Historical Records of Australian Science 

About: Historical Records of Australian Science is an academic journal published by CSIRO Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Memoir & Obituary. It has an ISSN identifier of 0727-3061. Over the lifetime, 486 publications have been published receiving 1765 citations.

J.D. Hooker, George Bentham, Asa Gray and Ferdinand Mueller on Species Limits in Theory and Practice: A Mid-Nineteenth-Century Debate and Its Repercussions.

Abstract: The most active centres of [systematic] work at the moment are, however, to be found in our own country, in the United States, and in Russia And the reason is, in each case, no doubt the same The enormous area of the earth's surface over which each country holds sway brings to them a vast amount of material which peremptorily demands discussion (Thistleton-Dyer) I have no doubt of the full and entire correctness of the principles you work on; and the Kew Floras and the Gen Plantarum will more than anything else, determine the public botanical opinion and mode of working for the next generation (Asa Gray to J D Hooker)

Duboisia myoporoides: The Medical Career of a Native Australian Plant

Abstract: Alkaloids derived from solanaceous plants were the subject of intense investigations by European chemists, pharmacologists and clinicians in the second half of the nineteenth century. Some surprise was expressed when it was discovered in the 1870s that an Australian bush, Duboisia myoporoides, contained an atropine-like alkaloid, 'duboisine'. A complicated and colourful history followed. Duboisine was adopted in Australia, Europe and the United States as an alternative to atropine as an ophthalmologic agent; shortly afterwards, it was also esteemed as a potent sedative in the management of psychiatric patients, and as an alternative to other solanaceous alkaloids in the treatment of parkinsonism. The Second World War led to renewed interest in Duboisia species as sources of scopolamine, required for surgical anaesthesia and to manage sea-sickness, a major problem in the naval part of the war. As a consequence of the efforts of the CSIR and of Wilfrid Russell Grimwade (1879-1955), this led to the establishment of plantations in Queensland that today still supply the bulk of the world's raw scopolamine. Following the War, however, government support for commercial alkaloid extraction waned, and it was the interest of the German firm Boehringer Ingelheim and its investment in the industry that rescued the Duboisia industry in the mid-1950s, and that continues to maintain it at a relatively low but stable level today. 'It is to be regretted that scientific men in this colony have paid so little attention to the subject of Medicinal Botany. Surrounded, as we are, by shrubs and plants possessing medicinal properties, there is a wide field for investigation; and, no doubt, it will be found in time to come, that we have been sending to distant countries for expensive medicines, whilst remedies equally efficacious might be provided close at hand in all their native freshness.' William Woolls, A Contribution to the Flora of Australia (1867), p. 94.

Bibliography of the History of Australian Science, No. 39, 2017/8

Abstract: Readers of this, the 40th bibliography, will note from the title that it covers material published in both 2017 and 2018. With the change in publication from June and December to January and July, there were inevitably a considerable number of items that could not be included in the previous bibliography: included here are publications issued between the latter part of 2017 and September of the following year, as well as some items from 2016 that, despite her best efforts, had managed to escape the attention of the compiler. The subject coverage is, as usual, Australia and its near neighbours (including Antarctica), and the natural and applied sciences in their broadest sense, from anthropology and astrophysics to zoology. In compiling the bibliography a large number of journals and websites are checked for citations to relevant articles, books and book reviews on subjects covered. Library resources were again most useful, particularly those at The University of Melbourne and the State Library of Victoria. The databases of the National Library of Australia and the National Library of New Zealand Te Papa Mātauranga O Aotearoa, also were invaluable in the pursuit of significant publications. The compiler ismost grateful to these readers and authorswho alerted her to new publications. Often those people are aware of sources unknown to the compiler. Thanks are also extended to colleagues at the eScholarship Research Centre at The University of Melbourne, especially Helen Morgan and Ailie Smith. Dr Monika Wells provided valuable assistance in casting her expert editorial eye over the draft. Readers are encouraged to send information on books, journal articles, conference papers, reports, theses and reviews published during 2018/9 for inclusion in the next bibliography. Please note that the documentation style of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science (http://www.eoas.info/) has been used in this bibliography to facilitate the subsequent use of the entries in the encyclopedia.