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Article: The Molecular Vision of Life: Caltech, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Rise of the New Biology.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- January 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When the Rockefeller Foundation decided to support the emerging discipline of molecular biology as part of its "Science of Man" program in the early 1930s, Caltech appeared as an obvious institutional focus because of its tradition of inter-disciplinary cooperative research. Well established in the physical sciences, the Pasadena school also enjoyed a sound reputation in biology from the presence of noted geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan. Genetics was increasingly tied to physics and chemistry, and Morgan's team-research perspective merged well with Caltech's corporate philosophy of academic management Research in Pasadena soon focused on protein chemistry, bringing chemist ...