In this episode of The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean talks about Hermann Muller, a geneticist who in the 1920s discovered that radiation causes genetic mutations. This discovery happened around the same time that other geneticists were starting to link cancer with genetic mutations. Had both of these parties communicated they would have gotten a 50-year head start in cancer research. So why didn't scientists make this realization sooner? It turns out that Muller was a real jerk.
CreditsHost: Sam Kean
Senior Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer
Episode 162: A Day in the Life - Noon
Episode 161: A Day in the Life - Morning
Episode 160: Teflon
Episode 159: Kean on Genes
Episode 158: The Alchemical Quest
Episode 157: Smoke and Mirrors
Episode 156: Hard to Stomach
Episode 155: Shipwrecks
Episode 154: Fast and Slow
Episode 153: Best Of Distillations #10
Episode 152: Best of Distillations #9
Episode 151: Tears
Episode 150: Sweat
Episode 149: Blood
Episode 148: Across the Pond
Episode 147: Babies
Episode 146: Something in the Air
Episode 145: Asbestos
Episode 144: Mystery of Mass (Spec)
Episode 143: Fairyland of Chemistry
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