Are there 'Kuhnian' revolutions in biology?
Article Abstract:
Thomas Kuhn's contribution to the philosophy of science was his book, 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,' where he opposed the traditional idea of 'scientific progress.' His idea had a favorable impact on the scientific community. However, since these were drawn from chemistry and physics, questions abound as to whether the Kuhnian revolution had an impact on biology as well. Analysis shows that scientific revolutions in biology, such as the Darwinian and Mendelian revolutions, fail to match the Kuhnian paradigm as it was able to reject an outmoded theory of scientific progress.
Publication Name: BioEssays
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0265-9247
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
What's in a (biological) term? ... Frequently, a great deal of ambiguity
Article Abstract:
Technical terms often take on new connotations with time, regardless of the precision of their original definition. As a consequence of these subtle changes, terms frequently become ambiguous and give rise to endless debates whenever they are applied. The field of developmental biology is particularly susceptible to this phenomenon, as seen in terms like 'embryonic determinant,' 'morphogen' and 'organizer.' To avoid such an occurence, researchers should always be careful in defining terms used in their publications and always use operational definitions.
Publication Name: BioEssays
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0265-9247
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
The FASBMB/SASBMB meeting, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Article Abstract:
The Federation of African Societies for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology held a joint meeting from Sep 30 to Oct 3, 1998. Highlights of the event include discussions on mass spectrometry applications in molecular biology, roles of swinging arms in catalysis in multifunctional enzyme complexes and developments in expanding protein structures databases.
Publication Name: BioEssays
Subject: Biological sciences
ISSN: 0265-9247
Year: 1999
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Hypothesis testing in evolutionary developmental biology: A case study from insect wings. The genetics of adaptive coat color in Gophers: coding variation at Mc1r is not responsible for dorsal color differences
- Abstracts: Cracking the egg: Molecular dynamics and evolutionary aspects of the transition from the fully-grown oocyte to embryo
- Abstracts: Expression of the actin gene family in embryos of the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus. Integrin alpha(sub v) subunit is expressed on mesodermal cell surfaces during amphibian gastrulation
- Abstracts: Phylogeny and evolutionary ecology of modern seaducks (Anatidae: Mergini). Morphometric comparison of skeletons of the Western Grebe complex Aechmophorus of the United States and Canada
- Abstracts: Symbiotic relationship of Thiothrix spp. with an echinoderm. Sorption of heavy metals to the filamentous bacterium Thiothrix strain A1