[Local species, the market, and transportation in embryological research: the study of polyembryony in armadillos in the early twentieth century].
The article examines the general affirmation that communication networks and mobility are important to science by examining how these factors played a relevant role in one specific case, that is, research on the embryology of certain species of armadillos in the early twentieth century. As we show, access to pregnant females of the species and transport time from the wild to the laboratory were significant issues in the early days of such research. The strategies used to obtain field samples, the temporality of certain phenomena, the commercial circuits of which the organisms under study were a part, and the transformations they underwent in the laboratory all afford a glimpse at some aspects of how these scientists approached their work and what problems they faced in producing new knowledge.
García
Susana V
SV
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Conicet), Archivo Histórico del Museo de Ciencias Naturales/Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. garcia_su@yahoo.com.ar
D000818:Animals; D001135:Armadillos / Q000196:embryology*; D003142:Communication / Q000266:history; D004626:Embryology / Q000266:history*; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D011247:Pregnancy; D012106:Research / Q000266:history; D014186:Transportation / Q000266:history*; D015046:Zoology / Q000266:history