Heredity Under the Microscope - Chromosomes and the Study of the Human Genome

"By focusing on the chromosome in the quest to study and harness human heredity, Heredity under the Microscope offers a new history of postwar genetics. Today chromosomes are understood as macromolecular assemblies and analyzed with an array of molecular techniques. Yet throughout much of the twentieth century, researchers studied chromosomes by looking down the microscope at darkly stained bodies in the cell. In the 1950s, improved chromosome preparations offered a direct glimpse of the complete genome of an individual, opening up seemingly endless possibilities of observation and interventions. Much of the fascination with chromosomes and their persuasive power was based on the visual evidence the chromosome preparations provided, but critics countered that looking at pictures was not enough: we needed to understand the mechanisms. De Chadarevian argues that the often-bewildering variety of observations made by chromosome researchers were as central to the making of human heredity as the search for fundamental mechanisms pursued through the study of model organisms"--

About the author

Soraya de Chadarevian is professor in the Department of History and the Institute for Society and Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author and editor of numerous books, including Designs for Life: Molecular Biology after World War II and Models: The Third Dimension of Science.

Product details

• Authors: Soraya De Chadarevian
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.04.2020
• EAN: 9780226685113
• ISBN: 978-0-226-68511-3
• No. of pages: 272
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); History, HISTORY / General, SCIENCE / History, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Biochemistry, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History, biochemistry, History of Science, History of engineering and technology, History of engineering & technology, Genetics (non-medical)