Review of the book "The History of Genetics" by Chava Yablonka 154 pages, Broadcasting University, Ministry of Defense - Publishing House, 1994
Prof. Raphael Fleck
Undoubtedly, the Broadcasting University is one of the most successful educational and cultural enterprises in Israel. In the list at the end of the book I found 163 titles issued by the Ministry of Defense in this context. The editor of the series, Tirzah Yuval, deserves special praise, especially when you take into account the great work that goes into each series of lectures like this. I therefore happily agree with Amnon Dankner's words of praise for the enterprise and its editor (in the "Haaretz" book supplement, October 1995).
Many of the books of the Broadcasting University can be found in almost every home today - I counted 28 of them on my bookshelf. In view of this success story, it is necessary to examine whether the enterprise fulfills its main mission, to impart education to all. It seems that the biggest danger in this kind of activity is superficiality, that is, buying nothing for everything. Of course, I cannot discuss the entire series here, but the book by Chava Yablonka may serve as a good test, since the writer on the history of a certain science is faced with a double difficulty: how to tell the history and at the same time explain the science, all this within the pressing framework of 13 short lectures less than half an hour.
The history of the science of heredity is usually presented as a success story, which begins with the "rediscovery" of the work of the Franciscan monk Gregor Mendel in 1900. Chava Yablonka chose to interpret the term genetics - the theory of heredity - in its broadest sense and presents the story from Genesis, and mainly from the Greek days onwards. This is a wise approach, which guarantees a comprehensive and thorough picture, which could have been a fascinating story of the history of human thinking, as illustrated by the example of the phenomena of reproduction and development, which are in constant tension between the renewal of the existing - reproduction, and the re-creation - regeneration. However, I am afraid that the author made a mistake in her judgment here: although it is important to make the reader aware that without Aristotle and Hippocrates it is difficult to understand many of the concepts of Darwin, Mendel, de Vries, Johansen or Delbrook, however the telegraphic description, especially in chapters XNUMX and XNUMX, does not contribute A lot, and it would have been better not to mislead the reader as if he had been given the necessary background, while presenting things in a narrow way, which inevitably leads to a lack of clarity. Likewise, towards the end of the book, the reader realizes how much the author is pushed to "enough" (especially in chapter XNUMX).
Indeed, the discussion of the achievements and problems of genetics in the molecular age seems to me to be lacking (see for example p. 137). Despite this reservation, the chapters that make up the main part of the book are good and clear and usually present the main problems of genetic research and its connections to the study of evolution on the one hand and to the theory of the cell - especially the theory of chromosomes - on the other hand, in an instructive manner.
The author puts the reader well on the conceptual background of the period, emphasizing the role it played in posing the questions, and in particular the influence of (prejudiced?) opinions on the solutions that were or were not offered: Mendel, who was forgotten for 35 years; Did they rediscover him or use his work to promote the views of the discoverers? the difficulty in accepting DNA as the carrier of genetic information; The reliance on the cytological model of the chromosomes and the physical analogy of the ropes coiled around each other to establish the theory of gene organization. Along with the description of the achievements and their significance, the author does not forget to reiterate that scientific research is only one facet of social existence in general. Yablonka highlights the importance of the mask of the relationship between the scientists and society and between the scientists themselves in the selection of research subjects and in the search for solutions to problems, sometimes within the framework of the prevailing views or the accepted experimental methods of the time, but sometimes precisely in breaking the conventions. Usually she tries to bring the success story of genetics without falling into the trap of myths that are involved in things, and as they are told after the fact. It examines the progress of genetics by the standards of critical experimental science and also as the activity of a company of people with personal interests, ambitions, prejudices, difficulties and whims. The human background is woven into almost every chapter, but it is not the thing that holds the main story. The things are presented more as anecdotes accompanying the treatise itself, as if the author was afraid to make this aspect the main thing, although sometimes it is clear that the things are like fire in her bones; For example, in the story of Rosaline Franklin who is humiliated by the chauvinist Watson (pp. 135-136). It's also a shame that she almost didn't expand on her views regarding extranuclear inheritance: on pages 107-108, it seemed to me that the sting was finally out of the bag - now comes the discussion about the role of the cytoplasm in heredity and the story about the suppression of this line of thought, because it did not meet the conditions The ruling Torah. But the notebook probably balked at the last minute, or perhaps ran into a time crunch, and that's a shame. The issue of developmental genetics and the interrelationships between nuclear and cytoplasmic factors in determining the differentiation of cells and organs in the process of embryonic development has also been neglected. Although, as mentioned, the descriptions given in the book are authoritative, in my opinion the author adheres too much to the "official" line. I would expect her to have a slightly more critical attitude towards the "accepted" opinions.
It is impossible not to refer to the inaccuracies that have crept in here and there. Johansen published his work in 1909 for German and non-English speakers (p. 97), he published his article for English speakers in 1911; Mahler did his doctoral thesis with Morgan and did not come to him after finishing it (p. 101); Mahler did show sympathy for the Soviet regime, but calling him a "devout communist" (p. 114) is a gross exaggeration; Biddle and Afrosi carried out their research in the mid-30s and not in the early 20s. Worse are some mistakes in the presentation of things: the nucleus is not "the dark body inside the cell" (pp. 56-57), but only appears that way after the cell is fixed and stained in special color materials; Sexuality in plants was discovered about a century before Kohlreuter, and what is even more important - before Linnaeus, by Camerarius and John Rea (p. 34). Kohlreuter studied the phenomenon of fertilization in plants; Mahler developed special strains so that he could discover mutations induced by radiation and not "on top of that..." (pp. 103-104); The presentation of the control system for the production of the sugar breaking down enzyme as a "logical and economical" thing, the "reason" for which is the existence of another protein in the cell (pp. 140-141), is the type of teleological (purposive) explanation, which would not have a place in a book like this.
It also seems to me that too much emphasis has been placed on Darwin's failure to put forward the panganza theory (p. 47). Darwin largely invented it in Berra, and even called it "the temporary theory of the panganza". The publisher does a good job of adding a Latin spelling to foreign names, but these spellings are full of errors. In addition to this, the Englishman Archibald Garrod is referred to as Gro (p. 123), as if it were a French name, while on p. 136, the Frenchman Monod is referred to as Monod, as if he were English. So what do I have to do because I'm Elin on whose name an A was added?
Even worse is the lack of a list of other recommended books at the end of the book. Today there are already several books even in the Hebrew language in these fields. It is better not to say too much about the quality of the illustrations.
Was the author successful in her task of conveying to the reader the experience of genetic research as a problem for scientists who work in the community and are part of it, who influence it as much as they are influenced by it? Did she manage to present a group of women and men trying to build a body of knowledge, based on a method of intellectual openness, of constant and uncompromising mutual control, which recognizes the ability to analyze and the creativity of man, but also his weaknesses and limitations and is aware that these are always only relative truths and never absolute? In my opinion, within the given limitations, the author succeeded in conveying the main message, and for that, you will be blessed.
Prof. Raphael Fleck
Department of Genetics
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
