Muller

MULLER Hermann Joseph (Hermann Joseph Muller, born 1890), a prominent American geneticist, professor at the University of Texas in Austin. Published a series of studies on genetics starting from 1911. M. is one of the most outstanding representatives of the school of T. H. Morgan. Biology is indebted to M. for the brilliant discovery of the possibility of causing mutations in germ cells by the action¹ of X-rays (see). M. visited the USSR in 1922; this visit played a significant role in the development of genetics in our country, as M. brought cultures of Drosophila mutations to the USSR for the first time, thereby laying the foundation for research work in the direction of the Morgan school. Since September 1933, he has been working at the Institute of Genetics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In addition to specialized works, he wrote: "The mechanism of crossing-over" (American naturalist, v. L, 1916); "The mechanism of Mendelian heredity" (N. Y., 1915; together with T. Morgan et al.); "Out of the night", (N. Y., 1936). In Russian, the following articles by M. have been published: "Results of genetic research on Drosophila" (Usp. exp. biol., vol. I, issues 3-4, 1923), "Eugenics under the conditions of capitalist society" (Usp. sovr. biol., vol. II, issue 3, 1933), etc.