Living Matter Under the Microscope: Protoplasm Theory, “wissenschaftliche Mikroskopie,” and the Molecularization of Cell Structure, 1840–1940

• Applicant: Dr. Daniel Liu
• Subject Area: History of Science
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 463389772

From the 1860s to the 1940s protoplasm theory existed alongside cell theory and Darwinian evolution as one of the three core theoretical foundations of modern biology. During this period biologists of all sorts were unanimous in identifying protoplasm—the moving, reactive, and metabolizing part of the cell—as “living matter” and the material substrate of life itself. The objectives of the proposed project are:1. Reconstruct the history of protoplasm theory’s development, decline, and impact on the life sciences; 2. Situate the history of cell and protoplasm theory in the technical and social history of “wissenschaftliche Mikroskopie” as the latter developed into an independent, auxiliary science in the German-speaking lands; and 3. Show how protoplasm theory and microscopy were important routes through which theories and methods in the physical sciences were brought into the life sciences, therefore laying the groundwork for post-WWII molecular and structural biology.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants