A Short History of Nearly Everything-第86章

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he　never　used　the　word　gene　—it　wasn’t　coined　until　1913；　in　an　english　medicaldictionary—though　he　did　invent　the　terms　dominant　and　recessive。　what　he　established　wasthat　every　seed　contained　two　“factors”　or　“elemente；”　as　he　called　them—a　dominant　oneand　a　recessive　one—and　these　factors；　when　bined；　produced　predictable　patterns　ofinheritance。

the　results　he　converted　into　precise　mathematical　formulae。　altogether　mendel　spenteight　years　on　the　experiments；　then　confirmed　his　results　with　similar　experiments　onflowers；　corn；　and　other　plants。　if　anything；　mendel　was　too　scientific　in　his　approach；　forwhen　he　presented　his　findings　at　the　february　and　march　meetings　of　the　natural　historysociety　of　brno　in　1865；　the　audience　of　about　forty　listened　politely　but　was　conspicuouslyunmoved；　even　though　the　breeding　of　plants　was　a　matter　of　great　practical　interest　to　manyof　the　members。

when　mendel’s　report　was　published；　he　eagerly　sent　a　copy　to　the　great　swiss　botanistkarl…wilhelm　von　n？geli；　whose　support　was　more　or　less　vital　for　the　theory’s　prospects。

unfortunately；　n？geli　failed　to　perceive　the　importance　of　what　mendel　had　found。　hesuggested　that　mendel　try　breeding　hawkweed。　mendel　obediently　did　as　n？geli　suggested；but　quickly　realized　that　hawkweed　had　none　of　the　requisite　features　for　studying　heritability。

it　was　evident　to　him　that　n？geli　had　not　read　the　paper　closely；　or　possibly　at　all。　frustrated；mendel　retired　from　investigating　heritability　and　spent　the　rest　of　his　life　growingoutstanding　vegetables　and　studying　bees；　mice；　and　sunspots；　among　much　else。　eventuallyhe　was　made　abbot。

mendel’s　findings　weren’t　quite　as　widely　ignored　as　is　sometimes　suggested。　his　studyreceived　a　glowing　entry　in　the　encyclopaedia　britannica　—then　a　more　leading　record　ofscientific　thought　than　now—and　was　cited　repeatedly　in　an　important　paper　by　the　germanwilhelm　olbers　focke。　indeed；　it　was　because　mendel’s　ideas　never　entirely　sank　below　thewaterline　of　scientific　thought　that　they　were　so　easily　recovered　when　the　world　was　readyfor　them。

together；　without　realizing　it；　darwin　and　mendel　laid　the　groundwork　for　all　of　lifesciences　in　the　twentieth　century。　darwin　saw　that　all　living　things　are　connected；　thatultimately　they　“trace　their　ancestry　to　a　single；　mon　source；”　while　mendel’s　workprovided　the　mechanism　to　explain　how　that　could　happen。　the　two　men　could　easily　havehelped　each　other。　mendel　owned　a　german　edition　of　the　origin　of　species；　which　he　isknown　to　have　read；　so　he　must　have　realized　the　applicability　of　his　work　to　darwin’s；　yet　heappears　to　have　made　no　effort　to　get　in　touch。　and　darwin　for　his　part　is　known　to　havestudied　focke’s　influential　paper　with　its　repeated　references　to　mendel’s　work；　but　didn’tconnect　them　to　his　own　studies。

the　one　thing　everyone　thinks　featured　in　darwin’s　argument；　that　humans　are　descendedfrom　apes；　didn’t　feature　at　all　except　as　one　passing　allusion。　even　so；　it　took　no　great　leap　ofimagination　to　see　the　implications　for　human　development　in　darwin’s　theories；　and　itbecame　an　immediate　talking　point。

the　showdown　came　on　saturday；　june　30；　1860；　at　a　meeting　of　the　british　associationfor　the　advancement　of　science　in　oxford。　huxley　had　been　urged　to　attend　by　robertchambers；　author　of　vestiges　of　the　natural　history　of　creation；　though　he　was　still　unawareof　chambers’s　connection　to　that　contentious　tome。　darwin；　as　ever；　was　absent。　the　meetingwas　held　at　the　oxford　zoological　museum。　more　than　a　thousand　people　crowded　into　thechamber；　hundreds　more　were　turned　away。　people　knew　that　something　big　was　going　tohappen；　though　they　had　first　to　wait　while　a　slumber…inducing　speaker　named　john　williamdraper　of　new　york　university　bravely　slogged　his　way　through　two　hours　of　introductoryremarks　on　“the　intellectual　development　of　europe　considered　with　reference　to　the　viewsof　mr。　darwin。”

finally；　the　bishop　of　oxford；　samuel　wilberforce；　rose　to　speak。　wilberforce　had　beenbriefed　（or　so　it　is　generally　assumed）　by　the　ardent　anti…darwinian　richard　owen；　who　hadbeen　a　guest　in　his　home　the　night　before。　as　nearly　always　with　events　that　end　in　uproar；accounts　vary　widely　on　what　exactly　transpired。　in　the　most　popular　version；　wilberforce；when　properly　in　flow；　turned　to　huxley　with　a　dry　smile　and　demanded　of　him　whether　heclaimed　attachment　to　the　apes　by　way　of　his　grandmother　or　grandfather。　the　remark　wasdoubtless　intended　as　a　quip；　but　it　came　across　as　an　icy　challenge。　according　to　his　ownaccount；　huxley　turned　to　his　neighbor　and　whispered；　“the　lord　hath　delivered　him　into　myhands；”　then　rose　with　a　certain　relish。

others；　however；　recalled　a　huxley　trembling　with　fury　and　indignation。　at　all　events；huxley　declared　that　he　would　rather　claim　kinship　to　an　ape　than　to　someone　who　used　hiseminence　to　propound　uninformed　twaddle　in　what　was　supposed　to　be　a　serious　scientificforum。　such　a　riposte　was　a　scandalous　impertinence；　as　well　as　an　insult　to　wilberforce’soffice；　and　the　proceedings　instantly　collapsed　in　tumult。　a　lady　brewster　fainted。　robertfitzroy；　darwin’s　panion　on　the　beagle　twenty…five　years　before；　wandered　through　thehall　with　a　bible　held　aloft；　shouting；　“the　book；　the　book。”　（he　was　at　the　conference　topresent　a　paper　on　storms　in　his　capacity　as　head　of　the　newly　created　meteorologicaldepartment。）　interestingly；　each　side　afterward　claimed　to　have　routed　the　other。

darwin　did　eventually　make　his　belief　in　our　kinship　with　the　apes　explicit　in　the　descentof　man　in　1871。　the　conclusion　was　a　bold　one　since　nothing　in　the　fossil　record　supportedsuch　a　notion。　the　only　known　early　human　remains　of　that　time　were　the　famous　neandertalbones　from　germany　and　a　few　uncertain　fragments　of　jawbones；　and　many　respectedauthorities　refused　to　believe　even　in　their　antiquity。　the　descent　of　man　was　altogether　amore　controversial　book；　but　by　the　time　of　its　appearance　the　world　had　grown　less　excitableand　its　arguments　caused　much　less　of　a　stir。

for　the　most　part；　however；　darwin　passed　his　twilight　years　with　other　projects；　most　ofwhich　touched　only　tangentially　on　questions　of　natural　selection。　he　spent　amazingly　longperiods　picking　through　bird　droppings；　scrutinizing　the　contents　in　an　attempt　to　understandhow　seeds　spread　between　continents；　and　spent　years　more　studying　the　behavior　of　worms。

one　of　his　experiments　was　to　play　the　piano　to　them；　not　to　amuse　them　but　to　study　theeffects　on　them　of　sound　and　vibration。　he　was　the　first　to　realize　how　vitally　importantworms　are　to　soil　fertility。　“it　may　be　doubted　whether　there　are　many　other　animals　whichhave　played　so　important　a　part　in　the　history　of　the　world；”　he　wrote　in　his　masterwork　on　thesubject；　the　formation　of　vegetable　mould　through　the　action　of　worms　（1881）；　which　wasactually　more　popular　thanon　the　origin　of　species　had　ever　been。　among　his　other　bookswere　on　the　various　contrivances　by　which　british　and　foreign　orchids　are　fertilised　byinsects　（1862）；　expressions　of　the　emotions　in　man　and　animals　（1872）；　which　sold　almost5；300　copies　on　its　first　day；　the　effects　of　cross　and　self　fertilization　in　the　vegetablekingdom　（1876）—a　subject　that　came　improbably　close　to　mendel’s　own　work；　withoutattaining　anything　like　the　same　insights—and　his　last　book；　the　power　of　movement　inplants。　finally；　but　not　least；　he　devoted　much　effort　to　studying　the　consequences　ofinbreeding—a　matter　of　private　interest　to　him。　having　married　his　own　cousin；　darwinglumly　suspected　that　certain　physical　and　mental　frailties　among　his　children　arose　from　alack　of　diversity　in　his　family　tree。

darwin　was　often　honored　in　his　lifetime；　but　never　for　on　the　origin　of　species　ordescentof　man。　when　the　royal　society　bestowed　on　him　the　prestigious　copley　medal　it　was　for　hisgeology；　zoology；　and　botany；　not　evolutionary　theories；　and　the　linnaean　society　wassimilarly　pleased　to　honor　darwin　without　embracing　his　radical　notions。　he　was　neverknighted；　though　he　was　buried　in　westminster　abbey—next　to　newton。　he　died　at　down　inapril　1882。　mendel　died　two　years　later。

darwin’s　theory　didn’t　really　gain　widespread　acceptance　until　the　1930s　and　1940s；　withthe　advance　of　a　refined　theory　called；　with　a　certain　hauteur；　the　modern　synthesis；bining　darwin’s　ideas　with　those　of　mendel　and　others。　for　mendel；　appreciation　wasalso　posthumous；　though　it　came　somewhat　sooner。　in　1900；　three　scientists　workingseparately　in　europe　rediscovered　mendel’s　work　more　or　less　simultaneously。　it　was　onlybecause　one　of　them；　a　dutchman　named　hugo　de　vries；　seemed　set　to　claim　mendel’sinsights　as　his　own　that　a　rival　made　it　noisily　clear　that　the　credit　really　lay　with　the　forgottenmonk。

the　world　was　almost　ready；　but　not　quite；　to　begin　to　understand　how　we　got　here—howwe　made　each　other。　it　is　fairly　amazing　to　reflect　that　at　the　beginning　of　the　twentiethcentury；　and　for　some　years　beyond；　the　best　scientific　minds　in　the　world　couldn’t　actuallytell　you　where　babies　came　from。

and　these；　you　may　recall；　were　men　who　thought　science　was　nearly　at　an　end。

。d　xs　



26THE　STUFF　OF　LIFE

小？说网
if　your　two　parents　had