H04061 SEPO4 NOTES AND QUERIES - 9/1/04 - HARDY FORUM ARCHIVES

HARDY AND THE GENOME

THE HARDY TREE

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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: Hardy and the Genome

Date: September 1, 2004 7:47:22 AM PDT

Hardy and the Genome?

Well, almost -- In *Jacob's Ladder: the History of the Human Genome* by Henry Gee (W.W.Norton & Co., 2004), a comparison is made between the nature of genomic networks and Hardy's *Tess.*

Henry Gee -- professor of ecology and evolution at St Andrews University -- makes this analogy. Just as Hardy sets the drama of Tess and Angel in "Wessex" so certain DNA molecules form a landscape within which genes operate. Had Hardy placed his characters in London or Los Angeles *Tess* would have been a completely different story. Genes do not act singly but in complex networks (Wessex). They intermesh biochemical pathways that form a tangled web of development just as Hardy's characters intersect within an environment that shapes certain directions. One pathway change can have many effects.

Hardy -- with his interest in genetics (The Family Face) -- would have found this all quite fascinating, don't you think?

Cheers,

Rosemarie

From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: Revision: Hardy and the Genome

Date: September 1, 2004 7:51:33 AM PDT

Revision to previous message:

Anne Magurran -- New York Times Reviewer-- is professor of ecology and evolution at St Andrews University. Not Henry Gee.

RM

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From: Rosemarie.morgan@yale.edu

Subject: Re: The Hardy Tree

Date: September 19, 2004 12:17:08 PM PDT

Greetings all --

The "Off the Cuff"theatre group in London has asked me to broadcast their project relating to The Hardy Tree in Old St. Pancras churchyard. So, in accord with their wishes, I have created a page called "The Hardy Tree" -- you will find it at:

http://www.yale.edu/hardysoc/updates.htm

With every good wish,

Rosemarie

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