Michael Frederic Guyer (1874–1959) was an American

cytologist Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

and

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. Guyer was professor of zoology at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 1902, he independently discovered

Mendel's laws Mendelian inheritance (also known as Mendelism) is a type of biological inheritance following the principles originally proposed by Gregor Mendel in 1865 and 1866, re-discovered in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns, and later popularize ...

from the cytology of

spermatogenesis Spermatogenesis is the process by which haploid spermatozoa develop from germ cells in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. This process starts with the mitotic division of the stem cells located close to the basement membrane of the tubule ...

in pigeon hybrids. Between 1918 and 1924, Guyer with Elizabeth A. Smith performed experiments attempting to demonstrate

Lamarckism Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...

in which fowl serum antibodies for rabbit lens-protein were injected into pregnant

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s which resulted in defects in the eyes of some of their offspring that were inherited through eight generations. Their experiments were criticized and were not repeated by other scientists. Guyer was an

eugenicist Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

.Beetham, Margaret; Heilmann, Ann. (2004). ''New Woman Hybridities: Femininity, Feminism, and International Consumer Culture, 1880-1930''. Routledge. p. 254.

Publications

* ''Animal Micrology: Practical Exercises in Microscopical Methods'' (1906) * ''Laboratory Outlines for Physiology'' (1906) * ''Being Well-Born: An Introduction to Eugenics'' (1916) * ''Animal Micrology: Practical Exercises in Zoölogical Micro-Technique'' (1917) * ''Animal Biology'' (1937) * ''Speaking of Man: A Biologist Looks at Man'' (1942)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guyer, Michael F. 1874 births 1959 deaths American zoologists Cell biologists Lamarckism