August Weismann: Development, Heredity, and Evolution
The evolutionist Ernst Mayr considered August Weismann “one of the great biologists of all time.” Yet the man who formulated the germ plasm theory—that inheritance is transmitted solely through the nuclei of the egg and sperm cells—has not received an in-depth historical examination. August Weismann reintroduces readers to a towering figure in the life sciences. In this first full-length biography, Frederick Churchill situates Weismann in the swirling intellectual currents of his era and demonstrates how his work paved the way for the modern synthesis of genetics and evolution in the twentieth century.

In 1859 Darwin’s tantalizing new idea stirred up a great deal of activity and turmoil in the scientific world, to a large extent because the underlying biological mechanisms of evolution through natural selection had not yet been worked out. Weismann’s achievement was to unite natural history, embryology, and cell biology under the capacious dome of evolutionary theory. In his major work on the germ plasm (1892), which established the material basis of heredity in the “germ cells,” Weismann delivered a crushing blow to Lamarck’s concept of the inheritance of acquired traits.

In this deeply researched biography, Churchill explains the development of Weismann’s pioneering work based on cytology and embryology and opens up an expanded history of biology from 1859 to 1914. August Weismann is sure to become the definitive account of an extraordinary life and career.

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August Weismann: Development, Heredity, and Evolution
The evolutionist Ernst Mayr considered August Weismann “one of the great biologists of all time.” Yet the man who formulated the germ plasm theory—that inheritance is transmitted solely through the nuclei of the egg and sperm cells—has not received an in-depth historical examination. August Weismann reintroduces readers to a towering figure in the life sciences. In this first full-length biography, Frederick Churchill situates Weismann in the swirling intellectual currents of his era and demonstrates how his work paved the way for the modern synthesis of genetics and evolution in the twentieth century.

In 1859 Darwin’s tantalizing new idea stirred up a great deal of activity and turmoil in the scientific world, to a large extent because the underlying biological mechanisms of evolution through natural selection had not yet been worked out. Weismann’s achievement was to unite natural history, embryology, and cell biology under the capacious dome of evolutionary theory. In his major work on the germ plasm (1892), which established the material basis of heredity in the “germ cells,” Weismann delivered a crushing blow to Lamarck’s concept of the inheritance of acquired traits.

In this deeply researched biography, Churchill explains the development of Weismann’s pioneering work based on cytology and embryology and opens up an expanded history of biology from 1859 to 1914. August Weismann is sure to become the definitive account of an extraordinary life and career.

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August Weismann: Development, Heredity, and Evolution

August Weismann: Development, Heredity, and Evolution

by Frederick B. Churchill
August Weismann: Development, Heredity, and Evolution

August Weismann: Development, Heredity, and Evolution

by Frederick B. Churchill

Hardcover

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Overview

The evolutionist Ernst Mayr considered August Weismann “one of the great biologists of all time.” Yet the man who formulated the germ plasm theory—that inheritance is transmitted solely through the nuclei of the egg and sperm cells—has not received an in-depth historical examination. August Weismann reintroduces readers to a towering figure in the life sciences. In this first full-length biography, Frederick Churchill situates Weismann in the swirling intellectual currents of his era and demonstrates how his work paved the way for the modern synthesis of genetics and evolution in the twentieth century.

In 1859 Darwin’s tantalizing new idea stirred up a great deal of activity and turmoil in the scientific world, to a large extent because the underlying biological mechanisms of evolution through natural selection had not yet been worked out. Weismann’s achievement was to unite natural history, embryology, and cell biology under the capacious dome of evolutionary theory. In his major work on the germ plasm (1892), which established the material basis of heredity in the “germ cells,” Weismann delivered a crushing blow to Lamarck’s concept of the inheritance of acquired traits.

In this deeply researched biography, Churchill explains the development of Weismann’s pioneering work based on cytology and embryology and opens up an expanded history of biology from 1859 to 1914. August Weismann is sure to become the definitive account of an extraordinary life and career.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780674736894
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publication date: 06/09/2015
Pages: 722
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Frederick B. Churchill was Emeritus Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
I. Explorations into Natural History and Development
1. Growing Up and Early Research
2. The Age of Development
3. Becoming an Embryologist: Insect Development
4. Studies in Descent, Part I: 1863–1876
5. Studies in Descent, Part II: 1873–1876
6. Daphnia Research and the Ecology of Lakes
7. From Germ Layers to the Germ-Plasm: The Study of Hydromedusae, 1877–1883
8. From Egg to Heredity: 1876–1885
9. A Perspective on Heredity
10. Carl Nägeli and Inter- and Intragenerational Continuity
11. The Emergence of Nuclear Cytology
II. An Architectonic View of Heredity
12. A New Perspective on Heredity: Continuity and Heredity
13. Transmission of Adaptations and Evolution: 1885–1890
14. Polar Body Research: 1887–1891
15. Protozoa and Amphimixis
Color plates follow page 386.
16. A Model for Heredity: Das Keimplasma, 1892
17. Controversies and Adjustments: 1893–1896
18. The Germ-Plasm and the Diversity of Living Phenomena: 1890–1900
19. Seasonal Dimorphism in Butterflies and Parthenogenesis of Drones
20. Adapting the Germ-Plasm: 1900–1914
21. A Mechanical Model for Evolution
Epilogue
Appendix: Works by August Weismann
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
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