We were asked to look at a timeline that laid out the history of the land that UBC sits on and relate it to the history of biology. I looked at the timeline and some of the years really jumped out at me. 1914, for example. 1914 was the year UBC construction began. In high school, we are taught that 1914 is when WWI starts, an events that displays human nature at its worst. It’s actually amazing to think that 3 years prior in 1911, Thomas Hunt Morgan described that genes are arranged on a chromosome. We never look back at history but it’s really cool to think that more than a 100 years ago this idea came to light. And so much has been discovered since then. Thomas Hunt Morgan can be considered a pioneer and to think his discoveries came around the same time as WWI. I think it’s a perfect example of how much positivity and negativity exists within the human potential.

In 1937, Hans Krebs discovered the citric acid cycle, something that is an inherent part of our cellular physiology. Two years later, WWII broke out, the worst display of human nature known in history. It’s just really amazing to think that around the time that human history is going through the worst wars ever known, there is advancement being made in other areas. Some advancements were bad but most of them has made a positive impact on our lives somehow or another. It’s just really interesting to look at it from that perspective.