Theodor Boveri

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Theodor Heinrich Boveri (October 12, 1862 – October 15, 1915) was a German biologist whose work with sea urchins showed that it was necessary to have all chromosomes present in order for proper embryonic development to take place. His other discovery was the centrosome (1888), which he described as the 'especial organ of cell division.' He also reasoned that a cancerous tumor begins with a single cell in which the make up of the chromosomes is srcambled causing the cells to divide uncontrollably. It has only been in this century that leading researchers have come to believe that Boveri may have been right.