Abstract
As described in the previous Essay, Theodor Boveri, by exploiting the “natural experiment” of sea urchin dispermy, demonstrated that embryogenesis requires “a certain combination of chromosomes”, possibly the full chromosome complement. The main topic of this Essay is his reflections on the methods he employed, and on their value for gaining previously inaccessible insights.
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References
Boveri T (1902) Über mehrpolige Mitosen als Mittel zur Analyse des Zellkerns. Verh Phys-Med Ges Würzburg (NF) 35: 67–90
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Moritz KB (1993) Theodor Boveri (1862–1915), Pionier der modernen Zell-und Entwicklungsbiologie. Gustav Fischer Verlag Stuttgart/Jena
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Sander, K. (1997). Reflections on method: Theodor Boveri’s evaluation of “natural experiments” and their table-top simulation. In: Landmarks in Developmental Biology 1883–1924. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60492-8_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60492-8_16
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