Frozen: The story of Frostie the calf TAGS: biotechnology | calf | chris polge | dolly the sheep | Edinburgh | embryo | freezing | frostie | liquid nitrogen | reproductive physiology | roslin | wilmut Ian Wilmut is best known for his involvement with the team which cloned Dolly the sheep in 1996. However, his scientific career, which spans more than five decades, includes a variety …Continue reading →

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi: Man + Machine TAGS: Edinburgh | Edinburgh College of Art | Maquettes | Paolozzi | Sculpture The Centre for Research Collections is showcasing a selection of maquettes from Paolozzi’s major bequest to the University’s Informatics Forum. A founder of the Pop Art movement, sculptor Sir Eduardo …Continue reading →

Science From The Tomb… TAGS: ancient egypt | beatty | Edinburgh | genetics | halloween | institute of animal genetics | mummies | reproductive physiology It’s nearly Hallowe’en, when spooky subjects are foremost in our minds. An ideal time, then, to look at some rather unusual correspondence from the Richard Alan Beatty archive about Egyptian mummies! At first …Continue reading →

Freshers’ Week – 1870 style TAGS: Edinburgh | ewart | fresher | Freshers Week | sophia jex-blake | University of Edinburgh This week is one of the busiest times of the year for the University of Edinburgh, and a momentous week for our brand new students – it’s Fresher’s Week! The …Continue reading →

Research and Refugees – Edinburgh genetics during the 1940s TAGS: 1940s | c.h. waddington | charlotte auerbach | chromosome theory | Edinburgh | f.a.e crew | festival of museums | fly room | george clayton | h.j. muller | home guard | inheritance | institute of animal genetics | j.m. robson | mendel | mustard gas | mutation | roslin | second world war | t.h. morgan Last Friday I delivered a talk on genetics in Edinburgh during the 1940s as part of the Scotland-wide Festival of Museums, for which Edinburgh University Library and Collections took the 1940s …Continue reading →

New Strides, Old Stripes: Zebras and the tsetse fly TAGS: east africa | Edinburgh | genetics | genome | genomics | hagenbeck | james cossar ewart | sequencing | trypanosomiasis | tsetse | zebra It was announced last week that scientists have deciphered the genetic code of the tsetse fly, which offers hope of eradicating one of Africa’s most deadly diseases. The fly, which …Continue reading →

Picture Perfect! TAGS: drosophila | Edinburgh | genetics | institute of animal genetics | photographs | science | waddington Being lucky, as I am, to work with a wide variety of archival collections relating to the history of animal genetics in Edinburgh, it can be mightily difficult to select …Continue reading →

The Hen Who Made History…Nearly TAGS: alan greenwood | Edinburgh | egg laying | egg production | eggs | eglantine | genetics | institute of animal genetics | L1641 | poultry | poultry breeding | poultry research centre | world record Edinburgh holds a number of world records in genetics and animal breeding, which, considering its historic significance in the history of the science in Britain, is not all that surprising. …Continue reading →

The Lysenko Controversy: Soviet Genetics and Edinburgh TAGS: 1939 | crew | Edinburgh | genetics | geoffrey beale | internation genetics congress | lysenko | mendel | mendelism | propaganda | russia | soviet | stalin | USSR | vernalisation Britain has been fortunate in the freedom it has enjoyed to carry out scientific research; something which has not always been the case with other parts of the world. The …Continue reading →

‘To sow the seeds of a new science…’ Happy Birthday James Cossar Ewart TAGS: birthday | bungalow | craigybield | Edinburgh | f.a.e crew | genetics | institute of animal genetics | james cossar ewart | penicuik The name of James Cossar Ewart (1851-1933) has featured regularly in this blog over the past year or so, but we wish him a happy 163rd birthday for tomorrow (26th November). …Continue reading →