Classic Papers in Genetics

The seminar series 'Classic Papers in Genetics' covers the first roughly 100 years of genetic research, 'from Mendel to Monod'. We would like to introduce the major discoveries, as well as the respective scientific personalities and the scientific knowledge at the time of the discovery. The seminar presents an important part of biological sciences' history. In addition, it provides an ideal opportunity to revise central genetic knowledge. Considerable focus is laid on presentation and discussion, an excellent chance to improve these skills.

Each seminar consists of two parts:
1. Introduction into the topic of the day
In the beginning of each seminar day the speaker introduces the topic of the day. Every speaker is free to decide what information to provide to the rest on the group. It could cover the scientific knowledge at the time of the discovery, the specific scientific question or problem, or the methods available at that time. In addition, the respective researchers could be introduced as well as their motivation to undertake the experiments presented in the publication. Especially interesting could also be information on the reception of the publication, e.g. whether and how these discoveries appear in present-day textbooks and what the current status of knowledge in the particular topic is. The speaker has to make sure that the information provided is interesting and helpful for the group.
Some material for these presentations can be found on the individual websites, additional starting points for your research are given at the bottom of this page. The presentation has to be short and concise (max. 10 min), allowing for questions and also evaluation and feedback on the performance. For this, we use our seminar talk evaluation sheet.
In addition to the presentation, the speaker also prepares a handout for the group, which summarizes the most important points (the "Take-Home-Messages").
2. The original publication
After the introductory presentation, all participants discuss the original manuscript. For this, the speaker prepares a PowerPoint presentation containing all the figures and tables, as well as important text paragraphs, in locigal order and in sufficient quality.

IMPORTANT: In order to enable a fruitful discussion, thorough reading of the original publications is mandatory for all participants. Articles under the heading 'additional literature' are for further reading and as a starting point for the speaker. It is essential to contact the lecturer during preparation of your presentation for help and support. At least 2 weeks before the seminar date every speaker has to hand in a list of the "Take-Home-Messages" (ca. 5) that will be covered in the talk. At least 1 week before the seminar date every speaker has to hand in the presentation for feedback on the slide design and talk content.

Total workload: 3 ECTS points = 90 hours
Breakdown:
- Daily preparation: 3.0 h (x11 = 33 h)
- Seminar: 1.8 h (x11 = 20 h)
- Presentation preparation: 37 h

General material on the history of genetics

The following two books are good introductions into genetics history:
Alfred H. Sturtevant (1965) A History of Genetics. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Michael Morange (1998) A History of Molecular Biology. Harvard University Press

A short contemporary article on the beginnings of molecular biology:
Gunther S. Stent (1968) That Was the Molecular Biology That Was. Science 160: 390-395

A very interesting opinion article on the value and problems of scientific publishing and communication:
Susan M. Howitt & Anna N. Wilson (2014) Revisiting "Is the scientific paper a fraud?" EMBO Reports 15: 481-484

The ESP (Electronic Scholarly Publishing) homepage contains an extensive chronology of the history of genetics.
A very informative and nicely animated website from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: DNA from the Beginning
Equally interesting is the homepage of the nobel prize committee.
And here is a nice DNA timeline on milestones of genetic discovery from Mendel to today.