Perspectives on Science

In Episode 8 of the DNA papers, we discuss the papers that directly followed up the discovery of the 1944 paper from episode 7. These papers, which have received little attention in histories of DNA, describe the purification and experimental use of an enzyme, desoxyribonuclease, or DNase, which specifically destroys DNA. By showing how the transforming principle is specifically inactivated by this enzyme alone and not by RNA- or protein-degrading enzymes- the DNase experiments left “little doubt” that DNA is the chemical substance responsible for the transformation of bacterial types. Papers discussed include: McCarty, Maclyn. 1946. “Purification and Properties of Desoxyribonuclease Isolated from Beef Pancreas.” The Journal of General Physiology 29 (3): 123–39. McCarty, Maclyn, and O.T. Avery. 1946. “Studies on the Chemical Nature of the Substance Inducing Transformation of Pneumococcal Types. II. Effect of Desoxyribonuclease on the Biological Activity of the Transforming Substance.” Journal of Experimental Medicine 83: 89–96. Returning to the podcast series to share their thoughts on the place of these experiments in DNA history are: Mark Lorch, University of Hull Geoffrey Montgomery, Independent Science Writer Michel Morange, École Normale Supérieure Jan Witkowski, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Additional resources on this topic are available at https://www.chstm.org/video/144 Recorded on June 22, 2023.

Moviegoers who might never pick up a book on the history of science may nonetheless find themselves confronted with the stories, themes, and questions to which historians of science devote their careers when they go to the movies. Films and other forms of popular culture both reflect and shape public discourse about the significance of scientific discoveries and the legacies of technological achievements. For this episode, we’ve convened a film forum. HSS Secretary Matt Shindell hosts a discussion of four recent movies with fellow historians Yangyang Cheng, David Hecht, and Amit Prasad. Each of the films take on history of science subject matter in different ways; they include Christopher Nolan’s newly released biopic, Oppenheimer, Sudhir Mishra and Sachin Krishn’s satire, Serious Men, Ryan White’s documentary, Good Night Oppy, and Jianya Zhang’s heroic depiction of Qian Xuesen. Recorded on July 27, 2023. For information this topic, and other HSS@100 episodes, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/157.

The seventh episode of the DNA Papers is the central one in this podcast series, not only because it marks the halfway point of the podcast, but also, more so, because the paper discussed is at the center of the history of all twentieth century biology. Written by a trio of microbiologists at the Rockefeller University in New York City, this paper without saying so in actual words, represents the first publication to offer evidence that DNA (though not yet known by that name) is the stuff that makes up genes: Avery, Oswald T., Colin M. MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty. “Studies on the Chemical Nature of the Substance Inducing Transformation of Pneumococcal Types: Induction of Transformation by a Desoxyribonucleic Acid Fraction Isolated from Pneumococcus Type III.” The Journal of Experimental Medicine 79, no. 2 (1944): 137–58. Joining the discussion of this historic paper are the following expert commentators: Matthew Cobb, University of Manchester Ute Deichmann, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Geoff Montgomery, Independent Science Writer, New York City Please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144 for additional resources on this topic. Recorded on April 28, 2023.

The discovery of a never-released report from 1973 on women in the History of Science Society provides an opportunity to reflect on how much things have changed, what has not changed, and challenges that remain for improving inclusion in the Society. Discussants in this episode are: Tara Nummedal, Brown University Samantha Muka, Stevens Institute of Technology Margaret Rossiter, Cornell University Matthew Lavine, Mississippi State University For more information and more podcasts go to, https://www.chstm.org/video/157 Recorded on June 5, 2023.

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Adam Johnson, Consortium NEH Fellow. Adam introduces us to his book project, which examines the shifting relationships between white ethnographic fieldworkers and Pueblo and Navajo communities in the American Southwest around the documentation of sensitive information. By contrasting Anglo universalist conceptions of knowledge with Pueblo and Navajo epistemic systems, which both have restrictions on the free flow of information (though in quite different ways), he shows that Indigenous practices of information control constrained ethnographic fieldwork methods. In response, Southwesternists regularly dropped the emerging gold-standard of participant observation to pursue Indigenous knowledge that was purposefully withheld from them, adopting tactics that isolated and coerced individual informants. The consequences of ethnographic extraction were complicated: for many communities, not only was sacred knowledge profaned when outsiders learned of it, but the publication of such information risked that even unsanctioned members of their own communities might learn things about which they were supposed to be ignorant. For more resources and more episodes, visit https://www.chstm.org/video/161

The sixth installment of this podcast series introduces a brand new player into the story of DNA: a technique from physics called X-ray crystallography. This technique would eventually play a key role in unlocking the secrets of DNA structure, but this 1938 paper by Leeds-based scientists William Astbury and Florence Bell marks the first instance of anyone attempting to use X-rays for the visualization of the nucleic acids. It is also the first paper in this series where the main contributor to the work was a woman. Sharing their insights about the significance of the “X-Ray Study of Thymonucleic Acid” which was published in the prestigious journal Nature (v. 141: 747-748), are: Manju Bansal, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore Kersten Hall, University of Leeds Matthew Meselson, Harvard University Jan Witkowski, Cold Spring Laboratory More resources and podcasts available at https://www.chstm.org/video/144 Recorded on April 4, 2023.

As the History of Science Society approaches its centennial celebration in 2024, its members reflect on the past 100 years of the profession, its fascinations and preoccupations, and its possible future in an increasingly globalized world. HSS@100 is produced in partnership with the History of Science Society. Where has the Society been and where will it go next? Our first episode, hosted by HSS President Fa-ti Fan, kicks the series off with a discussion between HSS Presidents past, present, and future. Fan is joined by past Presidents Bernard Lightman and Jan Golinski, and current Vice President, Evelynn Hammonds. The group discusses what the history of science has meant to them, the value of history of science scholarship, and how the Society and its diverse members can expand understanding of the scientific enterprise and the contexts in which science is practiced.

Episode 5 of the DNA papers examines the contributions of the organic chemist Phoebus Levene, who published a corpus of some 200 papers on the subject over a period of four decades, during which he made discoveries about the constituents of, and developed his ideas about the structure of, DNA. Among other things, he was the first person to correctly identify the sugar components of the nucleic acids: d-ribose in RNA and d-2-deoxyribose in DNA. But these contributions have often been overlooked, and Levene is unfortunately more likely to be remembered in a negative light for something called the tetranucleotide hypothesis, which many believe hampered the progress of understanding the role of DNA. Here to talk about Levene’s contributions to nucleic acid chemistry, and offer some perspective about the tetranucleotide hypothesis are: Pnina Abir-Am, Brandeis University Pedro Bernal, Rollins College Mark Lorch, University of Hull

This episode of the IsisCB Pandemics series features contributors who wrote and reviewed bibliographic essays surveying the literature about concepts fundamental to our understanding of pandemic and epidemic diseases, such as the broad disciplinary category of epidemiology, as well as the specific concepts of vaccinations and syndemics. Offering their perspectives on the significance of these topics are: Lukas Engelmann, Jacob Steere-Williams and Dora Vargha. They discuss how historians can move away from a model of biography of disease and towards a better understanding of the co-occurrence of disease epidemics with epidemics of social phenomena. For more information and additional resources, go to https://www.chstm.org/video/149 Recorded April 24, 2023.

An Albert M. Greenfield Forum in the History of Science In 2014, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Daniel J. Kevles and Peter Westwick were invited to write the 150th anniversary history of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and were given unprecedented access to its extensive archival collection, much of which had never attracted scholarly attention. Their manuscript, tentatively titled The National Academy of Sciences in the American Democracy: A History is now very close to completion. The book is a contextual as well as an institutional history. It situates the Academy in both American and global history, covering the history of the natural and social sciences as well as engineering and medicine. It aims to weave the internal evolution of the Academy together with its impact on American government and society--and vice versa. For more resources on this topic, see https://www.chstm.org/video/154 Recorded March 2, 2023.