Carsten Bresch
Encyclopedia
Carsten Bresch is a German physicist
, geneticist
and professor emeritus at the University of Freiburg
(Faculty of Biology).
, Germany
. He studied physics and in 1947 he was one of the first students of Max Delbrück
in postwar Berlin. Since 1949, he worked as an assistant at the reestablished Max-Planck-Institute for Physical Chemistry (today Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry), where he introduced bacteriophages as an object of study in the genetics
.
In 1958, Bresch went from Göttingen to the university of Cologne, where he prepared the foundation of a Genetics-Institute by order of Max Delbrück and the botany professor Joseph Straub. After the completion Bresch, Delbrück, Walther Harm, Peter Starlinger as well as the nucleic acid
chemist Ulf Hennig moved into the Institute.
In 1965, Bresch left the institute, in order to lead the Biology Division of Southwest Center for Advanced Studies (SCAS) in Dallas, Texas. Since 1968, Bresch had held the chair for genetics at the University of Freiburg. At the same time he was the leader of the "Zentrallabor für Mutagenitätsprüfung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft" (Central Laboratory of Mutagenicity of the German Research Foundation).
His main scientific work area was the genetics of bacteriophages. Bresch is the author of the book "Classical and Molecular Genetics", which was considered as the international definitive book of genetics for many years. In addition to his research –and teaching activities he got involved with interdisciplinary subjects concerning theology and natural science.
All natural phenomena derived from the basic principle of increasing integration, which leads to higher integrated and thus more complex forms. Based on Teilhard de Chardin he distinguishes three stages of evolution: the evolution of matter, life, mind and culture. At this point he ask the question, whether the evolution has came to an end or will go beyond? He is convinced, that evolution will overlap ourselves and end in a last destination called point omega. "Thus the book is a seminal contribution for a new world view of modern man, who is at a loss with the meaning of life." (From the blurb of "Zwischenstufe Leben", München 1977, Piper Verlag).
Bresch's Book "Zwischenstufe Leben" represents a scientific description of Teilhard de Chardin´s universal and theological evolutionary concept.
His new book Evolution appeared in November 2010.
As editor:
Other:
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, geneticist
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
and professor emeritus at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
(Faculty of Biology).
Biography
Carsten Bresch was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He studied physics and in 1947 he was one of the first students of Max Delbrück
Max Delbrück
Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück was a German-American biophysicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Delbrück was born in Berlin, German Empire...
in postwar Berlin. Since 1949, he worked as an assistant at the reestablished Max-Planck-Institute for Physical Chemistry (today Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry), where he introduced bacteriophages as an object of study in the genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
.
In 1958, Bresch went from Göttingen to the university of Cologne, where he prepared the foundation of a Genetics-Institute by order of Max Delbrück and the botany professor Joseph Straub. After the completion Bresch, Delbrück, Walther Harm, Peter Starlinger as well as the nucleic acid
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
chemist Ulf Hennig moved into the Institute.
In 1965, Bresch left the institute, in order to lead the Biology Division of Southwest Center for Advanced Studies (SCAS) in Dallas, Texas. Since 1968, Bresch had held the chair for genetics at the University of Freiburg. At the same time he was the leader of the "Zentrallabor für Mutagenitätsprüfung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft" (Central Laboratory of Mutagenicity of the German Research Foundation).
His main scientific work area was the genetics of bacteriophages. Bresch is the author of the book "Classical and Molecular Genetics", which was considered as the international definitive book of genetics for many years. In addition to his research –and teaching activities he got involved with interdisciplinary subjects concerning theology and natural science.
Work
Bresch's book "Zwischenstufe Leben – Evolution ohne Ziel?" (life as an intermediate stage – evolution without intention) was much discussed and is his ideological main work. In this book he attempt to develop perspectives for the future of mankind based on secure evolutionary knowledge.All natural phenomena derived from the basic principle of increasing integration, which leads to higher integrated and thus more complex forms. Based on Teilhard de Chardin he distinguishes three stages of evolution: the evolution of matter, life, mind and culture. At this point he ask the question, whether the evolution has came to an end or will go beyond? He is convinced, that evolution will overlap ourselves and end in a last destination called point omega. "Thus the book is a seminal contribution for a new world view of modern man, who is at a loss with the meaning of life." (From the blurb of "Zwischenstufe Leben", München 1977, Piper Verlag).
Bresch's Book "Zwischenstufe Leben" represents a scientific description of Teilhard de Chardin´s universal and theological evolutionary concept.
His new book Evolution appeared in November 2010.
Books
As author:- Klassische und molekulare Genetik. Berlin: Springer, 1964 ISBN 3540058028 (3rd extended edition 1972)
- Zwischenstufe Leben. Evolution ohne Ziel? München: Piper, 1977. ISBN 3492022707
- Des Teufels neue Kleider. München: TR-Verlagsunion, 1978 ISBN 3805809034
- Evolution. Stuttgart: Schattauer, 2010 ISBN 3794527577
As editor:
- AGEMUS - Rundbrief: Arbeitsgemeinschaften Evolution, Menschheitszukunft und Sinnfragen. Freiburg 1981 bis 1983
- Kann man Gott aus der Natur erkennen? Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1990 ISBN 3451021250
- Gut und Böse in der Evolution. Naturwissenschaftler, Philosophen und Theologen im Disput. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel, 1995 ISBN 3804714234
Other:
- 1974 Zum Problem des Phasenwechsel der Evolution. In: Acta Teilhardiana 11. S. 47-52.
- 1978 Evolution – der Mensch, wie er ist, als Zwischenstufe: Ein Interview mit Prof. Carsten Bresch. In: Herder-Korrespondenz 32. S 286-293.
- 1978 Was ist Evolution? In: Böhme, Wolfgang (Hrsg.): Zufall und Gesetz des Lebens. Karlsruhe: Evangelische Akademie Baden (Herrenalber Texte, Bd. 9). S. 11-33.
- 1978 Evolution – Fragen der Energie und Information. In: Erdoel-Erdgas-Zeitschrift 94. S. 349-356.
- 1978 Das Ende der biologischen Evolution. In: Jahreshefte der Gesellschaft für Naturkunde in Württemberg 133. S. 5-13.
- 1979 Das sadistische Kohlenstoffatom: Rezension zu Richard Dawkins. In: Biologie in unserer Zeit 9. S. 30-32.
- 1979 Die Menschheit an der zweiten Schwelle der Evolution. In: Schatz, Oskar (Hrsg.) Hoffnung in der Überlebenskrise. Graz: Styria (Salzburger Humanismusgespräche 9). S. 44-61.
- 1979 Leben. In: Seidler, Eduard (Hrsg.): Wörterbuch medizinischer Grundbegriffe. Eine Einführung in die Heilkunde in 86 Artikeln. Freiburg: Herder. S. 184-186.
- 1980 Von der Möglichkeit, Sinn und Ziel der Entwicklung zu erkennen. In: Schlemmer, Johannes (Hrsg.): Glauben als Bedürfnis. Beiträge zum menschlichen Selbstverständnis. Frankfurt am Main: Ullstein.
- 1980 Muster und Evolution. In: Gesellschaft für Klassifikation e.V. (Hrsg.): Wissensstrukturen und Organisationsmuster. Proceedings der 4. Fachtagung der Gesellschaft für Klassifikation e.V. Salzburg vom 16.-19. April 1980. Frankfurt: Indeks Verlag. (Studien zur Klassifikation Bd. 9). S. 109-113.
- 1981 Evolutionäre Ursachen und Perspektiven der Kulturkrise. In: Paus, Ansgar (Hrsg.): Kultur als christlicher Auftrag heute. Kevelaer: Butzon & Becker. Vorlesungen der Salzburger Hochschulwochen. S. 171-195.
- 1981 Die Rolle der Sprache im Gesamtbild der Evolution. In: Nova Acta Leopoldina N.F. 54. S. 747-752.
- 1981: Das Ungeheuer unter den Papiertigern oder die außerordentliche wissenschaftliche Rolle der Soziobiologie. In: Schatz, Oskar (Hrsg.): Brauchen wir eine andere Wissenschaft? Graz: Styria. (Salzburger Humanismusgespräche 10). S. 173-180.
- 1981 Vom Würfeln, das kein Glücksspiel war. In: Piper, Klaus (Hrsg.): Lust am Denken. Ein Lesebuch aus Philosophie, Natur- und Humanwissenschaften 1947-1981. München. Piper. S. 25-34.
- 1981 Soziobiologie – Egoismus um die Ecke? In. Agemus-Rundbrief September 1981. S. 11-20.
- 1982 Zur evolutionären Begründung des Pazifismus. In: Agemus-Rundbrief, Sonderheft 1982. S. 3-10.
- 1982 Nachruf auf Joachim Illies. In: Agemus-Rundbrief Juni 1982. S. 25-26.
- 1982 Der Disput mit Arthur E. Wilder-Smith. Schöpfung und/oder Evolution. In: Agemus-Rundbriefe 1982-1984 sowie factum 1983-1985 und factum-Sonderdruck 506
- 1983 Evolution aus Alpha-Bedingungen, Zufalls-Türmen und Systemzwängen. In: Riedl, Rupert J./Kreuzer, Franz (Hrsg.): Evolution und Menschenbild. Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe. S. 22-39.
- 1984 Das Ende der biologischen Evolution. In. Frau und Kultur 87, Heft 3. S. 6-8.
- 1985 Können wir neue Menschen werden? Zur evolutionären Begründung des Pazifismus. In: Mensch, Natur, Gesellschaft. Zeitschrift zur internationalen wissenschaftlichen und kulturellen Verständigung 2. S. 30-33.
- 1986 Evolutionslehre und Schöpfungsglaube. In: Diakonia 17. S. 230-240.
- 1987 What is Evolution? In: Andersen, Svend/Peacocke, Arthur (Hrsg.): Evolution and Creation. A European Perspective. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. S. 36-57.
- 1988 Was ist Evolution? In: Böhme, Wolfgang (Hrsg.): Evolution und Gottesglaube. Ein Lese- und Arbeitsbuch zum Gespräch zwischen Naturwissenschaft und Theologie. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. S. 31-54.
- 1992 Evolution und Fremdenangst. In: Isak, Rainer (Hrsg.): Wir und die Fremden. Entstehung und Abbau von Ängsten. Freiburg: Katholische Akademie der Erzdiözese Freiburg.
External links
- Dr. Hans Bremer: About the origins of Molecular Biology and of our Department at UTD This article is about the scientific lifework of Carsten Bresch.
- Carsten Bresch: Evolution - Kluft und Brücke zwischen Glauben und Wissen (Evolution - gap and bridge between faith and knowledge) (1981, Podcast)