A Critical Analysis of the New Biology and the Biological Revolution: Their Impact - From Medicine to Evolution.

In this article, I critically analyze the impact of the new biology and the biological revolution. I argue that indiscriminate use of the words such as 'interdisciplinary,' 'integrative,' and 'revolution' has caused only confusion when applied to biology. The recent debate, especially after the expl...

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Publicado en:Biology Forum / Rivista di Biologia Vol. 103; no. 2/3; pp. 237 - 269
Autor principal: Dev, Sukhendu B.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Fabrizio Serra Editore May-Dec2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: A Critical Analysis of the New Biology and the Biological Revolution: Their Impact - From Medicine to Evolution.
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        au: Dev, Sukhendu B.
        affil: Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine Oxford University, 45-47 Banbury Rd, Oxford OX2 6PE
      su:
        Biology
        Molecular biology
        Genes
        DNA
        RNA
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        subj:
          Biology
          Molecular biology
          Genes
          DNA
          RNA
      keyword:
        Biological Revolution
        Evo-devo
        Integrative
        Interdisciplinary
        New Biology
      ab: In this article, I critically analyze the impact of the new biology and the biological revolution. I argue that indiscriminate use of the words such as 'interdisciplinary,' 'integrative,' and 'revolution' has caused only confusion when applied to biology. The recent debate, especially after the exploding field of systems biology, has brought back the controversy whether molecular biology is reductionist or holistic. I look at the issues involved critically. I discuss the problem of defining the word 'gene' and argue that recent attempts to redefine the central dogma of molecular biology about the information flow from DNA to RNA to protein are not justified. I support my view with comments from the scientist who discovered RNA splicing. Several aspects of evo-devo, a new branch of biology, are discussed. I give examples from this evolution-developmental biology to show how some of Darwin's inspired guesses have had resounding victory when it was found that specific genes during embryonic development of the Galapagos finches decided the size and shape of their beaks. I discuss the recent publications which show that the conditions in the island, such as wet to dry to wet season, can bring about evolutionary changes from year to year. Thus it is essential to monitor both short and long-term evolutionary changes to get the full picture of evolution.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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      custom: Copyright of Biology Forum / Rivista di Biologia is the property of Fabrizio Serra Editore and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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