Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Heliostat

A heliostat throws sunlight where it might be needed, whether for photography or scientific observations. This example resembles the Foucault heliostat made by the Société Genevoise.
Description
A heliostat throws sunlight where it might be needed, whether for photography or scientific observations. This example resembles the Foucault heliostat made by the Société Genevoise. A tag on the base reads: “PRESENTED TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY BY ERNEST KEMPTON ADAMS.” Ernest Kempton Adams was a graduate of Columbia University. Following his untimely death in 1904, his large collection of scientific and engineering instruments was given to Columbia, and his father provided $50,000 to support physical research.
Ref: Société Genevoise, Illustrated Price List of Physical and Mechanical Instruments (Geneva, 1900), pp. 85-86.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
PH.335221
catalog number
335221
accession number
315390

Electrophoresis Chamber

This plastic chamber was part of a set-up for a vertical gel electrophoresis chamber used in the lab at Genentech, a biotechnology company, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Description (Brief)
This plastic chamber was part of a set-up for a vertical gel electrophoresis chamber used in the lab at Genentech, a biotechnology company, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Gel electrophoresis is a technique that uses the electrical charges of molecule to separate them by their length. It is often used to analyze DNA fragments. “Yansura,” the name of one of the scientists who used the set-up, is etched on one side of the chamber.
Location
Currently not on view
user
Genentech, Inc.
ID Number
2012.0198.04
catalog number
2012.0198.04
accession number
2012.0198

Microscope

In March 1856, the University of Michigan named a committee “to contract for the construction of a suitable microscope for the University.” Within a year or so, this committee had spent $469 for a microscope made by Charles Achilles Spencer, America’s first successful microscope
Description
In March 1856, the University of Michigan named a committee “to contract for the construction of a suitable microscope for the University.” Within a year or so, this committee had spent $469 for a microscope made by Charles Achilles Spencer, America’s first successful microscope maker. This enormous sum was charged to the account of "Natural History" and the microscope was placed in the hands of Alexander Winchell, a professor of geology who would soon be named Geologist of the State. Twenty years later, after Winchell had left the University, the costly microscope was transferred to the Physiological Laboratory in the Medical School. The transfer was arranged by Charles Stowell, a young doctor who would spend his career teaching physiology and microscopy, and who was clearly aware of the historic importance of the instrument. In an obituary notice penned shortly after Spencer’s death in 1881, Stowell explained that the objective was a 1/16 of “as near 180°as can be obtained.” That is, it had a very short focal length and a very wide angular aperture. When Stowell got his hands on this objective, he saw a crack “running across about 1/3 of the field,” and so returned it to the firm. Spencer replied that he could make a new objective nearly as cheap as he could remedy this, “for it is one of my first glasses.” Accepting the inevitable, Stowell ordered a new 1/18. We have not yet measure the objective, but note that it does not appear to have a crack.
Spencer referred to the stand of this microscope as a Pritchard, recognizing that the form had been popularized by Andrew Pritchard, an important London naturalist and optician. The “C. A. & H. Spencer / Canastota, N.Y.” inscription on the tube refers to the partnership between Charles A. Spencer and his cousin Hamilton, a partnership that began around 1848 and ended around 1854.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1849-1859
associated dates
1990-04-10
maker
C. A. & H. Spencer
ID Number
1990.0183.01
catalog number
1990.0183.01
accession number
1990.0183

Engraved woodblock of "Climbing the Grand Canyon"

This engraved woodblock of “Climbing the Grand Canyon” was prepared by F. S.
Description
This engraved woodblock of “Climbing the Grand Canyon” was prepared by F. S. King and the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the print was published in 1875 on page 98 of John Wesley Powell's Report of the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and Its Tributaries. Explored in 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, under the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Thomas Moran (1837-1926) was the original artist.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875
1875
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Powell, John Wesley
original artist
Moran, Thomas
graphic artist
King, Francis Scott
maker
V. W. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.0474
accession number
1980.0219
catalog number
1980.0219.0474

Painting - Fluxions (Newton)

In the 17th century, the natural philosophers Isaac Newton and Gottfried Liebniz developed much of the general theory of the relationship between variable mathematical quantities and their rates of change (differential calculus), as well as the connection between rates of change
Description
In the 17th century, the natural philosophers Isaac Newton and Gottfried Liebniz developed much of the general theory of the relationship between variable mathematical quantities and their rates of change (differential calculus), as well as the connection between rates of change and variable quantities (integral calculus).
Newton called these rates of change "fluxions." This painting is based on a diagram from an article by H. W. Turnbull in Newman's The World of Mathematics. Here Turnbull described the change in the variable quantity y (OM) in terms of another variable quantity, x (ON). The resulting curve is represented by APT.
Crockett Johnson's painting is based loosely on these mathematical ideas. He inverted the figure from Turnbull. In his words: "The painting is an inversion of the usual textbook depiction of the method, which is one of bringing together a fixed part and a ‘moving’ part of a problem on a cartesian chart, upon which a curve then can be plotted toward ultimate solution."
The arc at the center of this painting is a circular, with a tangent line below it. The region between the arc and the tangent is painted white. Part of the tangent line is the hypotenuse of a right triangle which lies below it and is painted black. The rest of the lower part of the painting is dark purple. Above the arc is a dark purple area, above this a gray region. The painting has a wood and metal frame.
This oil painting on pressed wood is #20 in the series. It is unsigned, but inscribed on the back: Crockett Johnson 1966 (/) FLUXIONS (NEWTON).
References: James R. Newman, The World of Mathematics (1956), p. 143. This volume was in the library of Crockett Johnson. The figure on this page is annotated.
Crockett Johnson, "On the Mathematics of Geometry in My Abstract Paintings," Leonardo, 5 (1972): pp. 97–8.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Newton, Isaac
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.14
catalog number
1979.1093.14
accession number
1979.1093

Opera Glasses

One eyepiece barrel is marked “Docteur / Arthur Chevalier” and the other “Paris / 158 Palais Royal.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter. The frame is black metal. The barrels are covered with black leather.
Description
One eyepiece barrel is marked “Docteur / Arthur Chevalier” and the other “Paris / 158 Palais Royal.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter. The frame is black metal. The barrels are covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus.
Arthur Chevalier (1830-1874) began in business around 1860, taking charge of the optical firm begun by his grandfather, Charles Chevalier, and continued by his father, Louis Vincent Chevalier. M. Avizard bought the firm in 1881.
Ref: Arthur Chevalier, Catalogue Explicatif et Illustré des Instruments d’Optique et de Météorologie (Paris, 1860), pp. 16-20.
Paolo Brenni, “19th Century French Scientific Instrument Makers. II: The Chevalier Dynasty,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 39 (1993): 11–14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-1880
maker
Chevalier
ID Number
PH.336810
catalog number
336810
accession number
1978.2216

Mug, ACCELL Gene Delivery From Agracetus, Inc.

Agracetus’s ACCELL gene gun, featured on this mug, delivers foreign genes into plant cells in order to create transgenic plants. To learn more about the ACCELL gene gun, please see object number 1993.0345.01, the Agracetus gene gun.Source:Accession FileCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Agracetus’s ACCELL gene gun, featured on this mug, delivers foreign genes into plant cells in order to create transgenic plants. To learn more about the ACCELL gene gun, please see object number 1993.0345.01, the Agracetus gene gun.
Source:
Accession File
Location
Currently not on view
inventor of prototype to accell gene gun
McCabe, Dennis
ID Number
2001.0193.01
catalog number
2001.0193.01
accession number
2001.0193

Mohr Measuring Pipette

The 19th-century German pharmacist Karl Friedrich Mohr developed calibrated pipettes like this these for transferring specific amounts of a liquid. The quantity transferred was measured by changes in the height of the liquid.
Description
The 19th-century German pharmacist Karl Friedrich Mohr developed calibrated pipettes like this these for transferring specific amounts of a liquid. The quantity transferred was measured by changes in the height of the liquid. Mohr pipettes were manufactured by the Kimble Glass Company at its factory in Vineland, New Jersey from at least 1920.
By the mid-1920s, Kimble had a special line of "Kollegiate" glassware for high school and freshman college courses. This included two sets of Mohr pipettes. From 1959, Mohr pipettes were among the goods that could be purchased for use in high school biology and chemistry classes with matching funds from the U.S. federal government provided by the National Defense Education Act.
This particular pipette was sold under the name Kimax 51, a trademark first used by Kimble Glass Company in 1963. Calibrated at a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade, it held up to 10 milliliters, with divisions to 1/10 of a milliliter. It is a Kimax -51 Model 37019, in a size M. The orange mark near the top identifies the size and helped in sorting glassware.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Kimax
ID Number
1998.0020.09
catalog number
1998.0020.09
accession number
1998.0020

Mechanics

This image appeared as the frontispiece of vol. 14 of the Encyclopaedia Londinensis (1816). The “Chapman sculp.” signature in the lower left may refer to John Chapman (fl. 1787-1811), a London engraver.
Description
This image appeared as the frontispiece of vol. 14 of the Encyclopaedia Londinensis (1816). The “Chapman sculp.” signature in the lower left may refer to John Chapman (fl. 1787-1811), a London engraver. The text at bottom (cropped from our copy) read “London Published April 13, 1816, by G. Jones.”
A “Description of the Frontispiece Illustrating Mechanics” appears on p. [1] of the book. It reads: “Archimedes, the founder of theoretical mechanics, is represented in a contemplative attitude, in the midst of his pupils and of the instruments of the mechanical powers. In the foreground a youth is tracing on the sand a diagram expressing the famous discovery of Archimedes, the proportion of the sphere to the cylinder; to which another, leaning on a book, is attentive. On the right hand are shown the action of the screw and the wedge, and higher up, of the balance. From the ceiling is suspended a system of pulleys. On the left is a globe, the hydrostatical bellows, and the pump which bears the name of Archimedes’s screw; the action of the inclined plane is also shown in the left corner; and in the back ground, on the same side, is a youth working a crane.”
Ref: Richard Yeo, Encyclopaedic Visions: Scientific Dictionaries and Enlightenment Culture (Cambridge and New York, 20010
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1816
maker
London
ID Number
PH.329190
accession number
280072
catalog number
329190

Painting - Polyhedron Formula (Euler)

Mathematicians have explored the properties of polyhedra since ancient times, but it was the Swiss scholar Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) who proved the formula V-E+F = 2. That is, for a simple convex polyhedron (e.g.
Description
Mathematicians have explored the properties of polyhedra since ancient times, but it was the Swiss scholar Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) who proved the formula V-E+F = 2. That is, for a simple convex polyhedron (e.g. one with no holes, so that it can be deformed into a sphere) the number of vertices minus the number of edges plus the number of faces is two. An equivalent formula had been presented by Descartes in an unpublished treatise on polyhedra. However, this formula was first proved and published by Euler in 1751 and bears his name.
Crockett Johnson's painting echoes a figure from a presentation of Euler's formula found in Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins's article “Topology,” which is in James R. Newman's The World the Mathematics (1956), p. 584. This book was in the artist’s library, but the figure that relates to this painting is not annotated.
To understand the painting we must understand the mathematical argument. It starts with a hexahedron, a simple, six-sided, box-shaped object. First, one face of the hexahedron is removed, and the figure is stretched so that it lies flat (imagine that the hexahedron is made of a malleable substance so that it can be stretched). While stretching the figure can change the length of the edges and the area and shape of the faces, it will not change the number of vertices, edges, or faces.
For the "stretched" figure, V-E+F = 8 - 12 + 5 = 1, so that, if the removed face is counted, the result is V-E+F = 2 for the original polyhedron. The next step is to triangulate each face (this is indicated by the diagonal lines in the third figure). If, in triangle ABC [C is not shown in Newman, though it is referred to], edge AC is removed, the number of edges and the number of faces are both reduced by one, so V-E+F is unchanged. This is done for each outer triangle.
Next, if edges DF and EF are removed from triangle DEF, then one face, one vertex, and two edges are removed as well, and V-E+F is unchanged. Again, this is done for each outer triangle. This yields a rectangle from which a right triangle is removed. Again, this will leave V-E+F unchanged. This last step will also yield a figure for which V-E+F = 3-3+1. As previously stated, if we count the removed face from the initial step, then V-E+F = 2 for the given polyhedron.
The “triangulated” diagram was the one Crockett Johnson chose to paint. Each segment of the painting is given its own color so as to indicate each step of the proof. Crockett Johnson executed the two right triangles that form the center rectangle in the most contrasting hues. This draws the viewer’s eyes to this section and thus emphasizes the finale of Euler's proof. This approach to the proof of Euler's polyhedral formula was pioneered by the French mathematician Augustin Louis Cauchy in 1813.
This oil painting on masonite is #39 in the series. It was completed in 1966 and is signed: CJ66. It is inscribed on the back: Crockett Johnson 1966 (/) POLYHEDRON FORMULA (EULER). It has a wood and chrome frame.
Reference:
David Richeson, “The Polyhedral Formula,” in Leonhard Euler: Life, Work and Legacy, editors R. E. Bradley and C. E. Sandifer (2007), pp. 431–34.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966
referenced
Euler, Leonhard
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.27
catalog number
1979.1093.27
accession number
1979.1093

Oats Preserved in Plastic

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.A.7587
accession number
198812
catalog number
A.7587

Intel 8080A Microprocessor

Intel introduced its 8080A 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) microprocessor in April 1974. Generally considered as the first truly usable microprocessor, the chip ran at 2 megahertz and powered the Altair 8800 and the IMSAI 8080, two of the first Personal Computers.
Description
Intel introduced its 8080A 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) microprocessor in April 1974. Generally considered as the first truly usable microprocessor, the chip ran at 2 megahertz and powered the Altair 8800 and the IMSAI 8080, two of the first Personal Computers. Housed in a 40-pin DIP package that contained 6,000 transistors, the integrated circuit could receive 8-bit instructions and perform 16-bit operations. This particular example is marked "8321"indicating it was made in the 21st week of 1983. The "D8080A" means the unit has a housing of black ceramic.
date made
1983-05
maker
Intel Corporation
ID Number
1984.0124.04
accession number
1984.0124
catalog number
1984.0124.04
maker number
8080

Myoglobin Protein Model

Professor Jonathan Wittenberg used this model of sperm whale myoglobin structure as a teaching tool at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx.
Description (Brief)
Professor Jonathan Wittenberg used this model of sperm whale myoglobin structure as a teaching tool at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx. It was used beginning in the mid-1960s as part of his class on cell function, which would later come to be known as molecular biology. Wittenberg purchased the model from A. A. Barker, an employee of Cambridge University Engineering Laboratories, who fabricated the models for sale to interested scientists starting in May 1966 under the supervision of John Kendrew.
Between the years 1957 and 1959, John Kendrew, a British biochemist, figured out the complete structure of a protein. For his breakthrough he won the 1962 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, an award he shared with his co-contributor Max Perutz.
Proteins are large molecules used for a vast variety of tasks in the body. Knowing their structure is a key part of understanding how they function, as structure determines the way in which proteins interact with other molecules and can give clues to their purpose in the body.
Kendrew uncovered the structure of myoglobin using a method known as X-ray crystallography, a technique where crystals of a substance—in this case myoglobin—are grown and then bombarded with X-rays. The rays bounce off the atoms in the crystal at an angle and hit a photographic plate. By studying these angles, scientists can pinpoint the average location of single atoms within the protein molecule and piece this data together to figure out the complete structure of the protein.
Interestingly, Kendrew had a hard time getting enough crystals of myoglobin to work with until someone was kind enough to give him a slab of sperm whale meat. Myoglobin’s purpose in the body is to store oxygen in the muscles until needed. Sperm whales, as aquatic mammals, have to be very efficient at storing oxygen for their muscles during deep sea dives, which means they require a lot of myoglobin. Until the gift of the sperm whale meat, Kendrew couldn’t isolate enough myoglobin to grow crystals of sufficient size for his research.
Sources:
Accession file
“History of Visualization of Biological Macromolecules: A. A. Barker’s Models of Myoglobin.” Eric Francouer, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. http://www.umass.edu/molvis/francoeur/barker/barker.html
The Eighth Day of Creation: The Makers of the Revolution in Biology. Horace Freeland Judson. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
ID Number
2009.0111.01
accession number
2009.0111
catalog number
2009.0111.01

Test Tube

The test tube is one of the most commonly used pieces of laboratory ware, available in many sizes ranging from less than 1 inch to 6 inches in length.
Description
The test tube is one of the most commonly used pieces of laboratory ware, available in many sizes ranging from less than 1 inch to 6 inches in length. The form came into use in England in the early years of the nineteenth century, and is the perfect shape and size to hold small amounts of substances, usually liquid, which are then manipulated in some way.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CH.315121.055
catalog number
315121.055
accession number
215563

Telescope

This is one of the “two forty-five inch Refractors” mentioned in a Georgetown publication of 1852. It has a brass pillar-and-tripod base, an equatorial mount, and mahogany handles for adjustments in right ascension and declination.
Description
This is one of the “two forty-five inch Refractors” mentioned in a Georgetown publication of 1852. It has a brass pillar-and-tripod base, an equatorial mount, and mahogany handles for adjustments in right ascension and declination. The (missing) achromatic objective had an aperture an 3.5 inches. The brass tube is 42½ inches long. The “W. & S. Jones” inscription refers to a London firm that, from 1791 to 1859, sold a wide range of scientific and mathematical instruments.
Ref: Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Georgetown College, D.C. 1 (1852), p. 14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1840
maker
W. & S. Jones
ID Number
PH.316098.01
accession number
224215
catalog number
316098.01

Painting - Squares of 1, 2, 3, 4 and Square Roots to 8

This painting reflects Crockett Johnson's enduring fascination with square roots and squaring.
Description
This painting reflects Crockett Johnson's enduring fascination with square roots and squaring. As the title suggests, it includes four squares whose areas are 1, 2, 3, and 4 square units, and seven line segments whose lengths are the square roots of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
One may construct these squares and square roots by alternate applications of the Pythagorean theorem to squares running along the diagonal of the painting, and to rectangles running across the top (not all the rectangles are shown). More specifically, assume that the light-colored square in the upper left corner of the painting has side of length 1 (which equals the square root of 1). Then the diagonal is the square root of two, and a quarter circle with this radius centered at upper left corner cuts the sides of the square extended to determine two sides of a second, larger square. The area of this square (shown in the painting) is the square of the square root of 2, or two.
One can then consider the rectangle with side one and base square root of two that is in the upper left of the painting. It will have sides one and the square root of 2, and hence diagonal of length equal to the square root of three. The diagonal is not shown, but an circular arc with this radius forms the second arc in the painting. It determines the sides of a square with side equal to the square root of three and area 3. It also forms a rectangle with sides of length one and the square root of 4 (or two). This gives the third arc and the largest square in the painting.
By continuing the construction (further squares and rectangles are not shown), Crockett Johnson arrived at portions of circular arcs that cut the diameter at distances of the square roots of 5, 6, 7, and 8. Only one point on the last arc is shown. It is at the lower right corner of the painting.
Crockett Johnson executed the work in various shades and tints from his starting point at the white and pale-blue triangle to darker blues at the opposite corner.
This oil painting on masonite is not signed and its date of completion is unknown. It is #97 in the series.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-1975
painter
Johnson, Crockett
ID Number
1979.1093.65
catalog number
1979.1093.65
accession number
1979.1093

Ring Stand

This stand consists of a rectangular base, vertical rod, and ring clamp, and might have been used to hold a round bottomed flask over a Bunsen burner.Currently not on view
Description
This stand consists of a rectangular base, vertical rod, and ring clamp, and might have been used to hold a round bottomed flask over a Bunsen burner.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CH.316205.141
catalog number
316205.141
accession number
217523

Salt from Salt Water

Volterra, an ancient town in the Tuscan region of Italy, has a productive salt spring known variously as the Moie or the Saline. This ink-and-wash drawing depicts the front and back of the house over that spring.
Description
Volterra, an ancient town in the Tuscan region of Italy, has a productive salt spring known variously as the Moie or the Saline. This ink-and-wash drawing depicts the front and back of the house over that spring. The title reads “Piante per Levare L’Acqua dolce dalla Salata per le Moie di Volterra.” The partial signature at bottom left reads “Ciappevony.”
Ref: Fabrizio Borelli, Le Saline de Volterra nel Granducatio di Toscana (Florence, 2000).
Didier Boisseuil,Le Thermalisme en Toscane à la fin du Moyen Age (Rome, 2002).
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PH.329202
catalog number
329202
accession number
280071

Thermal Conductivity Apparatus

This simple apparatus shows that different metals conduct heat at different rates. Jan Ingenhousz, a Dutch man of science, described a similar device in his Expériences et Observations sur Divers Objets de Physique (Paris, 1785).
Description
This simple apparatus shows that different metals conduct heat at different rates. Jan Ingenhousz, a Dutch man of science, described a similar device in his Expériences et Observations sur Divers Objets de Physique (Paris, 1785). He, in turn, was inspired by Benjamin Franklin who had wondered why silver teapots tended to have wooden handles.
Ref: http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/01/benjamin-franklin-and-his-silver-teapot.html
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PH.315189
accession number
216217
catalog number
315189

Telescope

Refracting telescope with a brass pillar-and-tripod base, a 38-inch long wooden tube with brass fittings, a sliding rod for holding the telescope at a particular elevation, an achromatic objective of 2 inches aperture, four eyepieces, and a wooden box with a hinged lid.
Description
Refracting telescope with a brass pillar-and-tripod base, a 38-inch long wooden tube with brass fittings, a sliding rod for holding the telescope at a particular elevation, an achromatic objective of 2 inches aperture, four eyepieces, and a wooden box with a hinged lid. The inscription on the brass ferrule at the eye end of the tube reads “DOLLOND LONDON.”
The Dollond family began in business as opticians in London in 1750. George Dollond took responsibility for the firm around 1820 and shortened the signature to Dollond.
Ref: Gloria Clifton, “Dollond Family,” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
maker
Dollond
ID Number
PH.335518
accession number
321714
catalog number
335518

Autumn Coralroot Orchid Preserved in Plastic

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943-09-20
ID Number
AG.A.7591
accession number
198812
catalog number
A.7591

Posilac, sterile sometribove zinc suspension

Posilac is a recombinant pharmaceutical used to increase milk production in lactating dairy cows. Approved by the FDA in 1993, Posilac was the first biotechnology product offered for sale by Monsanto.
Description (Brief)
Posilac is a recombinant pharmaceutical used to increase milk production in lactating dairy cows. Approved by the FDA in 1993, Posilac was the first biotechnology product offered for sale by Monsanto. The company sold the rights to Elanco, a division of Eli Lilly and Company in 2008.
Its active ingredient, bovine growth hormone-also known as rBGH and rBST-has been at the center of ongoing controversy in the United States. Although deemed safe by the FDA, rBGH is banned in many other countries. American consumer groups have countered FDA claims of safety with concerns about possible health risks stemming from differences in milk produced by cows treated with rBGH and milk produced by untreated cows.
Recombinant pharmaceuticals like Posilac are created by inserting genes from one species into a host species, often yeast or bacteria, where they do not naturally occur. The genes code for a desired product, and therefore the genetically modified host organisms can be grown and used as a kind of living factory to produce the product. In this case, genes coding for bovine somatotropin (growth hormone) are inserted into bacteria. Bacteria produce the somatotropin, which is harvested and used as the active ingredient in Posilac.
Object consists of a white cardboard box with light blue, dark blue, and red printing. Box contains 25 needles, 25 syringes, and a product insert. Needles are disposable, wrapped individually, and have a purple plastic base and a clear plastic cap. Syringes are 500-mg single doses, and they are made of white plastic with white labels with red, blue, and black printing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
April 1993 to June 1994
product expiration date
1994-06
maker
Monsanto Company
ID Number
2012.0046.50
accession number
2012.0046
catalog number
2012.0046.50

Euphorbia Fulgens Preserved in Plastic

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1938
ID Number
AG.A.7550
accession number
198812
catalog number
A.7550

Diffraction Grating

Charles A. Young, the professor of astronomy at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), acquired this diffraction grating in 1878. The speculum metal plate measures 3 inches square overall, with the grating measuring 1.75 inch square.
Description
Charles A. Young, the professor of astronomy at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), acquired this diffraction grating in 1878. The speculum metal plate measures 3 inches square overall, with the grating measuring 1.75 inch square. It is marked: "May 28, 1878" and "16,560 spaces" and "8648 per inch" and "Manf. by D. C. Chapman with Mr. Rutherfurd's Engine." Daniel C. Chapman was the mechanic who operated the ruling engine designed by Lewis M. Rutherfurd.
Ref. D. J. Warner, "Lewis M. Rutherfurd: Pioneer Astronomical Photographer and Spectroscopist," Technology and Culture 12 (1971): 190-216.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
maker
Rutherfurd, Lewis Morris
ID Number
PH.330707
accession number
299612
catalog number
330707

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