万物简史英文版_比尔·布莱森-第75章

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s；　among　much　else。　eventuallyhe　was　made　abbot。

mendel鈥檚　findings　weren鈥檛　quite　as　widely　ignored　as　is　sometimes　suggested。　his　studyreceived　a　glowing　entry　in　the　encyclopaedia　britannica　鈥攖hen　a　more　leading　record　ofscientific　thought　than　now鈥攁nd　was　cited　repeatedly　in　an　important　paper　by　the　germanwilhelm　olbers　focke。　indeed；　it　was　because　mendel鈥檚　ideas　never　entirely　sank　below　thewaterline　of　scientific　thought　that　they　were　so　easily　recovered　when　the　world　was　readyfor　them。

together；　without　realizing　it；　darwin　and　mendel　laid　the　groundwork　for　all　of　lifesciences　in　the　twentieth　century。　darwin　saw　that　all　living　things　are　connected；　thatultimately　they　鈥渢race　their　ancestry　to　a　single；　mon　source；鈥潯�while　mendel鈥檚　workprovided　the　mechanism　to　explain　how　that　could　happen。　the　two　men　could　easily　havehelped　each　other。　mendel　owned　a　german　edition　of　the　origin　of　species；　which　he　isknown　to　have　read；　so　he　must　have　realized　the　applicability　of　his　work　to　darwin鈥檚；　yet　heappears　to　have　made　no　effort　to　get　in　touch。　and　darwin　for　his　part　is　known　to　havestudied　focke鈥檚　influential　paper　with　its　repeated　references　to　mendel鈥檚　work；　but　didn鈥檛connect　them　to　his　own　studies。

the　one　thing　everyone　thinks　featured　in　darwin鈥檚　argument；　that　humans　are　descendedfrom　apes；　didn鈥檛　feature　at　all　except　as　one　passing　allusion。　even　so；　it　took　no　great　leap　ofimagination　to　see　the　implications　for　human　development　in　darwin鈥檚　theories；　and　itbecame　an　immediate　talking　point。

the　showdown　came　on　saturday；　june　30；　1860；　at　a　meeting　of　the　british　associationfor　the　advancement　of　science　in　oxford。　huxley　had　been　urged　to　attend　by　robertchambers；　author　of　vestiges　of　the　natural　history　of　creation；　though　he　was　still　unawareof　chambers鈥檚　connection　to　that　contentious　tome。　darwin；　as　ever；　was　absent。　the　meetingwas　held　at　the　oxford　zoological　museum。　more　than　a　thousand　people　crowded　into　thechamber；　hundreds　more　were　turned　away。　people　knew　that　something　big　was　going　tohappen；　though　they　had　first　to　wait　while　a　slumber…inducing　speaker　named　john　williamdraper　of　new　york　university　bravely　slogged　his　way　through　two　hours　of　introductoryremarks　on　鈥渢he　intellectual　development　of　europe　considered　with　reference　to　the　viewsof　mr。　darwin。鈥�

finally；　the　bishop　of　oxford；　samuel　wilberforce；　rose　to　speak。　wilberforce　had　beenbriefed　（or　so　it　is　generally　assumed）　by　the　ardent　anti…darwinian　richard　owen；　who　hadbeen　a　guest　in　his　home　the　night　before。　as　nearly　always　with　events　that　end　in　uproar；accounts　vary　widely　on　what　exactly　transpired。　in　the　most　popular　version；　wilberforce；when　properly　in　flow；　turned　to　huxley　with　a　dry　smile　and　demanded　of　him　whether　heclaimed　attachment　to　the　apes　by　way　of　his　grandmother　or　grandfather。　the　remark　wasdoubtless　intended　as　a　quip；　but　it　came　across　as　an　icy　challenge。　according　to　his　ownaccount；　huxley　turned　to　his　neighbor　and　whispered；　鈥渢he　lord　hath　delivered　him　into　myhands；鈥潯�then　rose　with　a　certain　relish。

others；　however；　recalled　a　huxley　trembling　with　fury　and　indignation。　at　all　events；huxley　declared　that　he　would　rather　claim　kinship　to　an　ape　than　to　someone　who　used　hiseminence　to　propound　uninformed　twaddle　in　what　was　supposed　to　be　a　serious　scientificforum。　such　a　riposte　was　a　scandalous　impertinence；　as　well　as　an　insult　to　wilberforce鈥檚office；　and　the　proceedings　instantly　collapsed　in　tumult。　a　lady　brewster　fainted。　robertfitzroy；　darwin鈥檚　panion　on　the　beagle　twenty…five　years　before；　wandered　through　thehall　with　a　bible　held　aloft；　shouting；　鈥渢he　book；　the　book。鈥潯。╤e　was　at　the　conference　topresent　a　paper　on　storms　in　his　capacity　as　head　of　the　newly　created　meteorologicaldepartment。）　interestingly；　each　side　afterward　claimed　to　have　routed　the　other。

darwin　did　eventually　make　his　belief　in　our　kinship　with　the　apes　explicit　in　the　descentof　man　in　1871。　the　conclusion　was　a　bold　one　since　nothing　in　the　fossil　record　supportedsuch　a　notion。　the　only　known　early　human　remains　of　that　time　were　the　famous　neandertalbones　from　germany　and　a　few　uncertain　fragments　of　jawbones；　and　many　respectedauthorities　refused　to　believe　even　in　their　antiquity。　the　descent　of　man　was　altogether　amore　controversial　book；　but　by　the　time　of　its　appearance　the　world　had　grown　less　excitableand　its　arguments　caused　much　less　of　a　stir。

for　the　most　part；　however；　darwin　passed　his　twilight　years　with　other　projects；　most　ofwhich　touched　only　tangentially　on　questions　of　natural　selection。　he　spent　amazingly　longperiods　picking　through　bird　droppings；　scrutinizing　the　contents　in　an　attempt　to　understandhow　seeds　spread　between　continents；　and　spent　years　more　studying　the　behavior　of　worms。

one　of　his　experiments　was　to　play　the　piano　to　them；　not　to　amuse　them　but　to　study　theeffects　on　them　of　sound　and　vibration。　he　was　the　first　to　realize　how　vitally　importantworms　are　to　soil　fertility。　鈥渋t　may　be　doubted　whether　there　are　many　other　animals　whichhave　played　so　important　a　part　in　the　history　of　the　world；鈥潯�he　wrote　in　his　masterwork　on　thesubject；　the　formation　of　vegetable　mould　through　the　action　of　worms　（1881）；　which　wasactually　more　popular　thanon　the　origin　of　species　had　ever　been。　among　his　other　bookswere　on　the　various　contrivances　by　which　british　and　foreign　orchids　are　fertilised　byinsects　（1862）；　expressions　of　the　emotions　in　man　and　animals　（1872）；　which　sold　almost5；300　copies　on　its　first　day；　the　effects　of　cross　and　self　fertilization　in　the　vegetablekingdom　（1876）鈥攁　subject　that　came　improbably　close　to　mendel鈥檚　own　work；　withoutattaining　anything　like　the　same　insights鈥攁nd　his　last　book；　the　power　of　movement　inplants。　finally；　but　not　least；　he　devoted　much　effort　to　studying　the　consequences　ofinbreeding鈥攁　matter　of　private　interest　to　him。　having　married　his　own　cousin；　darwinglumly　suspected　that　certain　physical　and　mental　frailties　among　his　children　arose　from　alack　of　diversity　in　his　family　tree。

darwin　was　often　honored　in　his　lifetime；　but　never　for　on　the　origin　of　species　ordescentof　man。　when　the　royal　society　bestowed　on　him　the　prestigious　copley　medal　it　was　for　hisgeology；　zoology；　and　botany；　not　evolutionary　theories；　and　the　linnaean　society　wassimilarly　pleased　to　honor　darwin　without　embracing　his　radical　notions。　he　was　neverknighted；　though　he　was　buried　in　westminster　abbey鈥攏ext　to　newton。　he　died　at　down　inapril　1882。　mendel　died　two　years　later。

darwin鈥檚　theory　didn鈥檛　really　gain　widespread　acceptance　until　the　1930s　and　1940s；　withthe　advance　of　a　refined　theory　called；　with　a　certain　hauteur；　the　modern　synthesis；bining　darwin鈥檚　ideas　with　those　of　mendel　and　others。　for　mendel；　appreciation　wasalso　posthumous；　though　it　came　somewhat　sooner。　in　1900；　three　scientists　workingseparately　in　europe　rediscovered　mendel鈥檚　work　more　or　less　simultaneously。　it　was　onlybecause　one　of　them；　a　dutchman　named　hugo　de　vries；　seemed　set　to　claim　mendel鈥檚insights　as　his　own　that　a　rival　made　it　noisily　clear　that　the　credit　really　lay　with　the　forgottenmonk。

the　world　was　almost　ready；　but　not　quite；　to　begin　to　understand　how　we　got　here鈥攈owwe　made　each　other。　it　is　fairly　amazing　to　reflect　that　at　the　beginning　of　the　twentiethcentury；　and　for　some　years　beyond；　the　best　scientific　minds　in　the　world　couldn鈥檛　actuallytell　you　where　babies　came　from。

and　these；　you　may　recall；　were　men　who　thought　science　was　nearly　at　an　end。

wwwc　o　m



26　　　　THE　STUFF　OF　LIFE

灏忥伎璇磘…x…t锛垮ぉ/鍫�
if　your　two　parents　hadn鈥檛　bonded　just　when　they　did鈥攑ossibly　to　the　second；　possiblyto　the　nanosecond鈥攜ou　wouldn鈥檛　be　here。　and　if　their　parents　hadn鈥檛　bonded　in　a　preciselytimely　manner；　you　wouldn鈥檛　be　here　either。　and　if　their　parents　hadn鈥檛　done　likewise；　andtheir　parents　before　them；　and　so　on；　obviously　and　indefinitely；　you　wouldn鈥檛　be　here。

push　backwards　through　time　and　these　ancestral　debts　begin　to　add　up。　go　back　just　eightgenerations　to　about　the　time　that　charles　darwin　and　abraham　lincoln　were　born；　andalready　there　are　over　250　people　on　whose　timely　couplings　your　existence　depends。

continue　further；　to　the　time　of　shakespeare　and　the　mayflower　pilgrims；　and　you　have　nofewer　than　16；384　ancestors　earnestly　exchanging　genetic　material　in　a　way　that　would；eventually　and　miraculously；　result　in　you。

at　twenty　generations　ago；　the　number　of　people　procreating　on　your　behalf　has　risen　to1；048；576。　five　generations　before　that；　and　there　are　no　fewer　than　33；554；432　men　andwomen　on　whose　devoted　couplings　your　existence　depends。　by　thirty　generations　ago；　yourtotal　number　of　forebears鈥攔emember；　these　aren鈥檛　cousins　and　aunts　and　other　incidentalrelatives；　but　only　parents　and　parents　of　parents　in　a　line　leading　ineluctably　to　you鈥攊s　overone　billion　（1；073；741；824；　to　be　precise）。　if　you　go　back　sixty…four　generations；　to　the　time　ofthe　romans；　the　number　of　people　on　whose　cooperative　efforts　your　eventual　existencedepends　has　risen　to　approximately　1；000；000；000；000；000；000；　which　is　several　thousandtimes　the　total　number　of　people　who　have　ever　lived。

clearly　something　has　gone　wrong　with　our　math　here。　the　answer；　it　may　interest　you　tolearn；　is　that　your　line　is　not　pure。　you　couldn鈥檛　be　here　without　a　little　incest鈥攁ctually　quitea　lot　of　incest鈥攁lbeit　at　a　genetically　discreet　remove。　with　so　many　millions　of　ancestors　inyour　background；　there　will　have　been　many　occasions　when　a　relative　from　your　mother鈥檚side　of　the　family　procreated　with　some　distant　cousin　from　your　father鈥檚　side　of　the　ledger。　infact；　if　you　are　in　a　partnership　now　with　someone　from　your　own　race　and　country；　thechances　are　excellent　that　you　are　at　some　level　related。　indeed；　if　you　look　around　you　on　abus　or　in　a　park　or　caf茅　or　any　crowded　place；　most　of　the　people　you　see　are　very　probablyrelatives。　when　someone　boasts　to　you　that　he　is　descended　from　william　the　conqueror　orthe　mayflower　pilgrims；　you　should　answer　at　once：　鈥渕e；　too！鈥潯�in　the　most　literal　andfundamental　sense　we　are　all　family。

we　are　also　uncannily　alike。　pare　your　genes　with　any　other　human　being鈥檚　and　onaverage　they　will　be　about　99。9　percent　the　same。　that　is　what　makes　us　a　species。　the　tinydifferences　in　that　remaining　0。1　percent鈥斺�渞oughly　one　nucleotide　base　in　every　thousand；鈥�

to　quote　the　british　geneticist　and　recent　nobel　laureate　john　sulston鈥攁re　what　endow　uswith　our　individuality。　much　has　been　made　in　recent　years　of　the　unraveling　of　the　humangenome。　in　fact；　there　is　no　such　thing　as　鈥渢he鈥潯�human　genome。　every　human　genome　isdifferent。　otherwise　we　would　all　be　identical。　it　is　the　endless　rebinations　of　ourgenomes鈥攅ach　nearly　identical；　but　not　quite鈥攖hat　make　us　what　we　are；　both　as　individualsand　as　a　species。

but　what　exactly　is　this　thing　we　call　the　genome？　and　what；　e　to　that；　are　genes？

well；　start　with　a　cell　again。　inside　the　cell　is　a　nucleus；　and　inside　each　nucleus　are　thechromosomes鈥攆orty…six　little　bundles　of　plexity；　of　which　twenty…three　e　from　yourmother　and　twenty…three　from　you