Between 1968 and 1978, the historian of science Horace Freeland Judson conducted extensive oral history interviews with biochemists and molecular biologists relating to the development of their field. The correspondence, transcripts of interviews, and taped interviews that comprise the Judson collection formed the research material used by Judson in his book, The Eighth Day of Creation (New York, 1979). Permission to quote must be obtained from Dr. Judson and access to some files is restricted.

The James V. Neel Papers document nearly every phase of the career of one of the founders of human population genetics in the United States. Neel was particularly thorough and organized, and retained virtually all of his significant scientific correspondence, committee reports, minutes of meetings, and drafts of manuscripts. The collection also includes data collected during Neel's work among the Xavante, Yanomanö and other indigenous populations. In a career that spanned the period from the late work of Thomas Hunt Morgan and Charles B. Davenport to the contemporary world of molecular genetics and nucleic acids, Neel knew, worked with, and corresponded with many of the most influential 20th century practitioners of genetics. The collection begins in earnest in 1943, after Neel had decided to focus on human genetics. Neel's work with Drosophila and none of his Drosophila manuscripts are found in the collection.