Carsten Bresch

Carsten Bresch (born September 5, 1921) is a German physicist, geneticist and professor emeritus at the University of Freiburg.

Biography

Carsten Bresch was born in Berlin, 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.

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, of life and of 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 will come out in June 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 (appears in June) 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

Weblinks

• Literature by and about Carsten Bresch in the German National Library catalogue
• AGEMUS in der DNB
• 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)