRATIC CHANGES
that could alter the normal GENE-LINKAGE and the phenomenon of CHROMOSOME
CROSSOVER, or the CHANGE of GENE POSITION of a given CHROMOSOME.

485
 MORGAN’S EXPERIMENTS definitely reestablished the CHROMOSOME-GENE
THEORY proposed by WALTER SUTTON, where the GENES and CHROMOSOMES
were the CARRIERS of the FACTORS of HEREDITY, proposed by GREGOR MENDEL.
To facilitate GENETIC STUDIES, NEW MUTATIONS in the DROSOPHILA FLIES
were created or induced by various PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL and RADIATION
FACTORS.
MORGAN also began CROSSBREEDING EXPERIMENTS to study the nature of
HERITABLE MUTATIONS.
By 1909, MORGAN had found a series of HERITABLE MUTATIONS and
MUTANTS, which displayed some of the MENDELIAN INHERITANCE PATTERNS.
In a paper published in SCIENCE in 1911, MORGAN reported that some
CHARACTERISTICS were SEX-LINKED and were probably carried in ONE of the SEX
CHROMOSOMES.
The studies on the LOCATIONS of GENES in CHROMOSOMES became very
sophisticated and a reality in GENETICS. By 1913, one of MORGAN’S STUDENTS,
ALFRED HENRY STURTEVANT (1891 - 1970) had developed the FIRST GENETIC
MAP in the CHROMOSOMES of the DROSOPHILA FRUIT FLY.
In 1915, THOMAS MORGAN, ALFRED STURTEVANT, CALVIN BRIDGES and
HERMANN MULLER, wrote an outstanding book in GENETICS, THE MECHANISMS
OF MENDELIAN HEREDITY, which was regarded as the FUNDAMENTAL TEXTBOOK
on the NEW SCIENCE of GENETICS.
MORGAN’S THEORY of the CHROMOSOME, developed between 1910 and
1915, was considered VISIONARY and a great LEAP of IMAGINATION comparable to
the great studies of scientists like GALILEO, FARADAY and SIR ISAAC NEWTON.
MORGAN explained the role played by the CHROMOSOMES and
demonstrated that GENES were CARRIED in the CHROMOSOMES and were the
MECHANICAL BASIS responsible for the TRANSFER of HEREDITY. These
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS became the BASIS of MODERN GENETICS.
MORGAN was interested in DARWIN’S THEORY of EVOLUTION throughout
his life and he wrote FOUR BOOKS about EVOLUTION.

486
 In his book, EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION, MORGAN discussed the value of
SMALL DIFFERENCES in the CHARACTERISTICS of INDIVIDUALS and the FUNCTION
of the PROCESS of NATURAL SELECTION on the CREATION of NEW SPECIES. After
discovering many SMALL, STABLE and HERITABLE MUTATIONS in the
DROSOPHILA FLY, MORGAN became more in agreement with DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION. He came to believe that the relevance of MUTATIONS in the PROCESS
of EVOLUTION depended on whether or not they were INHERITED by future
generations.
In his book, A CRITIQUE OF THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION, he also concluded
that the characteristics in PLANTS and ANIMALS were indeed inherited according to
MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY.
After 1915, much work was done by other geneticists to elucidate the role
and value of the CHROMOSOME and GENE THEORY. The details and implications of
this increasingly complex THEORY became somewhat controversial. There were
suggestions that GENES interacted with each other and that GENES were not
DISCRETE UNITS of HEREDITY carried by the CHROMOSOMES. These new views
were indeed a significant source of controversy that demanded serious attention
and were later addressed by ERWIN CHARGAFF, MAURICE WILKINS, JAMES
WATSON and FRANCIS CRICK.
THOMAS MORGAN wrote some 22 BOOKS and 370 SCIENTIFIC PAPERS in
the field of GENETICS. As a result of his successful studies, the DROSOPHILA FRUIT
FLY became the MODEL ORGANISM in CONTEMPORARY GENETICS RESEARCH.
Many other RESEARCH LABORATORIES throughout the world started to use the
FRUIT FLY for their studies in GENETICS.
MORGAN’S LABORATORY at Colombia University became an INFORMAL
EXCHANGE CENTER of IDEAS and many MUTANT DROSOPHILA STRAINS were
exchanged among various RESEARCH LABORATORIES.
MORGAN’S FRUIT FLY-ROOM at Colombia University became WORLD
FAMOUS.
In 1928, MORGAN moved to the CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY to
head the DIVISION of BIOLOGY.

487
 From 1927 to 1931, MORGAN also served as the President of the NATIONAL
ACADEMY of SCIENCES.
In 1930, MORGAN became President of the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for the
ADVANCEMENT of SCIENCE and in 1932 he chaired the 6th INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS of GENETICS that was held at Cornell University.
In 1924, MORGAN received the DARWIN MEDAL.
In 1933, THOMAS HUNT MORGAN received the NOBEL PRIZE in
PHYSIOLOGY and MEDICINE. His acceptance speech was entitled, THE
CONTRIBUTION OF GENETICS TO PHYSIOLOGY AND MEDICINE.
In 1939, MORGAN was also awarded the COPLEY MEDAL by the ROYAL
SOCIETY of LONDON.

HERMANN JOSEPH MULLER (1890 - 1967) American Geneticist.
HERMANN MULLER was born in New York City on December 21, 1890, son
of an Artisan.
In 1907, he entered Colombia University at the age of 16 and received his
B.A. DEGREE in 1910 and his Ph.D. DEGREE in 1916. MULLER also did graduate
studies at Cornell University in 1911-1912.
HERMANN MULLER was an outstanding American Geneticist and a Nobel
Laureate. He is best known for his studies on the effect of RADIATIONS on
MUTATIONS (X-RAY MUTAGENESIS). He was among the first to fear the dangers of
RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT from NUCLEAR TESTING and NUCLEAR WARS.
Early in his life, MULLER was interested in BIOLOGY and became a supporter
of MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY and of the CHROMOSOME-GENE THEORY
proposed by WALTER SUTTON. He also supported DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION and the importance of GENETIC
MUTATIONS in the PROCESS of the EVOLUTION of SPECIES.
Colombia University had the preeminent AMERICAN ZOOLOGY
DEPARTMENT under the brilliant leadership of the American Zoologist, EDMUND
BEECHER WILSON (1856 - 1939). (WILSON had studied under WILLIAM BATESON
and THOMAS H. HUXLEY in England and under KARL G. LEUCKART and KARL F.

488
LUDWIG in Germany). WILSON and WALTER SUTTON were among the first to make
the connection between MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY and the CHROMOSOMES.
WILSON was also the first to relate SEX DETERMINATION and CHROMOSOMES
(FEMALES had the XX CHROMOSOME PAIR and the MALES had the XY
CHROMOSOME PAIR).
In 1912, MULLER joined THOMAS MORGAN at Colombia University where
they had an outstanding DROSOPHILA RESEARCH PROGRAM in the field of
GENETICS. This was about the time when MORGAN was developing the FIRST
GENETIC MAPS (GENETIC SEQUENCE) in the CHROMOSOMES of the DROSOPHILA
FRUIT FLY.
Working with MORGAN, MULLER became interested in GENETIC
MUTATIONS and in their impact on HEREDITY.
In 1914, MULLER was offered a position at the newly founded WILLIAM
MARSH RICE INSTITUTE (now RICE UNIVERSITY) where he continued his research
with GENETIC MUTATIONS in the DROSOPHILA FRUIT FLY. He studied the
accumulation of RECESSIVE MUTATIONS and the CROSSING OVER, which resulted
in the SUDDEN EXPRESSION of HIDDEN CHARACTERISTICS. MULLER focused his
studies on MUTATION RATES and on the occurrence of LETHAL MUTATIONS.
In 1918, MULLER rejoined MORGAN at Colombia University and continued
his work with MUTATIONS. It was at this time that MULLER concluded that
SPONTANEOUS MUTATIONS were a DOMINANT SOURCE of GENETIC CHANGES.
In 1920, MULLER moved to the University of Texas and in 1923 he began
using RADIUM and X-RAYS to promote MUTATIONS in the DROSOPHILA FRUIT FLY.
However, the relationships between RADIATION and MUTATIONS were difficult to
evaluate because the RADIATIONS also STERILIZED the FRUIT FLY.
In 1926, working with various X-RAY DOSES, MULLER was able to find a
QUANTITATIVE CONNECTION between RADIATION and the occurrence of LETHAL
MUTATIONS, which he called X-RAY MUTAGENESIS.
MULLER’S DISCOVERY of X-RAY MUTAGENESIS created a MEDIA
SENSATION after he presented his paper at the 5th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF

489
GENETICS in Berlin. With this, MULLER became one of the best well-known
geneticists in the early 20th Century.
MULLER had concluded that the vast majority of MUTATIONS were
DELETERIOUS (as opposed to BENEFICIAL) and did not survive in DARWIN’S
EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS. With this, MUTATIONS stopped being mysterious and
mystical BIOLOGICAL EVENTS in NATURE.
Studies on the nature of GENES became a CENTRAL TOPIC in BIOLOGICAL
RESEARCH and several significant advances were made in this area during the next
decades.
In 1946, HERMANN MULLER received the NOBEL PRIZE in PHYSIOLOGY and
MEDICINE for his outstanding studies on X-RAY MUTAGENESIS.
In 1958, MULLER was awarded the DARWIN-WALLACE MEDAL of the
LINNEAN SOCIETY of LONDON.
MULLER was a supporter of the campaign against NUCLEAR TESTING and
NUCLEAR WARS, which had been initiated by the American Nobel Laureate Chemist,
LINUS PAULING (1901 - 1994).

ALBERT FRANCIS BLAKESLEE (1874 - 1954) American Botanist and Geneticist.
ALBERT BLAKESLEE was born on November 9, 1874.
BLAKESLEE received his education from Wesleyan University, graduating in
1896. He obtained his MASTERS DEGREE in 1900 and his Ph.D. DEGREE in 1904
from Harvard University. He also did POST DOCTORAL STUDIES at the University of
Halle-Wittenberg, Germany in 1904-1906.
BLAKESLEE became a Professor at the Connecticut Agricultural College (now
the University of Connecticut).
In 1915, he was hired by the CARNEGIE INSTITUTE and eventually became
its DIRECTOR in 1937.
BLAKESLEE’S most important contribution to SCIENCE came from his
discovery of the fact that the ALKALOID COLCHICINE (obtained from the AUTUMN
CROCUS) could produce MUTATIONS in PLANTS.

490
 Furthermore, he concluded that these MUTATIONS were not caused by the
ALTERATION of the GENES (as it occurred with the use of X-RAYS by HERMANN
MULLER), but by allowing the CHROMOSOMES to DOUBLE in NUMBER. This
phenomenon resulted in the formation of POLYPLOIDY-CELLS with DOUBLE the
NUMBER of CHROMOSOMES, which started a NEW FIELD of GENETIC RESEARCH.
BLAKESLEE’S DISCOVERY represented the FIRST EVIDENCE of the fact that
CHEMICALS interfered with the MECHANISMS of HEREDITY and could even result
in MUTATIONS, all of which could have dangerous implications.
Other CHEMICALS such as NITROGEN MUSTARDS were soon discovered to
also produce MUTATIONS by inducing CHEMICAL CHANGES within the
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE of the CHROMOSOMES.
The new concept of CHEMICAL MUTAGENS became part of BIOLOGICAL
STUDIES with reference to the LAWS of HEREDITY.
ALBERT BLAKESLEE retired in 1942 to a quiet SCHOLARLY LIFE as a
member of the faculty at SMITH COLLEGE.

THE MODERN GENETICS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
The STORY of MODERN GENETICS began with GREGOR MENDEL. The
humble Austrian Monk with a fascination for PLANTS who proposed, in 1865 and
1869, his LAWS of HEREDITY, which outlined the RULES of HYBRIDIZATION and
SEGREGATION.
MENDEL was able to establish, with his HYBRIDIZATION STUDIES, that
during the 2nd GENERATION, PLANT SEGREGATION resulted in:
- 1/4 of TRUE-BREEDERS with DOMINANT CHARACTERISTICS
- 1/4 of TRUE-BREEDERS with RECESSIVE CHARACTERISTICS
- 2/4 of NON TRUE-BREEDERS, HYBRID PLANTS.
A great deal of HYBRIDIZATION STUDIES were performed during the
following decades, which added a considerable amount of useful information to
MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY. This included the HYBRIDIZATION WORKS of

491
JOSEPH G. KOLREUTER, KARL VON GAERTNER and CHARLES NAUDIN, among
many others.
The introduction of the CELL THEORY by MATTHIAS SCHLEIDEN (in 1838)
and THEODOR SCHWANN (in 1839) and the COMPLETE CHARACTERIZATION of the
PROCESS of CELL DIVISION by WALTHER FLEMMING (in 1882) made it possible to
expand and explain some of the details in MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY.
All these studies in GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION and in TAXONOMY by
CARL LINNAEUS also made a great contribution to CHARLES DARWIN’S THEORY of
EVOLUTION by MEANS of NATURAL SELECTION.
The rediscovery of GREGOR MENDEL’S LAWS of HEREDITY by HUGO De
VRIES, KARL CORRENS, ERICH VON TSCHERMAK and WILLIAM SPILLMAN, gave
MODERN GENETICS the momentum needed for the great expansion that was to take
place in the 20th Century.
The discovery of the GENES in 1889 as the CARRIERS of GENETICS
INFORMATION by HUGO De VRIES was another fundamental piece of information,
which gave GENETICS additional momentum of unprecedented dimensions.
The discovery of GENETIC MUTATIONS (or GENETIC ABERRATIONS) in
1900-1903 by HUGO De VRIES represented a new concept that created a MINI-
REVOLUTION in the field of GENETICS. This, especially in the hands of the great
American Geneticist, THOMAS HUNT MORGAN.
The studies in GENETICS, relative to the LAWS of HEREDITY, the
CHROMOSOME-GENE THEORY and the MUTATION THEORY by outstanding
GENETICISTS such as GREGOR MENDEL, WALTHER FLEMMING, HUGO De VRIES,
WILLIAM SPILLMAN, WILHELM JOHANNSEN, WILLIAM BATESON, WALTER
SUTTON, HERMANN MULLER and THOMAS MORGAN, became the FOUNDATION of
MODERN GENETICS in the 20th Century.
With the brilliant work on the characterization of the DNA MOLECULE as the
CARRIER of HEREDITY by PHOEBUS LEVENE, FREDERICK SANGER, LINUS
PAULING, ERWIN CHARGAFF and MAURICE WILKINS, as well as the creation of the
MODEL of the DOUBLE HELIX DNA MOLECULE in 1953 by FRANCIS H. CRICK and

492
JAMES D. WATSON, the field of GENETICS was now ready to conquer the great
challenges that the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES were to encounter in the 21st Century.


THE DNA MOLECULE AND NUCLEOTIDES

493
 THE GREEN REVOLUTION

The fabulous research in GENETICS and HYBRIDIZATION culminated with
the fantastic GREEN REVOLUTION that started in the 20th Century under the
brilliant leadership of the American Geneticist, DR. NORMAN BORLAUG.
The GREEN REVOLUTION was part of a WORLD-WIDE PROGRAM designed
to increase the PRODUCTION of FOOD CROPS in order to alleviate FOOD
SHORTAGES and FAMINE throughout the world.

Dr. NORMAN BORLAUG
THE FOUNDER OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION

494
DR. NORMAN BORLAUG (1914 - 2009) American Geneticist and Agriculturist.
DR. NORMAN BORLAUG was born on March 25, 1914, the great grandson of
Norwegian Immigrants to the United States.
He received his B.S. DEGREE in BIOLOGY in 1937, his MASTERS DEGREE in
1940 and his Ph.D. DEGREE in PLANT PATHOLOGY and GENETICS in 1942 from the
University of Minnesota.
DR. BORLAUG is regarded as the FATHER of the GREEN REVOLUTION and
one of the GREATEST SPOKESPERSONS for FARMERS and AGRICULTURE.
DR. BORLAUG is one of the few persons to ever receive the NOBEL PIECE
PRIZE, the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL of FREEDOM and the CONGRESSIONAL GOLD
MEDAL for his outstanding contribution to AGRICULTURE and to HUMANITY all
over the world.
During the mid 20th Century, DR. BORLAUG developed SEMI-DWARF, HIGH
YIELDING and DISEASE RESISTANT WHEAT VARIETIES, which made a great
contribution to the GREEN REVOLUTION in Mexico and all over the world.
DR. BORLAUG received the 1970 NOBEL PIECE PRIZE for his great
contribution to the INCREASE of WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION and the reduction of
MALNUTRITION and STARVATION all over the world, particularly in the
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. Also for his magnificent contribution to WORLD PEACE.
DR. NORMAN BORLAUG received many other awards for his magnificent
contributions to GENETICS and to the improvement of FOOD CROP VARIETIES.

THE STORY OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION IN THE 20TH CENTURY
The GREEN REVOLUTION represented a WORLD-WIDE PROGRAM designed
to utilize ALL the available KNOWLEDGE and RECOURSES in MODERN
AGRICULTURE to increase the ACREAGE and PRODUCTIVITY of FOOD CROPS in
order to alleviate the GREAT FOOD SHORTAGES, particularly in the DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES.
The main thrust of the GREEN REVOLUTION was to develop HIGH-YIELDING
and PEST-RESISTANT varieties of FOOD CROPS (mainly WHEAT, RICE, CORN and

495
SOYBEANS) and to distribute them all over the world in order to increase FOOD
PRODUCTION. The GREEN REVOLUTION not only supplied the SEEDS of these
IMPROVED CROP VARIETIES, but also the necessary information on CULTURAL
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES related to SOIL PREPARATION and FERTILIZATION as
well as on CROP ROTATIONS, CROP MANAGEMENT and IRRIGATION PRACTICES.
The GREEN REVOLUTION started in the 1940’s under the brilliant leadership
of the Plant Geneticist, NORMAL BORLAUG.
The term GREEN REVOLUTION was first used in 1968 by WILLIAM GAUD,
Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The GREEN REVOLUTION gained significant momentum in the 1960’s and
1970’s in Mexico and then in India, the Philippines, Brazil, Africa and various other
countries.
There were several organizations that participated in this WORLD-WIDE
PROGRAM, including: the INTERNATIONAL MAIZE and WHEAT IMPROVEMENT
CENTER (CIMMYT) in Mexico, the ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, the FORD
FOUNDATION, the FOOD and AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION of the UNITED
NATIONS (FAO), the UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (UNDP), The
INTERAMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (IICA) in Costa Rica,
the BRAZILIAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM (EMBRAPA), the UNITED
STATES AGENCY for INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID), the
INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IRRI) in the Philippines, the WORLD
BANK and the CONSULTATIVE GROUP on INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH (CGIAR).
The GREEN REVOLUTION that started in Mexico in 1943 under the
leadership of Dr. NORMAN BORLAUG became, in 1963, the INTERNATIONAL MAIZE
and WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER (CIMMYT or CENTRO INTERNACIONAL PARA
EL MEJORAMIENTO DE MAIZ Y TRIGO). The ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION was
instrumental in the development of this program in Mexico and other countries.
The CIMMYT PROGRAM resulted in the development of NEW IMPROVED
VARIETIES of CORN and WHEAT that contributed significantly to the INCREASE of
CROP YIELDS in Mexico and other countries.

496
 The EMBRAPA PROGRAM in Brazil, in cooperation with the FAO/UNDP
PROGRAM of the UNITED NATIONS, also made significant contributions to the
improvement of CROP YIELDS in WHEAT and SOYBEANS in the 1970’s (the author
was the SOIL CHEMISTRY/FERTILITY SPECIALIST for the FAO/UNDP PROGRAM in
Brazil).
We also had the opportunity to visit with DR. BORLAUG both in Mexico and
Brazil to discuss the ongoing progress of our MUTUALLY INTERRELATED
AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS.
In the early 1960’s, India began with the help of DR. BORLAUG its own
GREEN REVOLUTION in the region of Punjab, an area that had good potential for
success because of an ample supply of IRRIGATION WATER. The INDIAN
GOVERNMENT, with the support of the FORD FOUNDATION started the program
with WHEAT VARIETIES imported from the CIMMYT program in Mexico.
The INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IRRI) was also
established in the Philippines in the 1960’s with the support of the FORD
FOUNDATION and the ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION. The IRRI PROJECT was very
successful in producing NEW SEMI-DWARF RICE VARIETIES, which yielded very
high with the use of FERTILIZERS and IRRIGATION.

497
 The NEW RICE VARIETY, ”IR8”, was called the MIRACLE RICE for its
productivity and became extremely successful in the Philippines, India and through
out Asia and Latin America.
The GREEN REVOLUTION was a real great SUCCESS STORY as far as
increasing CROP YIELDS in WHEAT, CORN, RICE and SOYBEANS with the proper use
of IRRIGATION, FERTILIZERS, PESTICIDES, HERBICIDES and MECHANIZATION.
However, the cost of CROP PRODUCTION increased significantly, due to the
use of these NEW CULTURAL PRACTICES and also due to the ENERGY and OIL-
DEPENDENCY of this NEW FORM of MECHANIZED AGRICULTURE.
The GREEN REVOLUTION started to require more expensive RESEARCH and
more complex COMMERCIALIZATION CHANNELS. The problems on
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION caused by AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS and by
HIGHER SOIL EROSION due to MONOCULTURE PRACTICES also became a serious
problems with the NEW MODERN AGRICULTURE.
Notwithstanding, the GREEN REVOLUTION did succeed in increasing CROP
YIELDS and in reducing FOOD DEFICITS, especially in the developing countries.
The new concerns on CHEMICAL POLLUTION, SOIL EROSION, IRRIGATION
DEMANDS and HIGHER FARMING COSTS, were slowly addressed and some success
was attained during the next few decades.
The GREEN REVOLUTION in developing countries has continued to produce
good results and many SUCCESSFUL STORIES in AGRICULTURE have become a
REALITY, even in places were the CLIMATE offers very difficult predicaments.
The new challenges created by MODERN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES have
also become more difficult to manage ECONOMICALLY and to resolve
SCIENTIFICALLY, partly because of the SOCIAL and POLITICAL RESTRAINTS
frequently encountered in DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
Notwithstanding, we must always have HOPE and FAITH in MAN’S CAPACITY
to succeed if there is the WILL and HONEST COMMITMENT.

498
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EDUCATION:

Dr. Albert Martini received his BSA (1957) and MS (1958) degrees from the
University of Arkansas, and his Ph.D. Degree (1966) from Cornell University.
He has published several lecture notes, laboratory manuals and over 30 peer
reviewed scientific articles in various journals in the U.S.A., Europe and Latin
America.
Albert also enjoys playing the classical guitar, the mountain dulcimer and the
organ, writing poetry, as well as painting landscapes in oil colors and collecting
rocks and minerals with beautiful and eclectic crystal formations.

EXPERIENCE:
Head of the Soil Science Department of SICAP.
- Ministry of Agriculture of Panama and University of Arkansas, USDA.
Head of the Soils Program at the University of Panama.
- University of Panama and University of Tennessee, USDA.
Senior Advisor to the Research Institute (IDIAP), Panama.
Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, Panama.
Senior Advisor for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
- FAO – UNDP/IICA, Costa Rica.
Senior Advisor for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
- FAO – UNDP/EMBRAPA, Brazil.
Senior Soil Scientist, studied the natural resources of Latin America, FAO/UNESCO.
Senior Soil Scientist, contributor to the creation of the Soil Map of the World by
- FAO/UNESCO.
Senior Advisor to Universities and Research Centers in Latin America.
Visiting Professor of Soil Science at Purdue University.
Senior Advisor -Consultant in Agriculture. Development & resources Corporation.
Professor of Soil Science, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.

499
PROFESSIONAL MERITS:
U.S. Scholar (U.S. Agency for International Development), University of Arkansas.
U.S. Scholar (U.S. Agency for International Development), University of Tennessee.
Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Founding Professor of the New School of Agriculture, University of Panama.
Founder and first President of the Soil Science Society of Central America & Mexico.
Member of the Soil Science Society of America & the Agronomy Society of America.
Honorary Societies: Sigma Xi and Gamma Sigma Delta.
Departmental Professor of the Year, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.
Master Teacher of the Year, Clemson University.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, Clemson University.( Three Times)
Honorary Professor of the Year, Agricultural Council, Clemson University.( Seven
Times)
Permanent member of the Honor Roll of Professors, Clemson University.
Award for Excellence by the President and Board of Trustees, Clemson University.
Professor Emeritus, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.
Honorary Razorback, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas.





The author may be contacted at: albertmartini@icloud.com
This book may be downloaded free of charge from Project Gutenberg

500
 PUBLICATIONS WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR


RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

Forest soils of Darien Province, Panama. Tropical Woods (Yale University)
112:28-39, 1960.

Characterizacion del estado de potasio en seis suelos de Panama.
Fitotecnia Latinoamericana 3:163-186, 1966.
“Characterization of the potassium status in six soils of Panama”.

Evolucion en el Modelo Del Suelo. Fitotecnia Latinoamericana 4:95-111, 1967.
“Evolution of the Soil Model”.

Principales Grandes Grupos de Suelos de America Central y Mexico.
Fitotecnia Latinoamericana 4:57-79, 1967.
“Main Great Soil Groups of Central America and Mexico”.

Ensayos de abonamiento del frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) en el invernadero con tres
suelos de areas frijoleras en Costa Rica. Turrialba 17:411-418, 1967.
“Fertilizer experiments with dry beans in the greenhouse with three soils
from bean producing areas of Costa Rica”.

Guia para la investigacion en el abonamiento del frijol para el PCCMCA.
Miscellaneous publication No. 53, IICA, 1968.
“Research Guide On Bean Fertilization for the PCCMCA”.

Algunas notas sobre el problema del encalado en los suelos del Tropico.
Turrialba 18:249-256, 1968.
“Some notes on the Liming Problem in Tropical Soils”.

Efecto del encalado sobre la acidez y el contenido de aluminio y hierro extraible en
nueve suelos de Panama. Turrialba 18:139-146, 1968.
“Effect of Liming On Acidity And On Exchangeable Al and Fe in nine soils of
Panama”.

Algunas consideraciones sobre los suelos de America Central con referencia especial
al desarrollo del Tropico humedo. Fitotecnia Latinoamericana 6:127-147, 1969.
“Some considerations on Central American Soils with special reference to the
Development Of The Humid Tropics”.

La microparacela de campo como un metodo biologico rapido para evaluar la
fertilidad del suelo. Turrialba 19:261-266, 1969.
“Field Microplots used as a rapid Biological Method to assess Soil Fertility”.

501
Mineralogia de las Arcillas, Limos Y Arenas en seis suelos de Panama.
Turrialba 19:199-207, 1969.
“Mineralogy of the Clay, Silt And Sand Fractions in six Soils of Panama”.

Properties and Geographic Distribution of Volcanic Ash Soils in Central America.
Presented at the International Symposium on Volcanic Ash Soils in Latin America.
IICA/FAO/UNDP. 17 p, 1969.

Characterizacion del Estado Nutricional de los Principals “Latosoles” de Costa Rica,
mediante la tecnica del element faltante en el invernadero.
Turrialba 19:394-408, 1969.
“Characterization of the Nutritional Status of the main Latosols of Costa Rica
Using the Missing Element Technique in the greenhouse”.

Characterizacion del Estado Nutricional de los principales Andosoles de Costa Rica,
mediante la tecnica del element faltante en el invernadero.
Turrialba 20:72-84, 1970.
“Characterization of the Nutritional Status of the main Andosols of Costa Rica
using the Missing Element Technique in the greenhouse”.

Algunas relaciones derivadas de estudios con la tecnica del element faltante en el
invernadero para Latosoles y Andosoles. Turrialba 20:204-212, 1970.
“Some relationships derived with the use of the Missing Element Technique
in greenhouse investigations with Latosols and Andosols”.

Characteristicas Morfologicas, Fisicas Y Quimicas de algunos suelos derivados de
Cenizas Volcanicas en Centro America. Turrialba 20:325-332, 1970.
“Morphological, Physical And Chemical Properties of Volcanic Ash Soils of
Central America”.

Characteristicas Morfologicas, Fisicas Y Quimicas de algunos Latosoles de
Mesoamerica. Turrialba, Vol. 20, 1970.
“Morphological, Physical And Chemical Properties of some Latosols from
Mesoamerica”.

Allocation of Cation Exchange Capacity to Soil Fractions in seven surface soils from
Panama and the application of a Cation Exchange Factor as a Weathering Index.
Soil Science 109:324-331, 1970.

Properties of five Tropepts in a toposequence of the Humid Tropics of Costa Rica.
Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 36:473-477, 1972.

A study of six Latosols from Costa Rica to elucidate the problems of classification,
productivity and management of Tropical Soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 38:644-
652, 1974.

502
Response of soybeans to Liming as related to Soil Acidity, Al and Mn Toxicities and P
in some Oxisols of Brazil. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 38:616-620, 1974.

Volcanic Ash Soils of Central America. I. Andepts. Soil Science 120:278-287, 1975.

Volcanic Ash Soils of Central America. II. Soils more developed than Andepts.
Soil Science 120:376-384, 1975.

Potassium status of some Costa Rican Latosols and Andosols and their response to
potassium fertilization under greenhouse conditions.
Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 39:74-80, 1975.

The Evolution of Soil Properties as it relates to the Genesis of Volcanic Ash Soils in
Costa Rica. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Jour. 40:895-900, 1976.

Potassium Supplying And Fixing Capacity of some Costa Rican Latosols and
Andosols determined by successive cropping, extractions and incubations.
Soil Science 123:37-47, 1977.

Response of wheat cultivars to Liming in some high Al Oxisols of Rio Grande do Sul,
Brazil. Agronomy Journal 69:612-616, 1977.

A Field Method For Soil Test Calibration in Developing Countries.
Soil Science 123:165-170, 1977.

Effect of steel foundry dust on soil composition and growth of corn and soybeans.
Agron. & Soils Res. Series No. 100. 20 p, 1979.

Effect of Liming And Fertilization on Sulfur availability, mobility and uptake in
cultivated soils of South Carolina. Soil Science 138:403-410, 1984.

Effect of Lime Rates on Nutrient availability, mobility and uptake during the
soybean growing season. I. AL, Mn & P. Soil Science 139:219-225, 1985.

Effect of Lime Rates On Nutrient availability, mobility and uptake during the
soybean growing season. II. Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Cu and Zn. Soil Science 139:333-343, 1985.

Soybean Root Growth And Nutrient Uptake as affected by Lime Rates And Plant Age.
I. Al, Mn, P and S. Turrialba 39(1), 1989.

Soybean Root Growth And Nutrient Uptake as affected by Lime Rates And Plant Age.
II. Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Cu and Zn. Turrialba 39(2), 1989.

503
 TEACHING PUBLICATIONS

The Renaissance of Science, The Story of the Atom and Chemistry.
The Magnificent Scientists and their Fabulous Accomplishments
A Fantastic Dream and Journey into the Past, Present and Future
In the World of Chemistry, 778 p.
Copyright © May 2014 and September 2014
ISBN: 978-0-692-21362-9
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2013456886

The Renaissance Of Science, The Story of the Cell and Biology.
The Magnificent Scientists and their Fabulous Accomplishments
A Fantastic Dream and Journey into the Past, Present and Future
In the World of Biology, 522 p.
Copyright © May 2015 and September 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-48512-5
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2015911536

The Renaissance Of Science, The Story of the Atom
Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics.
The Magnificent Scientists and their Fabulous Accomplishments
A Fantastic Dream and Journey into the Past, Present and Future
In the World of the Atom, Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics, 561 p.
Copyright © May 2016 and September 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5323-0130-8
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2016905395

A Personal Experience In The Teaching-Learning Process.
Journal of Agronomic Education 19(1):66-71, 1990.

Elementos de Edafologia - Suelos 200, 214 p, 1960.
“Introductory Soil Science - Soils 200”.

Manual de Laboratorio - Suelos 200, 144 p, 1961.
“Laboratory Manual - Soils 200”.

Manual de Laboratorio - Suelos 350, 175 p, 1961.
“Soils & Plant Analysis - Laboratory Manual”.

Class Notes on Soil Science. 295p, 1966.

Class Notes on Tropical Soils. 200 p, 1966.

Class notes on Soil Fertility. 265 p, 1967.

Notes on Foliar Analysis 21 p, 1966.

504
Notes on Greenhouse Research. 20 p, 1966.

Introductory Soil Science - Principles and Relationships.
Lecture Notes for Agron 202, 275 p, 1984.

Introductory Soil Science - Principles and Relationships.
Lecture Notes for Agron 202. 397 p, 2nd edition, 1986.

Introductory Soil Science - Principles and Relationships.
Lecture Notes for Agron 202, 450 p, 2nd edition, revised 1993.

Introductory Soil Science - Principles and Relationships.
Lecture Notes for Agron 202, 480 p, 3rd edition 1995.

Principles and Exercises for Introductory Soil Science.
A Laboratory Manual 200 p, 1979.

Principles and Exercises for Introductory Soil Science.
A Laboratory Manual 273 p, 2nd edition, 1980.

Principles and Exercises for introductory Soil Science.
A Laboratory Manual 273 p, 2nd edition, revised, 1981.

Introductory Soil Science - Principles and Exercises.
A Laboratory Manual, 273 p, 3rd edition, 1985.

Introductory Soil Science - Principles and Exercises.
A Laboratory Manual, 295 p, 3rd edition, revised, 1986.

The Soil and the Environment - Properties, Relationships, & Management.
Lecture Notes for Agron 452-652, Soil Fertility and Management, 390 p, 1993.

Lecture Notes on Environmental Pollution and Control Practices, 415p, 1995.

EXTENSION PUBLICATIONS

Erosion en Chiriqui. Boletin, 12 p, 1959.
“Erosion in the Chiriqui province, Panama”.

Conozca Las Ocho Clases de Tierra. Boletin de Extension. 1960.
“Know the Eight Land Classes”.

La Lluvia y la Erosion. Boletin de Extension. 1960.
“Rain and Erosion”.

505
La Curva a Nivel con el Caballete. Boletin de Extension. 1960.
“The Contour Line and Soil Conservation”.

Agricultor: Elimina las Carcavas de tus Campos. Boletin de Extension. 1960.
“Farmer: Eliminate the Gullies from your Fields”.

Conservemos Nuestros Suelos. Boletin de Extension. 1961.
“Let’s Conserve Our Soils”.

Tarjeta para el Juzgamiento de Tierras. 1961.
“Land Judging Card”.

Tome Muestras de su Suelo. Boletin de Extension, 12 p, 1961.
“Take a Soil Sample from your Land”.


Abone sus Tierras. Boletin de Extension, 12 p, 1961.
“Fertilize your Land”.

Provecto de Conservacion de los Recursos Naturales para los Clubes 4-S de Panama.
Boletin de Extension, 22 p, 1961.
“Natural Resources Conservation Project for the 4-H Clubs of Panama”.

Ecos Edafologicos. A soil extension newsletter, 10-12 p, 1960-61.
“Edaphological Echoes”.

Clasificacion Agrologica, Capacidad de las Tierras y Agricultura del Suroeste de la
Provincia de Chiriqui. SICAP, Ministry of Agriculture, Panama. 135 p, 1960.
“Soil survey of the Chiriqui Province”.
Translation by J. A. Martini (English to Spanish).

506
 Two Sentiments written by the Author and dedicated to
His Family, His Music and His Science.


MY GUITAR

My guitar is my friend,
a dear friend that I regard
with reverence, dedication and sensitivity;
Its music with its melodic nuances
are like a garden of beautiful flowers,
represented by musical notations
that may be expressed with delicate
rhythm, harmony and beauty;
In the memory of God!

The Author.

507
 A SONG OF LIFE — AL-DI-LA

Oh, how I would like a lyricist to be
and write with care the many songs of life
to uncover the hidden layers of human love and like
to record the musical vibrations of the mind
to capture the sweet intonations of the wild
and then caress with tenderness, the loving souls to be.

Oh, how I would like a musical instrument to be
and play with sweetness the many songs of life
to awaken the human love in everyone alike
to send in rushing melodies, the very notes of love
to resound triumphant, the heavenly sounds of high above
and then caress with tenderness, the loving souls to be.

Oh, how I would like musical notes to be
and sound with vibrancy the many songs of life
to echo lively in recondite shells of lover’s seas
to whisper softly the cosmic tunes of starry nights
to embody all that is enchanting music and its might
and then caress with tenderness, the loving souls to be.

The Author.

508
 UNIVERSITY OF PANAMA, CIUDAD UNIVERSITARIA
Where I first became a University Professor in 1960

509
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Asimov, Isaac - The Measure of the Universe.
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Asimov, Isaac - The History of Physics.
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Asimov, Isaac - The Chemicals of Life.
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Asimov, Isaac - The Greeks, A Great Adventure.
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Asimov, Isaac - Life and Energy.
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Adams, Frank Dawson - The Birth and Development of the Geological Sciences.
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510
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 NATURE IS THE SUBLIME CREATION OF NATURE.
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THIS KIND OF MAJESTIC BEAUTY
TO ENTERTAIN OUR MINDS AND SOULS?

A LANDSCAPE IS MORE THAN VALLEYS, MOUNTAINS, VEGETATION
AND WATER, A LANDSCAPE IS THE BEAUTY OF NATURE AT ITS
BEST WITH ALL THE BLESSINGS FROM OUR SUPREME BEING

522
 The Renaissance of Science

The Story of the Cell and Biology

The Magnificent Scientists and their Fabulous Accomplishments

A Fantastic Dream and Journey into the Past, Present and Future
In the World of Biology

ISBN 978-0-692-48512-5
90000>

9 780692 485125