98 ^ 100 YEARS EXPLORING LIFE, 1888-1988 



The sperm swim up to the egg, penetrate it and fuse with it. This 

 act of fertilization completely transforms the egg so that it's [sic] whole 

 substance undergoes a reorganization. It soon begins to divide: the 

 single egg-cell transforms itself; right before your eyes, gradually but 

 surely, into two cells. More rapidly, each of these divides in half and there 

 are four cells. Now things happen apace. In a little while there are 

 hundreds of cells developed from the single cell; and wonder of won- 

 ders, the organs begin to take form, whip-like locomotor appendages 

 appear. Then you think you're seeing illusions from too much staring 

 and gaping: it can't be true. The things are actually beginning to swim 

 around! But you become convinced that such is actually the case. Can 

 you realize the thrill of seeing the whole process of the formation of a 

 new creature? It simply makes you gasp. Do you wonder, then, that I still 

 feel the amazement and wonder of a child when I see such things? 



Aren't you glad that your gift is helping me to buy the instruments 

 that make it possible for me to see such things, and to retain the 

 immortal astonishment of a child at how things work, and to keep me 

 wondering why? Perhaps, but this is almost too much to hope for — I 

 may even help to find out the why and how of some of these wonderful 

 things, with the aid of those instruments. 



The only flaw in carrying out these studies today is that the current 

 emphasis on the giant squid axon has introduced some squid into the Eel 

 Pond. These animals like to eat the unsuspecting Nereis in the midst of the 

 worms' sexual activities. Ethicists somewhere probably worry about 

 whether the observer is morally guilty for provoking the attack. 



Leaders 



In those early decades of collecting on the dock, there were a few leaders 

 who clearly stood out. Conklin, Wilson, Morgan, Loeb, Montgomery, Har- 

 vard's George Howard Parker and Yale's Ross Granville Harrison joined 

 Whitman and Lillie as top men. To one admirer, it seemed that the senior 

 scientists in the beginning were "real luminaries in science" and made a 

 lasting impression. Later there seemed to be many more scientists who 

 stood out in different ways rather than as leaders overall, but that change 

 was largely due to changes in science and the structure of science rather 

 than to anything about the MBL itself. With time it became much more 

 difficult for individuals to master all the concepts and problems of the day 

 the way those leaders seemed to in the early part of the century. Reseai'ch- 

 ers saw with some regret the moves from general biology, concerned wdth 

 concepts pervading the field, to what one observer called the more special- 

 ized ATP Age and later the DNA Age. In addition, tiie pressures to "publish 

 or perish " and tiie greater rcwiirds for publishing ahead of the competition 



