Historical Perspectives on STEM

Historians of medicine often express the desire for their work to reach broader audiences; however, popular platforms—be they television, radio, podcasts, corporate or social media—can reach many but touch few. History of Medicine Week is dedicated to exploring the risks, benefits, experiences, and best practices for historians of medicine to make meaningful connections beyond familiar scholarly communities. This episode: Elena Conis University of California, Berkeley For more information on this and other topics, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/200

Celebrating 50+2 years of Scholarship: Department of the History and Sociology of Science - Plenary Presentations: Past, Present, Future by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Celebrating 50+2 years of Scholarship: Department of the History and Sociology of Science - A Conversation with Department Founder and Science History Institute Founder Arnold Thackray by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Celebrating 50+2 years of Scholarship: Department of the History and Sociology of Science - History of Science: The State of the Field by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Celebrating 50+2 years of Scholarship: Department of the History and Sociology of Science - History of Technology: The State of the Field by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Celebrating 50+2 years of Scholarship: Department of the History and Sociology of Science - History of Medicine: The State of the Field by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Historians of medicine often express the desire for their work to reach broader audiences; however, popular platforms—be they television, radio, podcasts, corporate or social media—can reach many but touch few. History of Medicine Week is dedicated to exploring the risks, benefits, experiences, and best practices for historians of medicine to make meaningful connections beyond familiar scholarly communities. This episode: Scottie Buehler Moderator Sam Houston State University Rana Hogarth Innate project, Science History Institute & History and Sociology of Science Department, University of Pennsylvania Sarah Handley-Cousins Executive Editor, Nursing Clio & Department of History, University of Buffalo Jeremy Greene Director of the Institute of the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University For more information on this and other topics, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/200

Historians of medicine often express the desire for their work to reach broader audiences; however, popular platforms—be they television, radio, podcasts, corporate or social media—can reach many but touch few. History of Medicine Week is dedicated to exploring the risks, benefits, experiences, and best practices for historians of medicine to make meaningful connections beyond familiar scholarly communities. This episode: Katie Dayani Director of Library Services & Archives, Children's Mercy Kansas City Sarah Naramore Northwest Missouri State University & History of Science Society Johanna Schoen History Department, Rutgers University & Advisory Council for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center For more information on this and other topics, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/200

Historians of medicine often express the desire for their work to reach broader audiences; however, popular platforms—be they television, radio, podcasts, corporate or social media—can reach many but touch few. History of Medicine Week is dedicated to exploring the risks, benefits, experiences, and best practices for historians of medicine to make meaningful connections beyond familiar scholarly communities. This episode: Dana Landress Moderator University of Wisconsin Vanessa Heggie Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham Jessica Martucci Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania Lauren Small Center for Medical Humanities and Social Medicine, Johns Hopkins University For more information on this and other topics, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/200

Join us for a discussion on the history of mining and the intersections of history of science with several other fields. How are mines sites of knowing the world, and how is that knowledge contested? How has our understanding of what a mine is changed over time, and what does that mean for how mines are studied? What can the methods and sources used in studying mines teach us about trends in the history of science and science studies? Discussants are: Allison Margaret Bigelow University of Virginia Victor Seow Harvard University Jessica Smith Colorado School of Mines Recorded on April 1, 2024 For more information on this and other topics, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/157

Tune in one last time to a bonus episode of The DNA Papers with the authors of "the most beautiful experiment in biology" as they reminisce about "the best years of their lives" and field questions from the commentators of episode 14. Series moderator Neeraja Sankaran was joined by historian of science Kersten Hall to co-host this special treat. Matthew Meselson Harvard University Franklin Stahl University of Oregon Kersten Hall University of Leeds Neeraja Sankaran National Centre for Biological Sciences-TIFR, Bangalore, India Recorded on June 4, 2024. Please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144 for more information and related episodes.

Four historians share their interests in music, and their perspectives in using songs as source material for better understanding the history of science. Antony Adler, Carleton College Andrew Fiss, Michigan Technological University Asif Siddiqi, Fordham University Betty Smocovitis, University of Florida Song Notes: (https://soundcloud.com/antony-adler/the-dredging-song-by-edward-forbes) Edward Forbes "Song of the Dredge" Performed by Michael Schrimpf and Antony - Timestamp 34:06 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpxwJNNufko) Bio-Rad PCR Song - Timestamp 38:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IwmGomRRZ4&list=PLSO9Kihiwr3Mgze10g_zfxDxtNaXhCUz2) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad - Bernard Hermann - Timestamp 40:40 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tJgRoMzMxg) Cosmogony by Björk - Timestamp 44:50 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjkxUA041nM) Songs of the Humpback Whale - Dr. Roger Payne - Timestamp 47:00 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNGoXR5W88c) Farewell to Tarwathie by Judy Collins - Timestamp 47:30 Recorded December 11, 2023 For more resources on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/157

Episode three of the podcast companion to the Isis CB special issue on pandemics, focuses on the very substance of pandemics, namely the diseases themselves. Join Mark Honigsbaum, Matheus Alves Duarte da Silva, and Michael Bresalier in a conversation about the impact of disease on history and on the condition of our planet vis-a-vis current diseases and those that may emerge, as well as the role and responsibility of the historian in dealing with pandemic incidents. Mark Honigsbaum, City University London Matheus Alves Duarte da Silva, University of St. Andrews Michael Bresalier, Swansea University For more information and additional resources, go to https://www.chstm.org/video/149 Recorded March 13, 2024.

The penultimate episode of the DNA Papers podcast series revisits a paper that demonstrated the semiconservative mode of DNA replication, which had been predicted by complementary base-paired double helix model of the molecule discussed in episode 13 of this series: Meselson, Matthew, and Franklin W. Stahl. “The replication of DNA in Escherichia coli.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 44, no. 7 (July 15, 1958): 671–82. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.44.7.671 The papers offers the details an experiment designed and performed by a pair of young molecular biologists, Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl at Caltech. They deployed the newly developed technique of density gradient centrifugation in combination with the use of heavy isotopes of nitrogen to show that during the replication of a DNA molecule, each progeny helix contained one strand that was conserved, or passed down directly from the parent and one new strand synthesized from the conserved template. Listen to our expert guests from different disciplines as they share their insights into what has been described as “the most beautiful experiment in biology”: Allan Franklin University of Colorado Boulder Michel Morange IHPST, Université Paris I William C. Summers Yale University Janina Wellmann Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Recorded on March 27, 2024 For additional resources on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144

Rounding out the story begun in the previous installment, episode 13 of the DNA Papers centers on the publications in which the double helical structure for DNA was proposed, detailed, and its various implications speculated upon. It features four papers, all by Watson and Crick from Cambridge,. Together these papers not only proposed that DNA's three dimensional structure was a double-stranded helix, but also described the antiparallel and complementary nature of its two component strands and the specific pairing of the component nucleotide bases, namely, the purines, A and G, with the pyrimidines T and C respectively. The papers also discussed the implications of these features for the fundamental functions of DNA. For more resources on this topic, see https://www.chstm.org/video/144. Recorded on Dec. 11, 2023.

Don's book project, "Daughters of Ceres: The Scientific Advancement of Women in Horticulture, 1870–1920" examines the confluence of two 19th century movements—one dedicated to the promotion of scientific agriculture, another to the advancement of women's education in science. These movements fueled international efforts to elevate women's position in the fields of horticulture and "the lighter branches" of agriculture. This new international movement organized to create new educational, employment, and civic opportunities for women in fields traditionally constructed as male bastions. "Daughters of Ceres" will sketch out more fully the professional and civic-oriented sides to the advancement of women's education in horticulrure, accounting for the role of commercial industries, industrial associations, professional societies, garden clubs, philanthropic foundations, and educational and scientific institutions that, collectively, participated in an extensive network that undergirded this movement. The book will offer a new perspective on "women in science" with a repositioning of horticulture in the overall landscape of scientific disciplines. Recorded on December 19, 2023. For more resources on this topic, see https://www.chstm.org/video/180

In this episode, we speak with Rena Selya, the archivist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and author of Salvador Luria: An Immigrant Biologist in Cold War America. Blacklisted from federal funding review panels but awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on bacteriophage, biologist Salvador Luria (1912–1991) was as much an activist as a scientist. In this first full-length biography of Luria, Rena Selya draws on extensive archival research; interviews with Luria's family, colleagues, and students; and FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to create a compelling portrait of a man committed to both science and society. In addition to his work with viruses and bacteria in the 1940s, Luria broke new ground in molecular biology and cancer research from the 1950s to the 1980s and was a leader in calling for scientists to accept an educational and advisory responsibility to the public. In return, he believed, the public should rely on science to strengthen social and political institutions. Luria was born in Italy, where the Fascists came to power when he was ten. He left Italy for France due to the antisemetic Race Laws of 1938, and then fled as a Jewish refugee from Nazi Europe, making his way to the United States. Once an American citizen, Luria became a grassroots activist on behalf of civil rights, labor representation, nuclear disarmament, and American military disengagement from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. Luria joined the MIT faculty in 1960 and was the founding director of the Center for Cancer Research. Throughout his life he remained as passionate about his engagement with political issues as about his science, and continued to fight for peace and freedom until his death. Recorded on November 22, 2023. For more resources about this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/178.

Episode 12 of the DNA Papers, is the first of a two-parter, which centers on papers published about the now iconic double helix structure of the DNA molecule. This episode features three publications, all published in the journal Nature, which represent the work of scientists working at King's College London, whose X-ray crystallographic work provided some of the crucial data that supported the new double helix model. Wilkins, Maurice Hugh Frederick, Alec R. Stokes, and Herbert R. Wilson. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: Molecular Structure of Deoxypentose Nucleic Acids.” Nature 171, no. 4356 (1953): 738–40. Franklin, Rosalind E., and Raymond G. Gosling. “Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate.” Nature 171, no. 4356 (1953): 740–41. Franklin, Rosalind E., and Raymond G. Gosling. “Evidence for 2-Chain Helix in Crystalline Structure of Sodium Deoxyribonucleate.” Nature 172 (1953): 156–57. Tune in to listen to our panel of experts in a lively and informative conversation about the place of these papers in the history of our understanding of DNA: Soraya de Chadarevian, University of California, Los Angeles Elspeth Garman, Oxford University Kersten Hall, University of Leeds Jan Witkowski, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory See also a collection of Resources at https://www.chstm.org/video/144 Closed captioning available on YouTube. Recorded on Nov. 6, 2023.

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Daniel Vandersommers, author of Entangled Encounters at the National Zoo: Stories from the Animal Archive. In this book, Vandersommers shows how zoo animals always ran away from the zoo. This is meant literally—animals escaped frequently—but even more so, figuratively. Living, breathing, historical zoo animals ran away from their cultural constructions, and these constructions ran away from the living bodies they were made to represent. Vandersommers shows that the resulting gaps produced by runaway animals contain concealed, distorted, and erased histories worthy of uncovering. Entangled Encounters at the National Zoo also demonstrates how the popular zoology fostered by the National Zoo shaped every aspect of American science, culture, and conservation during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Between the 1880s and World War I, as intellectuals debated Darwinism and scientists institutionalized the laboratory, zoological parks suddenly appeared at the heart of nearly every major American city, captivating tens of millions of visitors. Vandersommers follows stories previously hidden within the National Zoo in order to help us reconsider the place of zoos and their inhabitants in the twenty-first century. For more resources on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/176. Recorded on October 31, 2023.

In this episode of Perspectives we speak with Christopher Willoughby, author of Masters of Health: Racial Science and Slavery in U.S. Medical Schools. Masters of Health examines how the founders of U.S. medical schools promoted an understanding of race influenced by the theory of polygenesis—that each race was created separately and as different species—which they supported by training students to collect and measure human skulls from around the world. Medical students came to see themselves as masters of Black people's bodies through stealing Black people's corpses, experimenting on enslaved people, and practicing distinctive therapeutics on Black patients. In documenting these practices Masters of Health charts the rise of racist theories in U.S. medical schools, throwing new light on the extensive legacies of slavery in modern medicine. For more resources on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/173 Recorded on October 30, 2023.

In episode 11 of The DNA Papers we revisit a paper describing a famous experiment performed by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase which combined the atomic-age tools of radioisotopes with an ordinary kitchen blender to show that DNA alone, and not protein, was the carrier of hereditary information: Hershey, Alfred D., and Martha Chase. “Independent Functions of Viral Protein and Nucleic Acid in Growth of Bacteriophage.” The Journal of General Physiology 36, no. 1 (1952): 39–56. By using radioisotopes to separately label the DNA and protein components of a bacterial virus and demonstrating DNA's central role in the earliest stages of viral replication inside a bacterial cell, Hershey and Chase's 1952 paper provided powerful evidence about the chemical nature of the gene, and gained a well-deserved place among the classics in the history of DNA science. Here to share their ideas and opinions about the history and significance of this paper are: Angela Creager, Princeton University Geoffrey Montgomery, Independent Science Writer William Summers, Yale University See also a collection of Resources. See also a collection of resources on this topic at https://www.chstm.org/video/144. Recorded on Oct 24, 2023.

Following in the wake of the Isis CB special issue on pandemics, this episode of the companion podcast takes a deeper look at the relationship between pandemics and society, and also considers the impact of such doing such history during times of disease crises. Contributors Kavita Sivaramakrishnan, Keith Wailoo and Emily Hamilton share their insights and and experiences of taking stock of literature and also of the impact that COVID-19 had on their own scholarship and teaching. For more information and additional resources, go to https://www.chstm.org/video/149 Recorded October 19, 2023.

The tenth episode of the DNA papers podcast brings to light some of the lesser discussed papers in the history of DNA that were instrumental in confirming its role in effecting genetic transformation. Both papers discussed in this episode were first presented at the 1951 Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology; the first by a geneticist, and the second by a chemist, who were responsible for maintaining the continuity of work on bacterial transformation in Avery's laboratory. These two papers provided important corroboration for the 1946 implication that the nucleic acid—DNA—of pneumococcus might be able to transform a variety of other bacterial traits besides their capsules and virulence. Ephrussi-Taylor, Harriett. “Genetic Aspects of Transformations of Pneumococci.” In Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 16:445–56. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1951. Hotchkiss, Rollin D. “Transfer of Penicillin Resistance in Pneumococci by the Desoxyribonucleate Derived from Resistant Cultures.” Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 16 (January 1, 1951): 457–61. https://doi.org/10.1101/SQB.1951.016.01.032. Here to share their insights on these papers are: Eleonora Cresto, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Buenos Aires Geoffrey Montgomery, Independent Science Writer Michel Morange, IHPST, Université Paris I, Jan Witkowski, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Recorded on Sept 19, 2023. See also a collection of resources on this topic at https://www.chstm.org/video/144.

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Christopher Heaney, author of Empires of the Dead: Inca Mummies and the Peruvian Ancestors of American Anthropology. Bringing together the history of science, race, and museums' possession of Indigenous remains, from the sixteenth century to the twentieth, Empires of the Dead illuminates how South American ancestors became coveted mummies, skulls, and specimens of knowledge and nationhood. In doing so it reveals how Peruvian and Andean peoples have learned from their dead, seeking the recovery of looted heritage in the centuries before North American museums began their own work of decolonization. Recorded on October 13, 2023. For more resources on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/171

DNA Papers #2: Albrecht Kossel by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Laura Stark is a historical sociologist and Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University. Her second book project, The Normals: A People's History, explores how a global market for healthy civilian “human subjects” emerged in law, science, and everyday imagination over the past century. The Normals shows how logics of racialized citizenship were built into American clinical science in the post-World War II period—and how scientists and their human subjects worked for change. The George Sarton Memorial Lecture in the History and Philosophy of Science, named after a founding member of the History of Science Society (HSS), was first awarded in 1960. The lecture is given annually at the AAAS Annual Meeting by a distinguished practitioner in the history of science. Recorded March 4, 2023 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For more information on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/170

The current and incoming editors of the journal Isis reflect on their expectations, experiences, and hopes for the journal and for the field of the history of science. Sigrid Schmalzer, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Elise Burton, University Toronto Projit Mukharji, Ashoka University Matt Lavine, Mississippi State University Alexandra Hui, Mississippi State University Recorded July 31, 2023 For more episodes in this series, other podcasts, and additional resources, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/157

Episode 9 of the DNA Papers discusses a set of papers by the first scientist who made a sustained effort into uncovering the secret behind specificity of nucleic acids. The principle author, Erwin Chargaff, a European-American biochemist from Columbia University in New York, determined that the relative rations of the four nucleotide bases—A, T, G and C—were not present in all DNA in equal amounts as widely assumed, but rather, that they varied in proportion from one to another, with the amount of the A and G bases being equal to the T and C bases respectively. Furthermore, he also demonstrated that the ratio of these amounts was specific and consistent for a given species. He first laid out his vision for determining the role of nucleic acids in 1947, and over the next decade or so, proceeded to probe the finer details of DNA chemistry with the then state-of-the art innovations in techniques such as chromatography and UV spectroscopy. Papers discussed include: Chargaff, Erwin. “On the Nucleoproteins and Nucleic Acids of Microorganisms.” Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 12 (January 1, 1947): 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1101/SQB.1947.012.01.006. Vischer, Ernst, and Erwin Chargaff. “The Separation and Quantitative Estimation of Purines and Pyrimidines in Minute Amounts.” Journal of Biological Chemistry 176 (1948): 703–14. Chargaff, Erwin. “Chemical Specificity of Nucleic Acids and Mechanism of Their Enzymatic Degradation.” Experientia 6, no. 6 (June 15, 1950): 201–9. Joining us to illuminate the role of Chargaff and his experiments in the history of DNA are: Pnina Abir-Am, Brandeis University Kersten Hall, University of Leeds Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science View more at https://www.chstm.org/video/144 Recorded August 9, 2023.

Join us for a discussion of history of science from the perspectives of Latin American, African, and Ottoman history — and global history more broadly. How have these perspectives been represented in the past? What has changed more recently? What are the pressing questions and challenges for the future of the field from a global perspective? Sharing their experiences and points of view on these issues: Harun Küçük, University of Pennsylvania Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Harvard University Helen Tilley, Northwestern University Recorded on June 5, 2023. For information, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/157.

Maclyn McCarty, Oswald Avery and the enzymatic evidence for DNA as the transforming substance by Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Moviegoers who might never pick up a book on the history of science may nonetheless find themselves confronted with the stories, themes, and questions to which historians of science devote their careers when they go to the movies. Films and other forms of popular culture both reflect and shape public discourse about the significance of scientific discoveries and the legacies of technological achievements. For this episode, we've convened a film forum. HSS Secretary Matt Shindell hosts a discussion of four recent movies with fellow historians Yangyang Cheng, David Hecht, and Amit Prasad. Each of the films take on history of science subject matter in different ways; they include Christopher Nolan's newly released biopic, Oppenheimer, Sudhir Mishra and Sachin Krishn's satire, Serious Men, Ryan White's documentary, Good Night Oppy, and Jianya Zhang's heroic depiction of Qian Xuesen. Recorded on July 27, 2023. For information this topic, and other HSS@100 episodes, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/157.

The seventh episode of the DNA Papers is the central one in this podcast series, not only because it marks the halfway point of the podcast, but also, more so, because the paper discussed is at the center of the history of all twentieth century biology. Written by a trio of microbiologists at the Rockefeller University in New York City, this paper without saying so in actual words, represents the first publication to offer evidence that DNA (though not yet known by that name) is the stuff that makes up genes: Avery, Oswald T., Colin M. MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty. “Studies on the Chemical Nature of the Substance Inducing Transformation of Pneumococcal Types: Induction of Transformation by a Desoxyribonucleic Acid Fraction Isolated from Pneumococcus Type III.” The Journal of Experimental Medicine 79, no. 2 (1944): 137–58. Joining the discussion of this historic paper are the following expert commentators: Matthew Cobb, University of Manchester Ute Deichmann, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Geoff Montgomery, Independent Science Writer, New York City Please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144 for additional resources on this topic. Recorded on April 28, 2023.

The discovery of a never-released report from 1973 on women in the History of Science Society provides an opportunity to reflect on how much things have changed, what has not changed, and challenges that remain for improving inclusion in the Society. Discussants in this episode are: Tara Nummedal, Brown University Samantha Muka, Stevens Institute of Technology Margaret Rossiter, Cornell University Matthew Lavine, Mississippi State University For more information and more podcasts go to, https://www.chstm.org/video/157 Recorded on June 5, 2023.

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Adam Johnson, Consortium NEH Fellow. Adam introduces us to his book project, which examines the shifting relationships between white ethnographic fieldworkers and Pueblo and Navajo communities in the American Southwest around the documentation of sensitive information. By contrasting Anglo universalist conceptions of knowledge with Pueblo and Navajo epistemic systems, which both have restrictions on the free flow of information (though in quite different ways), he shows that Indigenous practices of information control constrained ethnographic fieldwork methods. In response, Southwesternists regularly dropped the emerging gold-standard of participant observation to pursue Indigenous knowledge that was purposefully withheld from them, adopting tactics that isolated and coerced individual informants. The consequences of ethnographic extraction were complicated: for many communities, not only was sacred knowledge profaned when outsiders learned of it, but the publication of such information risked that even unsanctioned members of their own communities might learn things about which they were supposed to be ignorant. For more resources and more episodes, visit https://www.chstm.org/video/161

The sixth installment of this podcast series introduces a brand new player into the story of DNA: a technique from physics called X-ray crystallography. This technique would eventually play a key role in unlocking the secrets of DNA structure, but this 1938 paper by Leeds-based scientists William Astbury and Florence Bell marks the first instance of anyone attempting to use X-rays for the visualization of the nucleic acids. It is also the first paper in this series where the main contributor to the work was a woman. Sharing their insights about the significance of the “X-Ray Study of Thymonucleic Acid” which was published in the prestigious journal Nature (v. 141: 747-748), are: Manju Bansal, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore Kersten Hall, University of Leeds Matthew Meselson, Harvard University Jan Witkowski, Cold Spring Laboratory More resources and podcasts available at https://www.chstm.org/video/144 Recorded on April 4, 2023.

As the History of Science Society approaches its centennial celebration in 2024, its members reflect on the past 100 years of the profession, its fascinations and preoccupations, and its possible future in an increasingly globalized world. HSS@100 is produced in partnership with the History of Science Society. Where has the Society been and where will it go next? Our first episode, hosted by HSS President Fa-ti Fan, kicks the series off with a discussion between HSS Presidents past, present, and future. Fan is joined by past Presidents Bernard Lightman and Jan Golinski, and current Vice President, Evelynn Hammonds. The group discusses what the history of science has meant to them, the value of history of science scholarship, and how the Society and its diverse members can expand understanding of the scientific enterprise and the contexts in which science is practiced.

Episode 5 of the DNA papers examines the contributions of the organic chemist Phoebus Levene, who published a corpus of some 200 papers on the subject over a period of four decades, during which he made discoveries about the constituents of, and developed his ideas about the structure of, DNA. Among other things, he was the first person to correctly identify the sugar components of the nucleic acids: d-ribose in RNA and d-2-deoxyribose in DNA. But these contributions have often been overlooked, and Levene is unfortunately more likely to be remembered in a negative light for something called the tetranucleotide hypothesis, which many believe hampered the progress of understanding the role of DNA. Here to talk about Levene's contributions to nucleic acid chemistry, and offer some perspective about the tetranucleotide hypothesis are: Pnina Abir-Am, Brandeis University Pedro Bernal, Rollins College Mark Lorch, University of Hull

This episode of the IsisCB Pandemics series features contributors who wrote and reviewed bibliographic essays surveying the literature about concepts fundamental to our understanding of pandemic and epidemic diseases, such as the broad disciplinary category of epidemiology, as well as the specific concepts of vaccinations and syndemics. Offering their perspectives on the significance of these topics are: Lukas Engelmann, Jacob Steere-Williams and Dora Vargha. They discuss how historians can move away from a model of biography of disease and towards a better understanding of the co-occurrence of disease epidemics with epidemics of social phenomena. For more information and additional resources, go to https://www.chstm.org/video/149 Recorded April 24, 2023.

An Albert M. Greenfield Forum in the History of Science In 2014, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Daniel J. Kevles and Peter Westwick were invited to write the 150th anniversary history of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and were given unprecedented access to its extensive archival collection, much of which had never attracted scholarly attention. Their manuscript, tentatively titled The National Academy of Sciences in the American Democracy: A History is now very close to completion. The book is a contextual as well as an institutional history. It situates the Academy in both American and global history, covering the history of the natural and social sciences as well as engineering and medicine. It aims to weave the internal evolution of the Academy together with its impact on American government and society--and vice versa. For more resources on this topic, see https://www.chstm.org/video/154 Recorded March 2, 2023.

Episode 4 of the DNA Papers features another chapter in the deep history of DNA in which the molecule itself doesn't come up. As in the previous episode, the paper makes no explicit reference to either the molecule or its function. But the paper occupies an indisputable role in the history of DNA, because the discovery it reports opened the door to discovery of the function of DNA as the carrier of hereditary information. Joining the discussion on “The significance of pneumococcal types” by the British microbiologist and epidemiologist Fred Griffith (The Journal of Hygiene 27 (02): 113–59; 1928) are: Lloyd Ackert, Drexel University Matthew Cobb, University of Manchester (guest moderator) Michel Morange, École Normale Supérieure For additional resources on this topic, see https://www.chstm.org/video/144.

The papers discussed in episode 3 of the DNA Papers do not mention DNA in any way at all! And yet they are vitally important in any history of DNA because they provided the first step in bringing together a visible cellular component—the chromosome—both with ideas about heredity and about the chemical workings of living cells (DNA). The two papers, “On the Morphology of the Chromosome Group in Brachystola Magna,” and “The chromosomes in heredity,” were published in 1902 and 1903 in the journal The Biological Bulletin, by Walter Sutton. Here to share their insights about the bearings of Sutton and his discoveries and thoughts on the hereditary functions of the chromosomes are: Matthew Cobb, University of Manchester Durgadas Kasbekar, The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, University of Florida See also a collection of Resources at https://www.chstm.org/video/144. Recorded on on Aug 25, 2022

In episode 2 of the DNA Papers we discuss a cluster of papers from the late nineteenth century by the German physiological chemist Albrecht Kossel, who studied the chemical make-up of nuclein, and found and named its nitrogen-containing building blocks, probably best recognized today by their labels A, T, G, and C. Although work was deemed sufficiently important by his contemporaries to garner him the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1910, Kossel remains a lesser known figure in the history of DNA, especially among non-German speakers. The papers featured in this episode are: Kossel, Albrecht. 1879. “Ueber Das Nucleïn Der Hefe.” [On the nuclein of yeast] Zeitschrift Für Physiologische Chemie 3: 284–91. Kossel, Albrecht. 1882. “Zur Chemie Des Zellkerns.” [On the chemistry of the nuclei of cells] Zeitschrift Für Physiologische Chemie 7: 7–22. Kossel, Albrecht. 1886. “Weitere Beiträge Zur Chemie Des Zellkerns.” [Further contributions on the chemistry of the nuclei of cells] Zeitschrift Für Physiologische Chemie 10: 248–64. Sharing their perspectives on the Kossel's contributions and their importance are: Pnina Abir-Am, Brandeis University Mark Lorch, University of Hull Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science For more information and resources on this topic, and others, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144

This series offers discussions with the editors and authors of a special issue of the Isis Current Bibliography. It provides perspectives into the state of current scholarhip on the history of pandemics, and where the field might be heading in the future. Neeraja Sankaran and Stephen P. Weldon introduce the series. Get an inside view of the editorial decisions and motivations behind a special issue of the Isis Current Bibliography, which focuses on scholarship in the history of pandemics. The editors discuss several important topics, including their approach to making the special issue both open access and open peer review; their efforts to make their special issue global in scope; and their editorial management of scholarly collaboration. Neeraja Sankaran is a historian of science and medicine at the National Centre for Biological Sciences-TIFR, Bangalore, India. Her work focuses on the recent and near-contemporary history of biomedical sciences. An independent scholar since 2015, she has held both research and teaching positions at universities in different parts of the world, including the United States, Egypt, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Stephen P. Weldon is a historian of science at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism (Johns Hopkins Press, 2020) and is editor of the Isis Bibliography of the History of Science, the definitive bibliographical resource for the discipline, which goes back to 1913. In 2015, he established an online open access service called IsisCB Explore that allows anyone to search this database. For more resources on this topic, see https://www.chstm.org/video/149 Recorded August 29, 2022.

Judith Kaplan is a historian of the human sciences focused on nineteenth- and twentieth-century linguistics. She holds degrees in disability studies and the history of science, and is a National Science Foundation Research Scholar at the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Dr. Kaplan's is working on a comprehensive history of modern linguistics while simultaneously exploring the ways in which scientific disciplines are shaped and negotiated over time. In this podcast, she describes her background and research in Consortium collections. For more information and resources about his topic, and others, please see https://www.chstm.org To cite this podcast, please use footnote: Judith Kaplan interview, Perspectives, Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, September 29, 2022, https://www.chstm.org/video/137

This podcast series illuminates the history of seminal discoveries and research through which we learned about the molecule that has been dubbed as the “secret of life” itself: DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. Neeraja Sankaran introduces the series. She is a historian of science and medicine at the National Centre for Biological Sciences-TIFR, Bangalore, India. Her work focuses on the recent and near-contemporary history of biomedical sciences. An independent scholar since 2015, she has held both research and teaching positions at universities in different parts of the world, including the United States, Egypt, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. For more information and resources on this topic, and others, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144

The first episode of the DNA papers goes back to the nineteenth century when a young Swiss doctoral student, searching for the secrets of life by delving into the chemistry of cells, stumbled on to a hitherto unknown new chemical substance localized in the nucleus of pus cells. He named the substance nuclein; we now recognize it by the commonly used acronym for its chemical name: DNA. Friedrich Miescher reported his discovery in “Ueber Die Chemische Zusammensetzung Der Eiterzellen.” [On the chemical composition of pus cells] Medizinisch-Chemische Untersuchungen 4 (1871): 441–60. Joining us to discuss the significance of Miescher and his discovery are: Ralf Dahm, Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) gGmbH / Excellence Center for Life Sciences, Mainz, Germany Kersten Hall, University of Leeds William C. Summers, Yale University Sophie Veigl, University of Vienna For more information and resources on this topic, and others, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/144

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Joseph Malherek, author of Free-Market Socialists: European Émigrés Who Made Capitalist Culture in America, 1918–1968.   What is the surprising connection between socialism and the corporate focus group? How did socialists come to develop, of all things, the suburban American shopping mall?   Listen in as Joseph Malherek explains the socialist roots of U.S. social research. He charts the lives and careers of Hungarian artist-designer László Moholy-Nagy, the Austrian sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld, and his fellow Viennese Victor Gruen—an architect and urban planner—to tell the story of an intellectual migration from Central Europe to the United States. These figures sought answers to the question: why do people do the things they do and make the economic decisions they make? Malherek demonstrates how U.S. businesses channeled socialist thought for creative solutions to the practical problems of industrial design, urban planning, and consumer behavior. For more information and resources on this topic, and others, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/143.

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Susan Brandt, author of Women Healers: Gender, Authority, and Medicine in Early Philadelphia. Drawing on extensive archival research in Consortium collections, Susan Brandt demonstrates that women of various classes and ethnicities in early Philadelphia found new sources of healing authority, engaged in the consumer medical marketplace, and resisted physicians' attempts to marginalize them. Brandt reveals that women healers participated actively in medical and scientific knowledge production and the transition to market capitalism. For additional resources on this topic and others, please see https://www.chstm.org .

Rana Hogarth is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Illinois and an NEH Fellow at the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Her research focuses on the medical and scientific constructions of race during the era of slavery and beyond. Professor Hogarth's first book, Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Difference in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840, examined how white physicians "medicalized" blackness—a term she uses to describe the process by which white physicians defined blackness as a medically significant marker of difference in slave societies of the American Atlantic. Her work can be found in numerous scholarly journals including the American Journal of Public Health, American Quarterly, and African and Black Diaspora. In this podcast, she describes her background and her research in Consortium collections. For more information and resources about his topic, and others, please see https://www.chstm.org To cite this podcast, please use footnote: Rana Hogarth, interview, Perspectives, Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, September 23, 2022, https://www.chstm.org/video/141

In this episode of Perspectives, we speak with Ofer Gal, author of The Origins of Modern Science: From Antiquity to the Scientific Revolution. What is the role of history in telling stories about science? How and why do we know about how the planets orbit? Why are there cathedrals in South America, and what does that have to do with science? Listen in as Professor of History and Philosophy of Science Ofer Gal offers a peek into his exploration of science as a global cultural phenomenon. Gal's synthetic approach to writing history of science begins with Plato and the Ancient Greeks and ends with Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton. In between these great men of science, Gal analyzes a wide range of knowledge producers (including magicians), and draws connections between the role of political power, institutions such as learned academies and universities, and the production of knowledge about the natural world. Gal's metaphor of the cathedral, the architectural form that signifies the power of a particular religion and a particular deity, prompts readers and listeners to situate scientific knowledge within the conditions of its production. The episode ends with an important reminder to consider the questions one asks, not just the answer one receives. Closed-captioning available on YouTube, https://youtu.be/PxKucDmj4VY. To cite this podcast, please use footnote: Ofer Gal, interview, Perspectives, Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, July 4, 2022, https://www.chstm.org/video/138

In this episode, we speak with Eugenia Lean, author of, Vernacular Industrialism in China: Local Innovation and Translated Technologies in the Making of a Cosmetics Empire, 1900–1940. Did the process of industrialization occur in the same manner around the world? How did a Chinese romance novelist create a cosmetics empire that outperformed Japanese and European brands? Listen in as professor of Chinese History Eugenia Lean tells us how Chen Diexian (1879–1940), a man of letters, transformed Chinese industry in the early 20th century. Funding his business ventures with the profits from his romance novels, Chen tinkered, experimented, translated, copied and marketed his cosmetic and home pharmaceutical products to become a titan of industry. By analyzing how Chen created his Butterfly Toothpowder, patented fire extinguisher foam, and built local supply chains for his powder-based cosmetics, Lean shares a history of modern industry that tells a different story from the factory-based production in the US and Europe. Moreover, Lean explains how knowledge production and technological innovation can work together with poetry, “how-to column” journalism, and cultural translation and how innovation is not necessarily mutually exclusive from imitation.