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SUMMARY:The biological age of plant virus research: studying viruses throu
 gh other organisms in 1920s and 1930s Britain - João Joaquim (Department 
 of History and Philosophy of Science)
DTSTART:20211108T130000Z
DTEND:20211108T140000Z
UID:TALK163222@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Olin Moctezuma
DESCRIPTION:Starting in the mid-1930s\, virus research was revolutionised 
 by advancements in biophysical and biochemical instrumentation\, which all
 owed for the physicochemical isolation and analysis of these pathogens and
  heralded the dawn of molecular biology. Historians of science and science
  studies scholars have written much on this subject\, particularly in what
  concerns the study of viruses in the context of biomedical sciences. This
  presentation focuses on an earlier period\, when the mere existence of vi
 ruses was uncertain\, as they could only be studied indirectly through the
  observation of their hosts’ disease symptoms. Here\, the emphasis is on
  the integration of agricultural scientific knowledge\, expertise and prac
 tices into early virus research. Therefore\, the central case study is an 
 institution emblematic of the development of state-sponsored agricultural 
 research in the first half of the twentieth century: the Potato Virus Rese
 arch Station\, installed in Cambridge in 1927 to study and control plant v
 irus diseases. Especial attention is given to the research of Kenneth M. S
 mith\, an agricultural entomologist\, who developed a method of virus isol
 ation using complex multi-species biological interactions as 'models'. Thi
 s implied deploying different organisms as instruments in a then-novel spa
 ce of science: insect-proof glasshouses.
LOCATION:Zoom and Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of
  Science
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