From Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
Calvin Blackman Bridges
(January
11,
1889 -
December 27,
1938) was American scientist,
known for his contributions to the
field of
genetics. Bridges along with
Alfred Sturtevant and
Hermann Joseph Muller were
part of the famous fly room of
Thomas Hunt Morgan at
Columbia University.
His work with sex linked traits
in the fruit fly
Drosophila melanogaster
suggested that
chromosomes contained
genes. Later
Nettie Maria Stephens was able
to prove this hypothesis by
examining the chromosomes of the
fruit flies. Bridges wrote a
couple of papers presenting the
proof. He thanked her as "Miss
Stevens" without stating what her
contribution was nor referring to
her PhD.
Bridges' best-known
contribution among Drosophila
researchers is his observation and
documentation of the
polytene chromosomes found in
larval salivary gland cells. The
banding patterns of these
chromosomes are still used as
genetic landmarks by contemporary
researchers.
Bridges was born on
January 11,
1889 in
Schuyler Falls,
New York. He died on
December 27,
1938 in
Los Angeles,
California. Reports differ as
to whether this was due to
syphilis, or to heart failure
as a complication of a heart valve
infection.
Further reading
- A. H. Sturtevant, A
History of Genetics, (Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press,2001).
ISBN 0879696079
- E.A. Carlson, Mendel's
Legacy: The Origin of Classical
Genetics, (Cold Spring
Harbor Laboratory Press, 2004).
ISBN 0879696753
- E.A. Carlson, The Gene: A
Critical History, (Iowa
State Press, 1989).
ISBN 0813814065
