In the trenches with Viktor Hamburger and Rita Levi-Montalcini (1965-1974): one student's perspective

A Conversation with Rita Levi-Montalcini

There are very few proven theories that exist in biology. One that has stood the test of time is the neurotrophic theory. It explains why only half of the neurons produced early in development are needed to form a functional nervous system. The explanation came from the discovery of nerve growth factors (NGFs), which help nourish neurons, guide their axons to their proper connections, and prevent cell death. Rita Levi-Montalcini, who formulated this idea, celebrated her 100th birthday on April 22, 2009 in Rome. I had the opportunity to interview her at the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) in September 2008, which forms the basis of this article. Shortly after the interview, Rita attended the International NGF meeting, held in the Upper Galilee region of Israel (Kfar Blum, Israel). Despite her age, she traveled to the meeting by flying to Tel Aviv and taking a 4-h car ride to the conference site. Remarkably, she participated in the meeting by giving a 30-min talk and sponsoring a poster (see Figure 1 ).

Chance, creativity, and the discovery of the nerve growth factor

This essay analyzes the history of the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) discovery, relating some of the principles of the theory of scientific creativity to the cognitive and personal qualities of the scientists that participated in the discovery, particularly Rita Levi-Montalcini and Viktor Hamburger. The discovery of NGF is especially attractive for the history of science as it involves chance, luck, creativity, and some extraordinary scientists.

A pact with the embryo: Viktor Hamburger, holistic and mechanistic philosophy in the development of neuroembryology, 1927-1955

Viktor Hamburger was a developmental biologist interested in the ontogenesis of hte vertebrate nervous system. A student of Hans Spemann at Freiburg in the 1920s, Hamburger picked up a holistic view of the embryo that precluded him from treating it in a reductionist way; at the same time, he was committed to a materialist and analytical approach that eschewed any form of vitalism or metaphysics. This paper explores how Hamburger walked this thin line between mechanistic reductionism and metaphysical vitalism in light of his work on the factors influencing growth of neurons into limb buds, and the discovery of nerve growth factor, work carried out with Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen.