Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Search for Human Chromosomes

A History of Discovery

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Wilson John Wall

    1. Bewdley, United Kingdom

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Presents the exciting story of the search for the number of human chromosomes

  • Spans the very beginnings of biology to the present day

  • A fun read, written by an experienced geneticist

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Background to the Hunt for the Human Chromosome Number

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 1-16

  3. Microscopes and Stains: The Rise of Technology

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 17-32

  4. Mendel and Genetics

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 33-48

  5. Chromosomes as the Carriers of Heredity

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 49-59

  6. Difficulties of Chromosome Handling and Access to Material

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 61-72

  7. The Implications of DNA Structure

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 73-84

  8. Tissue Culture and the Cell Cycle: The Answer Is Revealed

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 85-102

  9. The Flowering of Clinical Genetics

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 103-117

  10. Sex and Chromosomes

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 119-130

  11. What We Know, What We Don’t and Where This May Lead Us

    • Wilson John Wall
    Pages 131-142

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 143-179
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

​This book is a broadly historical account of a remarkable and very exciting scientific story–the search for the number of human chromosomes. It covers the processes and people, culminating in the realization that discovering the number of human chromosomes brought as much benefit as unraveling the genetic code itself. With the exception of red blood cells, which have no nucleus and therefore no DNA, and sex cells, humans have 46 chromosomes in every single cell. Not only do chromosomes carry all of the genes that code our inheritance, they also carry them in a specific order. It is essential that the number and structure of chromosomes remains intact, in order to pass on the correct amount of DNA to succeeding generations and for the cells to survive. Knowing the number of human chromosomes has provided a vital diagnostic tool in the prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders, and the search for this number and developing an understanding of what it means are the focus of this book.




Authors and Affiliations

  • Bewdley, United Kingdom

    Wilson John Wall

About the author

The author, Wilson Wall, has been a professional geneticist for more than 30 years, including postgraduate training as a clinical cytogeneticist. He has worked as team leader and section head as a clinical cytogeneticist in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He carried out doctoral and postdoctoral research into areas of molecular genetics, specifically in evolution and forensic applications. For many years he was also secretary to the History Committee of the Institute of Biology.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Search for Human Chromosomes

  • Book Subtitle: A History of Discovery

  • Authors: Wilson John Wall

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26336-6

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-26334-2Published: 18 December 2015

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-79934-6Published: 27 March 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-26336-6Published: 11 December 2015

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VII, 179

  • Number of Illustrations: 20 b/w illustrations, 28 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Science, Human Genetics, Cell Biology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation