CHAPTER 



2 



Research in Biology 



It would be very easy to suggest that a major revolution has occurred 

 in biology since the end of World War II; certainly there are more 

 biologists using physical and chemical methods. Much of the recent 

 progress in biology can be traced to a shift in emphasis from descriptive 

 to experimental biology, but to call this a major revolution would prob- 

 ably be going too far. 



Of the important factors in the encouragement of experimental re- 

 search, one has been the increased availability of funds from several 

 sources. Certain instruments and techniques— such as isotopic tracers, 

 optical devices, and chromatography— have become generally available, 

 but none of these was really new in 1946. When money became avail- 

 able, more people could work in experimental laboratories, and the 

 laboratories could be better equipped. Several important instruments 

 could be placed in production economically. The modern experimental 

 biology laboratory contains an array of sparkling expensive instruments, 

 a fair share of which would necessarily have been homemade only a 

 generation or so ago. 



In addition to a better financial situation, there is now a rather differ- 

 ent body of concepts upon which to build. The discovery that nucleic 

 acids can control the synthesis of enzymes has completely altered the 

 course of both genetics and enzyme biochemistry. The knowledge that 

 living cells can be broken and that the parts will continue some of their 

 activities even when separated from the rest of the cell has had a pro- 

 found influence in cellular physiology. 



Human beings have been biologically minded for a very long time, 



12 



