Of Humans, Humanoids, and Viroids: 1. Problem Child to Budding Scientist

Theodor Otto Diener is a renowned expert in Plant Virology, the study of virus- and viroid-infected plants. His many scientific contributions culminated in 1971 with the discovery and characterization of the previously mysterious cause of an infectious potato disease -- generally presumed to be a virus -- as, instead, a short strand of ribonucleic acid devoid of a protein coat. His work generated intense interest in the scientific community because, according to then prevailing thought, such a disease agent was not supposed to exist. Dr. Diener named the novel agent a viroid, and, by now, more than two dozen plant diseases have been identified as being viroid-incited and viroidology has become recognized as a distinct specialty of plant pathology. Here, Diener vividly describes how his unruly childhood, early development of a skeptical mind, and of fiercely independent thinking -- engendered by both familial and extra-familial influences -- have laid the groundwork for his maturing into the type of scientist ideal for attacking difficult, seemingly unsolvable scientific problems. At the same time, Diener provides the reader -- in his uniquely engaging and exciting style -- with many, often surprising, personal insights into various aspects of European culture before and during World War II -- at desperate times, when the very existence of his homeland, Switzerland, was in grave doubt and when, by necessity, periods of study alternated with service in his country's defense forces. In a second volume (in preparation), Dr. Diener will describe his life in the USA; his initial difficulty of obtaining suitable employment in his field, and eventual fulfillment of his wildest dreams, by being able to perform exciting, fundamental biological research and thereby to contribute to last century's amazing revolution in biology.