
Historical Research on Model Organisms in Biology
a workshop at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
April 22nd - April 24th, 2018
A Short History of Quantitative Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Posted on March 2, 2015 by adamsiepel
In my spare time, I enjoy reading about the history of science, and since arriving at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory last August, I have been particularly interested in the role of CSHL in the history of genetics and molecular biology. I have been especially struck by the large number of prominent quantitative biologists who have been affiliated with the Laboratory, in one way or another, and I thought it would be useful to draft a short history focused on quantitative biology at CSHL.
The Double Helix was published February 26, 1968. Half a century after the publication, Roger Highfield from the Science Museum, London looks at why this book is still relevant today. Read about it in the Science Museum blog.
The CSHL Library and Archives contains a large trove of original materials germane to the events described in The Double Helix, including items from the James D. Watson, Francis Crick, Sydney Brenner, and many other collections. Please visit our Digital Archives.
International Catalog of the History of the HGP
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year initiative to sequence the billions of individual bases of human DNA. Despite the landmark nature of the project, there was never any effort to preserve, collect or organize the documentary record of scientists’ work in six countries: this historical documentation lay scattered in archives and other collections in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and China.
In 2009, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory began working with The Wellcome Trust to change this. The International Catalog of the History of the Human Genome Project seeks to fill a large gap for historians and other scholars researching the HGP. The project will create a catalog of the original materials that came out of sequencing the human genome: correspondence, lab notes, photographs, papers, grant applications, oral history interviews, and other files.
For the first time, all the relevant materials documenting the history of the HGP will be identified, organized, and catalogued for the public. The website for the International Catalog of the History of the Human Genome Project is available at genomelegacy.org.
NIH will now allow Preprints in Progress Reports and Grant Applications
The NIH has announcedthat it will now allow Investigators to cite their interim research products (Preprints, software etc) in Progress Reports, Grant Applications, and Proposals.
The NIH recommends that Investigators use pre-print repositories that are robust and allow the pre-prints to be easily findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.
A good example of such a repository is biorxiv.org
For more information the NIH guidance can be found here
Reporting Preprints and Other Interim Research Products

A new demand-driven ebook platform is available from the CSHL Library! ProQuest EBook Central provides CSHL researchers and staff an easy way to discover and read a vast collection of scientific and technical books from leading publishers. You are able to easy discover books of interest and can read the full text of any book for 5 minutes. If you decide that the book is worthwhile, simple request the book directly on the website, and your reqest will be processed by a CSHL Librarian.
For details on using the EBook Central, we have a Ebook Central LibGuide.
A major undertaking by the CSHL Library & Archives, the "The Human Genome Project: An Annotated & Interactive Scholarly Guide to the Project in the United States" is now available as an online guide and a downloadable E-Book. The editor is Kevin Davies.
Authors Rights and Copyright
Understanding your rights as an author and copyright this important for all scientists from graduate students to PI's.
If you would like to learn more about this subject visit our new Author Rights and Copyright page or Libguide.
If you would like to talk to someone about this please contact the Library via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Library Chat, phone or in person