Abstract
It is indispensable to define the purpose and limitations of writing a monograph on a subject as vast as that of micro tubule research. The name “microtubule” was coined by Slautterback some 14 years ago [23], and already in 1966 the ubiquity of these structures was mentioned in a fundamental article written by Porter [21]. Microtubules (MT) are present in all eukaryotic cells with the single exception of the anucleated red blood cells of most mammals. They appeared about one billion years ago, at the same time as the nucleus, marking the turning point form pro- to eukaryotes. They have maintained since that period of time a remarkable constancy of structure and of chemical composition. Their discovery was a result of electron microscopy and of the advent of better fixation and embedding procedures. They had however been suspected by microscopists since the end of last century, in the form of the marginal bundle of erythrocytes, the neurofibrils, the mitotic spindle fibers, and the complex structures of cilia and flagella.
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? T. S. Eliot The Rock.
“There are no authorities left, since only those who have no use for their knowledge can acquire it: doubtless a general predicament in all natural sciences these days.” F. Chargaff The Sciences 15: 21–26, 1975
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Dustin, P. (1978). Introduction. In: Microtubules. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-96436-7_1
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