Laboratory of Neurobiology, Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2024 Mar;210(2):167-188. doi: 10.1007/s00359-023-01622-0. Epub 2023 May 9.
The Journal of Comparative Physiology A was founded in 1924 as the Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie by Karl von Frisch and Alfred Kühn. Given the marginalization of women in science at that time, it is remarkable that the first article in the Journal was authored by a female scientist, Ruth Beutler. Throughout her scientific career, she was affiliated with the Zoological Institute of the University of Munich, which, under the leadership of von Frisch, evolved into a world-class academic institution. Despite chronic health problems, Beutler was one of the first women who succeeded in obtaining the Habilitation as qualification for appointment to a professorial position. She was also one of the first scientists who applied methods from physiological chemistry to the study of zoological phenomena. Yet, for many years she was employed as a technician only, and she was never appointed to an Ordinarius (tenured full professorship) position. Her most important contributions to comparative physiology outside her own area of research were her support for, and protection of, Karl von Frisch, particularly during the Nazi era when he, as a 'quarter-Jew,' faced imminent threat of forced retirement; and after World War II, when her efforts as interim Ordinarius were instrumental in re-building the bombed-out Zoological Institute to persuade Karl von Frisch to return to Munich. It was also one of her observations that prompted him to revisit, and revise, his earlier (incorrect) model of how honeybees communicate, through their dances, the direction and distances of food sources from the hive.
《比较生理学杂志 A》创刊于 1924 年，原名《Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie》，由卡尔·冯·弗里希（Karl von Frisch）和阿尔弗雷德·屈恩（Alfred Kühn）创立。考虑到当时女性在科学界处于边缘化地位，令人瞩目的是，该杂志的第一篇文章是由一位女性科学家露丝·贝特勒（Ruth Beutler）撰写的。在她的整个科学生涯中，她一直隶属于慕尼黑大学的动物学研究所，该研究所由冯·弗里希领导，逐渐发展成为世界一流的学术机构。尽管她长期健康状况不佳，但贝特勒是第一批成功获得教授职位资格的女性之一。她也是第一批将生理学化学方法应用于动物学现象研究的科学家之一。然而，多年来，她一直只是一名技术员，从未被任命为正教授（终身教授）职位。她在比较生理学领域之外对自己研究领域的最重要贡献是支持和保护卡尔·冯·弗里希，特别是在纳粹时期，作为一个“四分之一犹太人”，他面临着被强制退休的迫在眉睫的威胁；以及第二次世界大战后，她作为临时正教授的努力，有助于重建被炸毁的动物学研究所，说服卡尔·冯·弗里希回到慕尼黑。也是她的一个观察结果促使他重新审视并修改了他早期（错误的）蜜蜂通过舞蹈传达食物源方向和距离的模型。
