Remembering mike bedford (21.5.1932-24.2.2018)

[...]he was one of the few investigators I know that have always compared and analyzed his observations in numerous species arriving to conclusions that might explain many of the interesting changes in both the gamete design and the fertilization strategies during evolution. [...]he mentioned to me in his last message of January 10, 2018, that he had just finished a mini review on The Tail of the Epididymis for BOR, which would probably be "his last sermon," he said. Since Cornell was in the midst of an excellent IVF success rate, we took the plunge and Mike facilitated all the arrangements for us to come up and stay in NYC for 3 weeks. The icons of reproductive biology of the day were also common visitors to his lab, and I was often lucky enough to be invited into Mike's apartment across the corridor from mine for gin and tonics (with half a squeezed lime!) to meet these icons on his balcony in Sutton Terrace apartments. Besides learning electron microscopy, various surgical techniques, how to extract sperm from the epididymis, and flush eggs from rabbits, rats, and hamsters, Mike also insisted for a couple of weeks each year that I accompany him to the anatomy dissection room to learn how to teach the pelvis.