Timelines: 1942
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Life in the microcosm
Electron micrographs of bacteriophages
With the help of Thomas A. Anderson of the RCA Research Laboratories in Camden, New Jersey, microbiologist Salvador Luria of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons employs electron microscopy to render bacteriophage particles visible for the first time. The achievement paves the way for rapid advances in molecular genetics. Due to their simplicity and rapid growth, bacteria are preferred experimental tools in the field. The ability to record the action of bacterial viruses on film, and to understand how they take over the genetic machinery of bacterial cells significantly expands the repertoire of experimental strategies and techniques available to molecular geneticists.
