The Molecular Basis of Evolution and Disease: A Cold War Alliance.
J Hist Biol
; 52(2): 325-346, 2019 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28353120
This paper extends previous arguments against the assumption that the study of variation at the molecular level was instigated with a view to solving an internal conflict between the balance and classical schools of population genetics. It does so by focusing on the intersection of basic research in protein chemistry and the molecular approach to disease with the enactment of global health campaigns during the Cold War period. The paper connects advances in research on protein structure and function as reflected in Christian Anfinsen's The molecular basis of evolution, with a political reading of Emilé Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling's identification of molecular disease and evolution. Beyond atomic fallout, these advances constituted a rationale for the promotion of genetic surveys of human populations in the Third World, in connection with international health programs. Light is shed not only on the experimental roots of the molecular challenge but on the broader geopolitical context where the rising role of biomedicine and public health (particularly the malaria eradication campaigns) had an impact on evolutionary biology.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Hist Biol
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
México
País de publicação:
Alemanha