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Calvin Bridges

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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