2009 marked the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, the 150th anniversary of ‘On the Origin of Species’, and publication of the 100th volume of the Journal of Heredity. First published as the American Breeders Magazine in 1910, the journal changed its name to the Journal of Heredity (volume 5) when the Society changed its name to the American Genetic Association in 1914. The Journal of Heredity is now the longest continuously published journal devoted to the ‘new science’ that arose from Darwin’s theory of evolution and Gregor Mendel’s discoveries of the laws of inheritance.
At its inception, the Journal sought to communicate the principles of heredity to both animal and plant breeders, with an emphasis on practical improvements. In its early years, the Journal was inevitably drawn into the debate over human breeding or eugenics and included articles on this topic by David Starr Jordan, Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Davenport, among others. Members of the American Genetic Association who have registered their subscription with My Account have full electronic access to the complete archive of the Journal of Heredity, including these early issues. A perusal of this archive provides a unique perspective on advances over the last 100 years in the science of genetics, as well as changes in the emphasis of the American Genetic Association and the role of science in society at large. The primary scope of the Journal has evolved along with these advances, shifting away from practical applications of animal, plant and human breeding, toward a focus on primary research in organismal genomics and evolutionary diversity.
Issue 100(1) of the Journal of Heredity is free online at
http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/
To become a member of the AGA and subscribe to a full year of the Journal, visit
http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/jhered/access_purchase/price_list.html
A full year’s membership including 6 issues of the Journal is only US$67, Emeritus and Student rates are $20. |
