Ancient DNA genomics and the renaissance of herbaria.

Herbaria are undergoing a renaissance as valuable sources of genomic data for exploring plant evolution, ecology, and diversity. Ancient DNA retrieved from herbarium specimens can provide unprecedented glimpses into past plant communities, their interactions with biotic and abiotic factors, and the genetic changes that have occurred over time. Here, we highlight recent advances in the field of herbarium genomics and discuss the challenges and opportunities of combining data from modern and time-stamped historical specimens. We also describe how integrating herbarium genomics data with other data types can yield substantial insights into the evolutionary and ecological processes that shape plant communities. Herbarium genomic analysis is a tool for understanding plant life and informing conservation efforts in the face of dire environmental challenges.

A global approach for natural history museum collections.

Integration of the world's natural history collections can provide a resource for decision-makers.

Entomological Reference Collection: 85 years of contributions to public health / Coleção Entomológica de Referência: 85 anos de contribuições à saúde pública

ABSTRACT The Department of Hygiene of the Faculty of Medicine of São Paulo (FMUSP), organized with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, became the Institute of Hygiene, with the inaugural class taught by Samuel Darling in 1918. The history of Public Health Entomology is mixed with that of the Institute itself, which became the Faculty of Hygiene and Public Health in 1945. Still in the 1930s, Paulo César de Azevedo Antunes and John Lane organized Public Health Entomology within the Medical Parasitology area of the then Institute of Hygiene. During this period, the entomology laboratory came to be recognized for its research in the systematics of hematophagous insects, as well as in the ecology, biology and behavior of vectors. The Entomological Reference Collection (CER) originated naturally from the research of Paulo César Antunes and John Lane and is a national and international heritage covering primary and secondary types of insect species that are of interest to public health. Over the years, it has been consolidated with the efforts of Augusto Ayroza Galvão, Renato Corrêa, José Coutinho, Nelson Cerqueira, Ernesto Rabello, Oswaldo Forattini and others. In its over eighty years of activities, CER has enabled the training of several scientists able to act in programs of surveillance and control of endemic diseases associated with insect vectors throughout Latin America, in addition to training taxonomists focused on insects of interest in Public Health. Researchers from other Brazilian institutes and abroad joined the entomology laboratory because of its importance and the research developed in it. The growing scientific production made it possible for entomological studies developed at the Faculty of Public Health (FSP) to gain international visibility, contributing to the development of disease prevention and epidemic control actions in the country.

RESUMO O Departamento de Higiene da Faculdade de Medicina de São Paulo (FMUSP), organizado com o apoio da Fundação Rockefeller, tornou-se o Instituto de Higiene, tendo a aula inaugural ministrada por Samuel Darling em 1918. A história da Entomologia de Saúde Pública confunde-se com a do próprio Instituto, que passou a ser a Faculdade de Higiene e Saúde Pública em 1945. Ainda na década de 1930, Paulo César de Azevedo Antunes e John Lane começam a organizar a Entomologia de Saúde Pública dentro da Parasitologia Médica, do então Instituto de Higiene. Durante esse período o laboratório de entomologia passou a ser reconhecido por suas pesquisas em sistemática de insetos hematófagos, bem como na ecologia, biologia e comportamento de vetores. A Coleção Entomológica de Referência (CER) originou-se naturalmente das pesquisas de Paulo César Antunes e John Lane e é um patrimônio nacional e internacional abrangendo tipos primários e secundários de espécies de insetos que apresentam interesse à saúde pública. No decorrer dos anos, consolidou-se com os esforços de Augusto Ayroza Galvão, Renato Corrêa, José Coutinho, Nelson Cerqueira, Ernesto Rabello, Oswaldo Forattini e outros. Em seus mais de oitenta anos de atividades, a CER possibilitou a formação de diversos cientistas aptos a atuar em programas de vigilância e controle de endemias associadas aos insetos vetores em toda a América Latina, além de formar taxonomistas voltados aos insetos de interesse em Saúde Pública. Pesquisadores de outros institutos brasileiros e do exterior juntaram-se ao laboratório de entomologia por conta de sua importância e das pesquisas nele desenvolvidas. A produção científica crescente possibilitou aos estudos entomológicos desenvolvidos na Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP) adquirirem uma visibilidade internacional, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento das ações de prevenções de doenças e controle de epidemias no país.

O Gabinete de Curiosidades da Universidade de Coimbra: uma proposta museológica e científica / The Cabinet of Curiosities at the University of Coimbra: a museological and scientific initiative

Resumo Os gabinetes de curiosidades constituem a origem do museu moderno. Na utopia da Wunderkammer existe a aspiração à convivência entre arte e ciência. Como docente do novo Curso de Philosofia Natural da Universidade de Coimbra (1772), Portugal contratou o naturalista italiano Domingos Vandelli, que transportou consigo uma coleção, com objetos do seu gabinete em Pádua, à qual anexou uma outra coleção, recolhida em Portugal (1764-1768), repositório ainda não tributário do paradigma naturalista de Lineu. É com fundamento na descrição dessas duas coleções que defendemos a relevante proposta - para a ciência e para a museologia - do Gabinete de Curiosidades do Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra, inaugurado em maio de 2022.

Abstract Cabinets of curiosities are the origin of modern museums. The utopia these Wunderkammer contain also includes aspirations for art and science to coexist. The Italian naturalist Domingos Vandelli was contracted as an instructor for the new course in natural philosophy at the University of Coimbra (1772), and brought objects from his own cabinet in Padua; he combined these with another collection mounted in Portugal (1764-1768), which did not yet conform to Linneus's naturalistic paradigm. Based on descriptions of these two collections, we defend the important initiative underway at the Cabinet of Curiosities at the University of Coimbra's Museum of Science, which was inaugurated in May 2022.

Coleção de modelos anatômicos do Museu da Pharmacia da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto / The anatomical model collection at the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto's Museum of Pharmacy

Resumo A Escola de Farmácia de Ouro Preto, fundada em 1839, foi a primeira da América Latina desvinculada de uma escola de medicina. No final do século XIX, contou com um acervo de modelos anatômicos franceses dos renomados Deyrolle, Dr. Auzoux e Vasseur-Tramod, muitos fabricados em cera ou papel machê. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo resgatar, identificar, higienizar, restaurar e expor os modelos. De unidades acadêmicas da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 17 modelos anatômicos foram resgatados e transferidos para o Museu da Pharmacia, onde receberam o devido tratamento. Os modelos em melhores condições foram expostos no museu formando parte da coleção de ensino do curso de farmácia de Ouro Preto.

Abstract The Ouro Preto School of Pharmacy was founded in 1839 and was the first pharmacy school in Latin America independent from a medical school. At the end of the nineteenth century, it had a collection of French anatomical models made by Deyrolle, Dr. Auzoux, and Vasseur-Tramod, many produced from wax or papier-mâché. This project involved recovering, identifying, cleaning, restoring, and exhibiting seventeen models found in various facilities from Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto. The models in good condition were exhibited in the Museum of Pharmacy (where this work was carried out) as part of the teaching collection for the Ouro Preto pharmacy course.

The dental prosthesis (removable and fixed) from the Colecção de Esqueletos Identificados Século XXI (CEI/XXI).

For identification of the unknown, the analysis of individualizing characteristics is a paramount procedure, which allows the reconciliation of antemortem with postmortem data. Worldwide, populations are commonly affected by tooth loss, leading to procedures of oral rehabilitation, such as dental prostheses. Although the potential of these devices for human identification is well known, the lack of marks or serial numbers as well as scarce systematic register on databases may difficult its use. The objective of this paper is to present and describe the cases with dentures and bridges of an identified osteological collection, the Colecção de Esqueletos Identificados Século XXI. All the individuals were macroscopically observed, and the cases presenting dental prostheses were registered. A total of thirty-one individuals (20 females; 11 males), ages 38 to 91 years, presented 49 dental prosthesis (removable or fixed), of various materials. The removable acrylic dentures (n = 42) were the most frequent. No identifying marks or production labels were found. This research reinforces two focal points: the value of studying and recognizing medical devices and their application for identification, and the relevance of identified skeletal collections for the advance of forensic science in the current multidisciplinary approach.

Machine learning approach to support taxonomic species discrimination based on helminth collections data.

BACKGROUND: There are more than 300 species of capillariids that parasitize various vertebrate groups worldwide. Species identification is hindered because of the few taxonomically informative structures available, making the task laborious and genus definition controversial. Thus, its taxonomy is one of the most complex among Nematoda. Eggs are the parasitic structures most viewed in coprological analysis in both modern and ancient samples; consequently, their presence is indicative of positive diagnosis for infection. The structure of the egg could play a role in genera or species discrimination. Institutional biological collections are taxonomic repositories of specimens described and strictly identified by systematics specialists. METHODS: The present work aims to characterize eggs of capillariid species deposited in institutional helminth collections and to process the morphological, morphometric and ecological data using machine learning (ML) as a new approach for taxonomic identification. Specimens of 28 species and 8 genera deposited at Coleção Helmintológica do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (CHIOC, IOC/FIOCRUZ/Brazil) and Collection de Nématodes Zooparasites du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris (MNHN/France) were examined under light microscopy. In the morphological and morphometric analyses (MM), the total length and width of eggs as well as plugs and shell thickness were considered. In addition, eggshell ornamentations and ecological parameters of the geographical location (GL) and host (H) were included. RESULTS: The performance of the logistic model tree (LMT) algorithm showed the highest values in all metrics compared with the other algorithms. Algorithm J48 produced the most reliable decision tree for species identification alongside REPTree. The Majority Voting algorithm showed high metric values, but the combined classifiers did not attenuate the errors revealed in each algorithm alone. The statistical evaluation of the dataset indicated a significant difference between trees, with GL + H + MM and MM only with the best scores. CONCLUSIONS: The present research proposed a novel procedure for taxonomic species identification, integrating data from centenary biological collections and the logic of artificial intelligence techniques. This study will support future research on taxonomic identification and diagnosis of both modern and archaeological capillariids.

New data about the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection (University of Coimbra, Portugal).

After the publication of the first article in 2014, 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection, housed in the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, has been growing. Currently, the collection is composed of 302 complete adult skeletons of both sexes, which means that in 5 years it has doubled. The collection consists mostly of elderly individuals, with only 12.25% of the individuals aged less than 61 years old. All individuals are Portuguese nationals who died between 1982 and 2012. Ninety individuals exhibit prostheses, other medical devices and signs of surgical procedures. Moreover, a sub-collection of experimentally burned skeletons is under development, and currently includes 56 individuals (18.54% of the collection). The 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection constitutes a fundamental tool for forensic anthropology research, including the development and validation studies of methods that focus on elderly individuals, as can be ascertained by the numerous scientific publications and academic scholarship that have been produced in previous years.

[Modelled Development. Practices of Human Embryology at Göttingen University in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century]. / Modellierte Individualentwicklung. Humanembryologische Praktiken an der Universität Göttingen in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts.

The Human Embryology Collection at the Centre of Anatomy Göttingen, created between 1942 and 1970, represents a unique interrelation of histological sectional series of human embryos and large-format physical models open to the public based on them. The collection was established long after the heyday of human embryology. It is also remarkable in another aspect: while usually models within the discipline are considered research objects, Göttingen embryologist Erich Blechschmidt (1904-1992) based his understanding on a pedagogical impetus. The article highlights the distinctive and unconventional features of Blechschmidt's undertaking against its disciplinary background. My focus lies on the two practices that are central to human embryology-collecting and modelling-, as well as the derived collection stocks. The special tension between individuality and universality that already characterized the process of their creation is also reflected in the later use of the collection. This tension allowed Blechschmidt to utilize the models in embryological research and anatomical teaching as well as in the broad social debate on abortion and the ethical status of human embryos.

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections of Genetic Heritage: The Legal, Ethical and Practical Considerations of a Dynamic Consent Approach to Decision Making.

Dynamic Consent (DC) is both a model and a specific web-based tool that enables clear, granular communication and recording of participant consent choices over time. The DC model enables individuals to know and to decide how personal research information is being used and provides a way in which to exercise legal rights provided in privacy and data protection law. The DC tool is flexible and responsive, enabling legal and ethical requirements in research data sharing to be met and for online health information to be maintained. DC has been used in rare diseases and genomics, to enable people to control and express their preferences regarding their own data. However, DC has never been explored in relationship to historical collections of bioscientific and genetic heritage or to contexts involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (First Peoples of Australia). In response to the growing interest by First Peoples throughout Australia in genetic and genomic research, and the increasing number of invitations from researchers to participate in community health and wellbeing projects, this article examines the legal and ethical attributes and challenges of DC in these contexts. It also explores opportunities for including First Peoples' cultural perspectives, governance, and leadership as a method for defining (or redefining) DC on cultural terms that engage best practice research and data analysis as well as respect for meaningful and longitudinal individual and family participation.

Awareness and use of biodiversity collections by fish biologists.

A survey of 280 fish biologists from a diverse pool of disciplines was conducted in order to assess the use made of biodiversity collections and how collections can better collect, curate and share the data they have. From the responses, data for how fish biologists use collections, what data they find the most useful, what factors influence the decisions to use collections, how they access the data and explore why some fish biologists make the decision to not use biodiversity collections is collated and reported. The results of which could be used to formulate sustainability plans for collections administrators and staff who curate fish biodiversity collections, while also highlighting the diversity of data and uses to researchers.

W Harry Archer's collection of Horace Wells letters are still available. A commentary on a new publication.

The definitive account of the life and work of Horace Wells, the dentist from Hartford, Connecticut, who experimented with nitrous oxide anesthesia in 1844, is that published by W Harry Archer for the centenary of Wells's work. A major source of original material was a collection of letters, by Wells and others, that Archer found in the house in Hartford, Vermont, in which Wells was born. In later support for Wells being better recognized for his role in the introduction of general anaesthesia, Richard J Wolfe and Leonard F Menczer published a collection of essays in 1994. However, their preparation was hampered by their (mis)understanding that the 'Archer' letters (which were lodged in the Pittsburgh University Library) were "missing", a belief which continued, but has been disproved by a new author. Before his death, John Bunker encouraged his anthropologist daughter, Emily, to continue a project he had been planning on the history of anesthesia, and the result is a new book, "Horace and Elizabeth: Love and Death and Painless Dentistry". First and foremost Ms Bunker has discovered that the Archer Letters are very much available, and has been greatly helped by the University of Pittsburgh Library in producing her book. She has used reproductions and transcriptions of the letters (some previously unpublished) and other contemporary documents to illustrate Wells's role in the great discovery. Some of the material, especially from before the 'Colton' demonstration of 1844 is remarkable; it is almost like hearing the story from Wells himself.

Museus, coleccionismo e viagens científicas em Portugal de finais de Setecentos / Museums, collecting and scientific voyages in late 18th Century Portugal

Este artigo centra-se no vasto e complexo processo científico e institucional ligado à recolha de artefactos e à formação de colecções científico-naturais, etnológicas e antropológicas, provenientes de vários espaços coloniais extra-europeus em Portugal durante a segunda metade do século XVIII. Faz ainda referência às instituições que albergaram estes materiais. Neste período em que a ciência era, por definição, útil e devia servir ao interesse público na prossecução do bem-estar, do progresso e da felicidade dos povos, os estudos produzidos tiveram como objectivo contribuir para um levantamento científico com pretensões enciclopedistas, destinado a produzir um conhecimento minucioso dos espaços imperiais através da identificação, recolecção e estudo das produções naturais e das "características físicas e morais" dos indígenas. A curiosidade científica que caracterizou os grupos sociais envolvidos neste processo permitiu a corporização dum conjunto de práticas que era pensado em Lisboa e implementado pelos vassalos da coroa em todo o império. Deste conjunto de práticas, quero destacar as viagens filosóficas, explorações científicas vocacionadas para a descrição física e económica dos territórios e para a inventariação dos recursos naturais, consideradas como instrumento de modernização política e administrativa do império numa altura em que a ciência e a técnica eram vistas como ferramentas imprescindíveis ao desenvolvimento do Estado Moderno

This article focuses on the vast and complex scientific and institutional process related to the collection of artefacts and the formation of scientific-natural, ethnological and anthropological collections from various extra-European colonial spaces in Portugal during the second half of the eighteenth century. It also addresses the institutions that housed these materials. In a period when science was, by definition, useful and should serve the public interest in the pursuit of welfare, progress and the happiness of peoples, scientific studies had the objective of contributing to a scientific survey with encyclopaedic pretensions of the imperial spaces through the identification, collection and study of the natural productions and the "physical and moral characteristics" of the natives. The scientific curiosity that characterized the social groups involved in this process allowed the embodiment of a set of practices that was thought in Lisbon and implemented by Portuguese subjects throughout the empire. From this set of practices, I would like to highlight the philosophical voyages, scientific explorations aimed at the physical and economic description of the territories and the inventory of natural resources, considered as an instrument of political and administrative modernization of the empire at a time when science and technology were considered as essential tools for the development of the Modern State

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Expedições científicas e colecionismo: dois exemplos no Brasil-Século XX / Scientific expeditions and collections: two examples in Twentieth Century Brazil

Este trabalho analisará o significado das coleções reunidas em duas séries de expedições científicas realizadas no Brasil, desde o início até meados do século XX. Em primeiro lugar, trata-se de analisar as coleções reunidas durante a chamada Comissão Rondon, na verdade, várias expedições, realizadas entre 1907 e 1915, no início do período republicano no Brasil, período fortemente marcado pelo pensamento positivista. Tinha o objetivo de demarcar estações telegráficas, criando intercomunicação entre os diversos Estados do País e destes com a capital federal e ou o mundo. Em segundo lugar serão consideradas as expedições lideradas pelo antropólogo Luiz de Castro Faria, durante as décadas de 1940 e 1950, no litoral do país, desde o Rio Grande do Sul, até a Bahia. Nesta série, será considerada ainda a conhecida expedição à Serra do Norte, no Mato Grosso, em 1938, cujo chefe foi Claude Lévi-Straus e da qual Castro Faria participou como representante do Museu Nacional e do Conselho de Fiscalização das Expedições Artísticas e Científicas. As coleções reunidas em ambas as séries de expedições destinaram-se ao Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro

This work will analyze the meaning of the collections gathered in two series of scientific expeditions carried out in Brazil from the early to the mid-twentieth century. First, it will present the collections gathered during the so-called Rondon Commission, that comprises, in fact, several expeditions held between 1907 and 1915 at the beginning of the republican period in Brazil, a period strongly marked by positivist thinking. The main objective was to construct telegraph lines in order to create intercommunication between the various States of the country and these with the federal capital and or the world. Second, it will approach the expeditions led by the anthropologist Luiz de Castro Faria, during the 1940s and 1950s, along the coast of the country, from Rio Grande do Sul to Bahia. Also, will be considered in this series, the well-known expedition to the Serra do Norte, in Mato Grosso, in 1938, whose head was Claude Lévi-Straus and of which Castro Faria participated as representative of the National Museum and of the Council of Inspection of the Artistic and Scientific Expeditions. The collections assembled in both series of expeditions were destined for the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro

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Nimuendajú, a Senhorita Doutora e os 'etnógrafos berlineses': rede de conhecimento e espaços de circulaçâo na configuraçâo da etnologia alemâ na Amazônia no início do século XX / Nimuendajú, Fräulein Doktor and the 'berliner ethnographers': network of knowledge and spaces of circulation in the configuration of German ethnology in the Amazon in the early 20th Century

O artigo analisa a participação da zoóloga alemã Emília Snethlage (1868-1929), pesquisadora e depois diretora do Museu Goeldi, em Belém, Brasil, na rede de conhecimento que se estabeleceu no início do século XX na região amazônica, destinada à investigação etnológica e à coleta de artefatos indígenas, e que teve, entre seus mais conhecidos atores, os alemães Theodor Koch-Grünberg (1872-1924) e Curt Nimuendajú (1883-1945). Ambos são reconhecidos pelo trabalho em prol dos povos indígenas do Brasil e pelo legado científico nos campos da antropologia, arqueologia e linguística. Menos conhecida, Snethlage teve, entretanto, decisiva participação na inserção de Nimuendajú no meio científico. A partir de uma extensa pesquisa em fontes documentais localizadas no Brasil e na Alemanha, demonstra-se que, no primeiro período em que Nimuendajú esteve vinculado ao Museu Goeldi, entre 1913 e 1921, Snethlage viabilizou suas primeiras expedições e publicações científicas, além de articular suas relações com museus e etnólogos alemães, incluindo aquele que viria a ser seu dileto amigo e interlocutor, Koch-Grünberg, de maneira a lhe permitir trabalhar também como coletor profissional

The article analyses the participation of the German zoologist Emilia Snethlage (1868-1929), researcher and later director of the Goeldi Museum, in Belém, Brazil, in the network of knowledge that was established in the early 20th century in the Amazonian region, aimed at ethnological research and to the collection of indigenous artifacts, and among its best known actors were Germans Theodor Koch-Grünberg (1872-1924) and Curt Nimuendajú (1883-1945). Both are recognized for working for the indigenous peoples of Brazil and for the scientific legacy in the fields of anthropology, archaeology and linguistics. Less well-known, Snethlage had, however, decisive participation in the insertion of Nimuendajú in the scientific environment. From an extensive research on documentary sources located in Brazil and Germany, it is shown that in the first period when Nimuendajú was linked to the Goeldi Museum between 1913 and 1921, Snethlage made possible his first expeditions and scientific publications, in addition to articulating his relations with German museums and ethnologists, including the one who would become his beloved friend and interlocutor, Koch-Grünberg, in order to allow him to work as a professional collector

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Las colecciones de restos humanos de la expedición del Pacífico y los museos españoles / Human remains collections of the Pacific Expedition and the Spanish Museums

La conocida como Expedición del Pacífico (1862-1866) fue la última de las grandes expediciones transoceánicas organizadas por España en el siglo XIX y está bien documentada gracias a los estudios de varios historiadores. Menos se ha trabajado sobre las vicisitudes posteriores a su llegada a España de los restos humanos y las colecciones etnográficas recopiladas durante el viaje. Además de otros restos óseos, fundamentalmente cráneos, se trajeron a España una serie de momias que fueron extraídas, junto con sus ajuares mortuorios, del sitio arqueológico de Chiu-Chiu (Bolivia, hoy Chile) por Manuel Almagro en 1864. El artículo se dedica a reconstruir en lo posible la historia de estas colecciones por distintos museos y los estudios que se llevaron a cabo a partir de ellas

The so-called Pacific Expedition (1862-1866) was the last of the great transoceanic expeditions organized by Spain in the nineteenth century and is well known thanks to the studies of several scholars. Less has been investigated on the vicissitudes after his arrival in Spain of the human remains and ethnographic collections gathered during the trip. In addition to other skeletal remains, mainly skulls, a series of mummies were brought to Spain, along with their grave goods, from the archaeological site of Chiu-Chiu (Bolivia, now Chile) by Manuel Almagro in 1864. This article is dedicated to reconstruct as thoroughly as possible the history of these collections in different museums and the studies that were undertaken on them

Ciencia en el Madrid del "no pasarán". La protección de las colecciones de Historia Natural y el Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Naturales durante la Guerra Civil / Science in No Pasarán Madrid. The protection of the collections of Natural History and the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Naturales during the Civil War (1936-1939)

Los edificios culturales y científicos de Madrid se vieron muy perjudicados por la guerra civil española (1936-1939). Madrid fue una ciudad asediada y bombardeada por los sublevados. En la capital se encontraban los más importantes museos, la Biblioteca Nacional y las principales instituciones científicas y de humanidades, en donde trabajaban los más relevantes investigadores de la época. A comienzos de la guerra tuvo lugar la incautación de bibliotecas y colecciones de ciencias naturales en palacios y edificios pertenecientes a aristócratas, financieros, personas contrarias a la República y colegios de religiosos. Los naturalistas del Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Naturales organizaron la conservación y protección de las colecciones biológicas, mientras que bombas y obuses impactaban en las instituciones científicas de la zona republicana

The cultural and scientific buildings of Madrid were severely damaged by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Madrid was a city besieged and bombed by the rebels. In the capital were the most important museums, the National Library and the main scientific and humanities institutions, where the most important researchers of the time worked. At the beginning of the war the confiscation of libraries and collections of natural sciences took place in palaces and buildings belonging to aristocrats, financiers, people opposed to the Republic and religious schools. The naturalists of the National Institute of Natural Sciences organized the conservation and protection of the biological collections, while bombs and howitzers fell on the scientific institutions of the republican zone

Científicos e intelectuales, una nueva cultura política: José Cuatrecasas y las colecciones de flora tropical / Scientists and intellectuals, a new political culture: José Cuatrecasas and the collections of tropical flora

Este trabajo quiere mostrar una faceta del papel desempeñado por el coleccionismo y las colecciones científicas en la formación de los naturalistas durante la Edad de Plata de la ciencia española. El objetivo es evidenciar que la Junta para Ampliación de Estudios, principal institución que impulsó ese proyecto, aspiraba a crear intelectuales con capacidad de participar en la gobernanza del país (una nueva cultura política). La JAE encarnó un proyecto científico racionalista que se oponía a las visiones más conservadoras, defensoras de una ciencia católica, en una lucha que no se restringía a la ciencia, sino que alcanzaba lo social, lo político y lo cultural. Para ello recurrimos a la biografía del botánico José Cuatrecasas partiendo del enfoque de una historia sociocultural de la ciencia y una historia de las ideas

This work aims to show a piece of the important role that collecting and scientific collections played in the training to become naturalist during the Silver Age of Spanish science (1900-1936). It attempts to show that the Junta para Ampliación de Estudios (JAE), the main institution that promoted such a modern scientific project, aspired to create an intellectual elite with the capacity to participate in the governance of the State (a new political culture). The JAE incarnated a rationalist scientific model that opposed the ultraconservative positions, which were defenders of a Catholic science. Both of them were involved in a struggle that was not only restricted to science, but it reached all social, political and cultural aspects of national living. This article takes the biography of the botanic José Cuatrecasas as starting point and its analysis will be processed from the sociocultural History of Science and the History of Ideas

Artifacts of the neurosciences: A resource guide to museums and collections.

Medical museums and collections care for important artifacts relating to the history of the neurosciences across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. This essay highlights the collections and galleries of greatest interest and worth a visit. It also provides a list of online directories of medical museums and bibliography of related publications.