Don Fawcett (1917–2009) Unlocking Natures Closely Guarded Secrets 英文参考文献.docVIP

Obituary DonFawcett(1917–2009):UnlockingNature’sClosely GuardedSecrets ElizabethMarincola* SocietyforSciencethePublic,Washington,D.C.,UnitedStatesofAmerica Cell biology owes some of its greatest discoveriestotheelectronmicroscope,and fewweremorepassionateaboutitspower to‘‘wrestfromnaturehercloselyguarded secrets’’ than Don Wayne Fawcett. A pioneer of electron microscopy and one ofitsgreatestpractitionersforstudyingthe organization of cells and tissues, Fawcett diedathishomeinMissoula,Montanaon May7,2009attheageof92. in The Cell, a classic cell biology text that features all the major cell structures [1], andwasauthorofseveraleditionsofBloom and Fawcett: A Textbook of Histology , the definitivehistologytextbooktogenerations ofstudents[2]. Fawcett,electedasthefirstpresidentof the newly formed American Society for Cell Biology in 1961, described the early daysofelectronmicroscopyas‘‘filledwith the same excitement and anticipation of discoverythatattendstheopeningupofa newcontinentforgeographicexploration. Every tissue and organ studied revealed beauty and order in its organization that wehadnotimagined’’[3]. Fawcettwasbornin1917onafarmin Iowa,wherehisfatherandgrandfatherhad raised purebred sheep and cattle until his father’s poor health forced the family to leavethefarmandmovetoBoston,where Fawcett’sfathermanagedasuccessfulwool business. Fawcett attended high school at the famous Boston Latin School. Upon graduation, he matriculated at Harvard College, followed by Harvard Medical School,whereheconnectedwithAnatomy ProfessorGeorgeWislocki.‘‘Istoleasmuch timeasIcouldfrommycourseworktodo independent research on projects that included studies on the vascular bundles of aquatic mammals, and the amedullary bonesofthemanatee,’’herecalled. While in college, Fawcett illustrated a bookonathleticbandagingthathadbeen written by the football team’s physician. Thismayhavebeenhisonlycontribution asanillustrator;hislaterandmorewidely popular books were illustrated by Sylvia Colla