Miscellaneous news and stories

• April 5, 2019 Sydney Brenner, who established the nematode C. elegans as a genetic model organism passed away.

Sydney did the early work on C. elegans and demonstrated that these nematodes can be cultured in the lab, and mutations in genes affecting various phenotypes can be isolated and propagated in the laboratory. Together with John Sulston and Bob Horvitz, Sydney's pioneering work laid the foundation for future studies to investigate fundamental biological processes and their connection to diseases.

• Science magazine
• The Guardian
• Nature magazine

• March 9, 2018 John Sulston, a visionary, fantastic scientist, and Nobel Prize winner, passed away.

John mapped the lineage of cells in the nematode C. elegans, which made it possible for researchers to study the mechanisms of cell division during the development of tissues and underlying processes. He also demonstrated that programmed cell death occurs as part of the normal development of animals.

• BBC News
• Nobel Prize 2002 summary
• The Scientist June 2008
• Obituary (1942-2018) Development, May 2018

• March 2, 2018 Bollywood takes on menstrual hygiene - A movie based on the biography of an Indian sanitary-pad innovator. Nature, February 28, 2018

• June 24, 2011 Sunrise over Atlantic ocean (captured from Toronto-London flight, June 5, 2010)

• January 2008 Obituaries of two remarkable scientists who made major contributions to biological science using the fruit fly animal model Drosophila melanogaster
  • Edward Lewis (1918-2004) Nature, September 9, 2004
  • Seymour Benzer (1921–2007) - Notice that Benzer was almost the same age as Lewis when he died Nature, January 10, 2008

• October 2007 Jim Watson's comment on race Nature 2007, vol. 449, p. 948 and Nature 2007, vol. 449, p. 960

In an interview with the London-based newspaper Sunday Times, published on October 14 2007, Dr. Watson commented that he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” and that “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really”.

The comments created a huge controversy and led to cancellation of his speaking program in UK to launch the new memoir (Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science). The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory New York (USA) terminated his Chancellor position. Also, Rockefeller University cancelled Dr. Watson's planned lecture at a ceremony honoring him and his famous book The Double Helix.