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Virtual exhibit: Trembley (422 words) |
 | In 1740, Abraham Trembley made the remarkable discovery that when a freshwater polyp (now called a hydra) was cut in two, the parts not only survived, but regenerated their missing halves. |
| It was important to Trembley that readers of his book feel as though they had witnessed the results themselves (i.e., "virtual witnessing," as Shapin and Schaffer (1) have used the term). |
| Trembley understood the necessity of illustrations in accomplishing this goal, and included thirteen plates of illustrations. |
| Abraham Trembley: Information from Answers.com (388 words) |
| Trembley came from an officer's family from Geneva, where he studied mathematics before taking up the career of a tutor in the Netherlands. |
| While Trembley thought he had discovered a new species, Leeuwenhoek had in fact first published on hydra in 1702, describing them as a type of plant. |
| Some attribute Trembley as being the first to study stem cells, although he obviously did not refer to them as such. |
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