John Bonner - I’m a 19th century biologist (33/59)
96 views · Published 3 July 2017 · 1:36 · Indexed 27 October 2026
Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Science & Technology
To hear more of John Bonner’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoKbjMVfBA0&list=PLVV0r6CmEsFzJx77ir9rbTxVC9EnCyfHD Born in 1920, John Bonner is one of the world's leading experts on cellular slime molds. His prime interests are in evolution and developmental biology and he uses cellular slime molds as a tool to understand both disciplines. [Listener: Christopher Sykes] TRANSCRIPT: [CS] When you met other scientists, and they'd say, what are you working on? And you'd say, slime molds. Was that… I mean, now it's quite a very popular subject, but did people express scepticism that you could be so interested? No, because I would say as a developmental of slime molds. And they knew they developed and so it seemed like a perfectly legitimate worry. [CS] Because it's about one of the biggest questions in biology, I guess. Yes, and particularly so then. I mean, now it's so involved in regulatory genes, and this, that and the other thing that the kind of experiment which I was doing back then really doesn't exist anymore. But I've always felt that I was at heart, and in fact, a 19th century biologist because they continue to be really interesting questions that do not involve molecules. I've got nothing against molecular biology. I think it's wonderful, but there are other things.
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