Reflections on method
Theodor Boveri's evaluation of "natural experiments" and their table-top simulation
pp. 47-49
in: , Landmarks in developmental biology 1883–1924, Berlin, Springer, 1997Abstrakt
As described in the previous Essay, Theodor Boveri, by exploiting the "natural experiment" of sea urchin dispermy, demonstrated that embryogenesis requires "a certain combination of chromosomes", possibly the full chromosome complement. The main topic of this Essay is his reflections on the methods he employed, and on their value for gaining previously inaccessible insights.