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 →

Dame Anne McLaren (1927-2007) TAGS: alan beatty | anne mclaren | fertility | in vitro | institute of animal genetics | mammalian development | reproductive biology | royal society | waddington It’s always great to receive comments and feedback from our blog readers, especially those which suggest subjects or people which we haven’t yet featured. We have a growing list of posts …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 →

Lab Books TAGS: a.n. whitehead | c.h. waddington | c.k. ogden | c.p.snow | dualism | I.A. Richards | institute of animal genetics | Literature | nature | two cultures | what scientists read I have recently been reading about the ‘What Scientists Read’ project, which aims to explore the influence of literature and the arts upon scientific thought and practice. The project has …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 →

‘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 →