Journal of the History of Biology
Written by Roberta Millstein, Rob Skipper, and myself, Survival of the Luckiest is the first book length treatment of the history and philosophy of drift in evolutionary biology. And it comes at an important time in the history of evolutionary biology: Random genetic drift is now recognized as a major factor in evolution, especially at the molecular level. The history of drift, however, has been marked by significant controversy, especially when drift is juxtaposed to natural selection.
Richard Goldschmidt was one of the most accomplished geneticists in Germany until he was forced to leave by the Nazis. In the United States, Goldschmidt rejected the classical gene and advocated saltatory evolution and hopeful monsters.
Goldschmidt's research and reputation as a scientific heretic have been the subject of my research for several years, as well as a book in progress.
In the 1960s, “Developmental Biology” became the dominant term to describe research that had previously been included under the rubrics of embryology, growth, and morphology. As scientific societies formed under this new label, a new discipline took shape. Using a global index of developmental research in the post-war period, the General Embryological Information Service, we argue that increasing diversification of research in the late 1950s contributed to the subsequent adoption of developmental biology as a label for a new discipline with a broad and unifying scope.
"Drawn to Controversy"
Digging through dusty storerooms and reading dead people's mail ...
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