Department of Natural Sciences, Mercy College , Dobbs Ferry, NY, USA.
Plant Signal Behav. 2021 Jan 2;16(1):1818030. doi: 10.1080/15592324.2020.1818030. Epub 2020 Dec 4.
Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose, India's first modern biologist departed boldly from mainstream botany by claiming that plants possess "nerves" and "pulsating cells" that function respectively much like the nerve and heart cells of animals. These ideas were based on highly sensitive measurements he made of various plant functions by means of assorted ingenious instruments of his own design. Despite being the most internationally celebrated plant biologist of the early 20 century, by the end of his life, Bose had become a scientific pariah whose work was expunged from Western histories of plant biology for nearly a century. In the 21 century, Bose's contributions to biology have begun to be appreciated anew, particularly within the plant neurobiology community. The present contribution examines the motivating factors behind the anti-Bose camp in the United States in the 1920s. It is concluded that the opposition to Bose's ideas during this period had less to do with scientific dialectics than with jealousy over Bose's international acclaim and the prevailing racism of the era.
印度第一位现代生物学家贾格迪什·钱德拉·鲍斯爵士大胆地背离主流植物学，声称植物拥有“神经”和“搏动细胞”，它们分别与动物的神经和心脏细胞功能相似。这些观点基于他通过自己设计的各种巧妙仪器对各种植物功能进行的高度敏感测量。尽管他是 20 世纪初最受国际赞誉的植物生物学家，但在他生命的尽头，鲍斯已经成为科学界的弃儿，他的作品几乎被西方植物生物学史抹去了近一个世纪。在 21 世纪，鲍斯对生物学的贡献开始重新受到赞赏，特别是在植物神经生物学领域。本贡献考察了 20 世纪 20 年代美国反鲍斯阵营的动机因素。得出的结论是，这一时期反对鲍斯观点的原因与其说是科学辩证法，不如说是对鲍斯国际声誉的嫉妒以及当时盛行的种族主义。
