What history tells us XVI. A third pillar for molecular biology: Molecular embryology

摘要

It is generally acknowledged that the rise of molecular biology was a result of the encounter of two different research traditions: the structural chemistry and biochemistry tradition, with the progressive description of macromolecular structures, and the informational vision rooted in genetics (Morange 1998). The development of molecular biology, however, is more complex than this convergence suggests, and other disciplines such as microbiology, cell biology and embryology took an active part in the development of its concepts and of its experimental systems.