Conrad Hal Waddington (1905 — 1975), known to his friends as "Wad", was a developmental biologist, paleontologist, geneticist, embryologist and philosopher. He also laid the foundations for systems biology, and had wide-interests that included poetry and painting. Jump to: navigation, search 1905 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... ... Jump to: navigation, search A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ... Systems biology is an academic field that seeks to integrate high-throughput biological studies to understand how biological systems function. ...

His personal papers are largely kept at Edinburgh University library. The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

The Epi-Genetic Landscape

Waddington's epigenetic landscape is a metaphor for how gene regulation determines development. One is asked to imagine a number of marbles rolling down a hill towards a wall. The marbles will compete for the grooves on the slope, and come to rest at the lowest points. These points represent the eventual cell fates, that is, tissue types.

Waddington also coined other essential concepts, such as canalisation, which refers to the ability of an organism to produce the same phenotype in various different environments.

Waddington tried to reconcile Lamarck's ideas on the inheritance of acquired characters with modern biology, with moderate success. Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck (August 1, 1744 - December 28, 1829) was a major 19th century naturalist, who was one of the first to use the term biology in its modern sense. ...

External link

• NAHSTE Project Record of C.H. Waddington