Add journalist Kanigel's name to the list of writers who have
cannily probed master-disciple relationships in the sciences.
Kanigel's dynasty is particularly interesting because the four
generations of "genius" he traces have carved out a new discipline
- neuropsychopharmacology - the area of neuroscience that deals
with the naturally existing brain chemicals and synthetic drugs
that play a vital role in brain activities and behavior. First in
the dynasty was Bernard Brodie, nicknamed "Steve" after the daring
exploits of the Brooklyn Bridge jumper. Brodie, too, would venture
down some untrodden path of research on a hunch. His batting
average was extraordinary and his ability to judge talent superb.
He hired Julius Axelrod, a mere technician at the time, and put him
to the task of developing ways of measuring the metabolic fate of
drugs. That research led to the discovery that liver-cell
organelles called microsomes were the body's major detoxifying
chemical factories. Along the way, Brodie and Axelrod discovered
acetaminophen - Tylenol. By the time of the microsome discovery,
however, Axelrod and Brodie were sparring, Axelrod fuming that he
did not get sole credit. They were then master and apprentice at
the Heart Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
Eventually the split came and Axelrod built up his own superlab
with a rising star, Solomon Snyder. Snyder, still rhapsodic over
his days with "Julie," left the NIH for Johns Hopkins and the
discovery of the opiate receptor - a discovery for which he got the
credit that his very vocal protegee, Candace Pert, felt she should
at least have shared. Overall, Kanigel succeeds very well in
demonstrating, for scholar and general reader alike, the emotional
intensity of science, the gem-like flame that inspires brilliant
teachers and students - but by which they occasionally get burnt.
(Kirkus Reviews)
From the author of the bestselling "The Man Who Knew Infinity"
comes an unprecedented look at the traditional
master-apprenticeship relationship alive today in modern science.
Along the way, using interviews and anecdotes, Kanigel takes
readers into the heady world of a remarkable group of scientists at
the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University and
captures the drama of their breakthrough discoveries.
General
Imprint: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
December 1993 |
First published: |
1993 |
Authors: |
Robert Kanigel
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 17mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
281 |
Edition: |
Johns Hopkins pbk. ed |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8018-4757-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Science & Mathematics >
Science: general issues >
History of science
|
LSN: |
0-8018-4757-5 |
Barcode: |
9780801847578 |
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