David Miller
Chair, History and Archives; Hon. Research Fellow, University of Glasgow

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.100.5

It has been a fascinating privilege to guest edit the 100^th edition of Physiology News. The strange interest we have in ‘round’ numbers encourages both retrospective and prospective views of the Society and its now well-established membership rag.

What better place to start than Tilli Tansey’s article ‘Hundreds and Thousands’? This year, The Society has celebrated 100 years since the first election of women to membership. Tilli relates that this milestone is complemented by the round-number fact that The Society had previously also completed its 1000^th meeting.

Helga Groll has compiled a thought-provoking article exploring women as science writers and popularisers through the ages. Appropriately, Lesley Anson brings us up-to-date by describing her own career in science editing and publishing.

More round numbers? Amongst women physiologists active at the time of that first election, read the compelling story of Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald by Martha Tissot van Patot. Mabel only became a member in the year of her 100^th birthday when the Society belatedly recognised a major oversight.

I invited philosopher John Dupré to write a piece on his stimulating work to understand living systems as having a ‘process’ ontology. I was struck that his recent work encapsulates our discipline; physiology seen as ‘how the body works’. But, as you will see, John reveals that there is no proper distinction between ‘the body’ and ‘the works’ – a fascinating new insight into that well-worn phrase ‘form and function’.

John’s philosophy surely marries with Denis Noble’s championing of the emerging central role for physiology in evolutionary and ‘systems’ biology. Denis reports his recent visit to China: it confirms his ambassadorship for the discipline in research and teaching.

PN’s real Editor, Roger Thomas, has done some fine detective work to track down the first issue of PN. It was preserved thanks to Bob Banks’ squirrel-like document storage habit. Coincidentally, Bob’s own work has just been celebrated upon his recent retirement.

Author sequence can be something of a battleground in the scramble to ‘publish or die’ in research science. Even Roger Thomas’ trawl for PN1 reached Bob Banks in part due to alphabetic considerations – he had sent emails out only to members with surnames beginning with A or B! Richard Boyd’s sparkling article drills into the arguments behind alphabetical author listing that held sway with The Journal for many years. Personally, I find AV Hill’s case from the 1920s and 30s is still compelling now – and charmingly expressed.

Beyond features focused on PN100, you will find our regular articles on meetings, the membership, Physiology Feeds and the rest. On the Letters page, Richard Naftalin addresses the recent controversy around our Honorary Member, Sir Tim Hunt.

The Editorial Board hope Physiology News continues to provide a convenient and attractive place for The Society to report on its doings, its policies, programmes and people. Articles reflect the broad sweep of physiological science itself as well as the women and men who sustain the discipline through their research, teaching and scholarship. Keep reading and writing and PN200 will surely be here soon…