INTRODUCTION 



The foundation of a GENERAL EMBRYOLOGICAL INFORM 

 TION SERVICE was an experiment on a large scale. Success or failure 

 depended not on the activity of one institute alone, but on the general 

 interest, goodwill and active cooperation of all embryologists the world 

 over. 



Surveying the progress of our common project at the end of its first 

 year, we can say that it has achieved a real success. In our first issue 

 one can find data on the current investigations of more than 550 workers 

 in the field of Embryology. 



The great interest shown in this undertaking must be based on a general 

 desire for better international contact and cooperation with colleagues 

 all over the world. We have had enthusiastic letters from many corres- 

 pondents. This general establishment of contact may be of very great 

 importance for the progress of Science especially in more isolated 

 countries. The fact that the Hubrecht Laboratory has helped in the 

 fulfilment of such a widespread need is a real pleasure to us. 

 We will not conceal however that this first attempt has not yet achieved 

 complete success. Not every embryologist was reached, since many 

 addresses were unknown to us. With the help of our colleagues we 

 tried to supplement our list of addresses, which indeed grew very quickly 

 in the course of this year. In the second place, we have not yet received 

 information from every institute to which our circulars were sent. We 

 could not, indeed, expect a direct collaboration of every institute in this 

 first year, as the significance of our project may not have appeared 

 immediately to everybody. Propaganda remains, indeed, important 1 )- 

 We expect, however, a much better understanding of our enterprise after 

 we have distributed this first issue of the G.E.I.S., in which unfortunately 

 a few institutes must still be marked ,,data not yet received". We hope 

 and expect that we can offer you a complete survey of current embryo- 

 logical work in the issue for the year 1950. 



The development of the rather extensive organisation has taken more 

 time than we had hoped when we started this project in the spring of 

 last year. As our list of addresses grew only gradually, circulars could 

 not be sent to many institutes before the summer of this year, so that 

 their data did not arrive until the beginning of the autumn. We cannot 

 therefore offer you this first issue before the beginning of 1950. We 

 hope, however, that the organisation will run more smoothly in its 

 second year. We will try to send you the second issue in the last quarter 

 of 1950. 



1 ) The list of cooperating European institutes is more complete than that of Amci 

 institutes. This difference finds its explanation in the tact that we have been 

 to discuss the plans of the Hubrecht Laboratory in personal conversation Bt at\ 

 international and national congresses in Europe. Persona! contact and relation- 

 enormously this international work. The number of personal contact-; with Amc; 

 embryologists is, however, still small. We therefore hope that wt will be able lo 

 extend our relations with American colleagues in the near future in order to make 

 our work, which is in the interest o/ all embryologists. more familiar to them. 



