Paul Kammerer

KAMMERER, Paul (1880–1926), a prominent Austrian biologist. He committed suicide. He studied at the University of Vienna (1899–1904) and worked at the Vienna Institute of Biology from its very inception. From his earliest works, Kammerer dedicated himself to studying the problem of the inheritance of acquired characteristics and the influence of external conditions on the organism. He performed a number of works, of which the most significant are: the experimental modification of the conditions and methods of reproduction in the fire salamander (1907); the experimental modification of the instinct of parental care in the midwife toad (1909); and the modification of coloration and pattern in salamanders under the influence of the habitat substrate and humidity (1913). In all these works, Kammerer maintained that he succeeded in achieving the hereditary fixation of traits and features caused by changes in external conditions. The beginning of Kammerer's work dates back to the period of the early steps of genetics, the doctrine of pure lines, etc. Therefore, his work often lacks the precautions now required (variability and genotypic features of the experimental material, accounting for the influence of unconscious selection, etc.) for a precise proof of the appearance and hereditary behavior of new formations. All of Kammerer's main experiments aroused great interest and at the same time distrust. They were repeatedly replicated and tested. The verification experiments intensified the atmosphere of distrust toward Kammerer's experiments. In 1923, Kammerer left the Institute of Biology, where he had constantly worked, and made a tour of Europe and America, giving lectures and reports. In America, he performed his last experimental work on the inheritance of the length of siphons in ascidians during regeneration (1923); this work soon prompted a verification study that proved Kammerer had failed to account for the influence of confounding factors. In 1926, Kammerer was invited to Moscow to establish a laboratory at the Communist Academy and replicate his experiments. In August 1926, the American biologist Noble published the results of histological and chemical analysis of a specimen of the midwife toad's nuptial pad, which served as physical evidence of Kammerer's experiments. In the pigmented pad, Noble discovered injected India ink instead of melanin. There is no reason to doubt Kammerer's innocence regarding the falsification. It can be assumed that the atmosphere of distrust and sometimes harassment against Kammerer's views was the cause of his suicide (1926). Although at present in all major manuals on biology and genetics Kammerer's experiments are presented as poorly substantiated, they played a major historical role because they contributed to the methodological and terminological clarification of one of the most complex problems in biology. Kammerer's socio-political views were distinguished by radicalism; Kammerer was one of the few scientists who openly and sharply protested against the World War. Kammerer wrote many monographs and popular science works. The most important of these are: The inheritance of acquired characteristics (N. Y., 1924); Neuvererbung oder Vererbung erworbener Eigenschaften (Stuttgart, 1925); Der Arten-Wandel auf Inseln und seine Ursachen (Lpz.–Wien, 1926). Published in Russian are: About Rejuvenation and the Prolongation of Personal Life (Moscow, 1922); Death and Immortality (Moscow–Leningrad, 1925); General Biology (Moscow–Leningrad, 1925); Sexual Reproduction and Fertility (Leningrad, 1927).