A New Home for Science and Discovery
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Insight from the Sociology of Science
CHAPTER 7 INSIGHT FROM THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE Science is What Scientists Do It has been argued a number of times in previous chapters that empirical adequacy is insufficient, in itself, to establish the validity of a theory: consistency with the observable ‘facts’ does not mean that a theory is true,1 only that it might be true, along with other theories that may also correspond with the observational data. Moreover, empirical inadequacy (theories unable to account for all the ‘facts’ in their domain) is frequently ignored by individual scientists in their fight to establish a new theory or retain an existing one. It has also been argued that because experi- ments are conceived and conducted within a particular theoretical, procedural and instrumental framework, they cannot furnish the theory-free data needed to make empirically-based judgements about the superiority of one theory over another. What counts as relevant evidence is, in part, determined by the theoretical framework the evidence is intended to test. It follows that the rationality of science is rather different from the account we usually provide for students in school. Experiment and observation are not as decisive as we claim. Additional factors that may play a part in theory acceptance include the following: intuition, aesthetic considerations, similarity and consistency among theories, intellectual fashion, social and economic influences, status of the proposer(s), personal motives and opportunism. Although the evidence may be inconclusive, scientists’ intuitive feelings about the plausibility or aptness of particular ideas will make it appear convincing. The history of science includes many accounts of scientists ‘sticking to their guns’ concerning a well-loved theory in the teeth of evidence to the contrary, and some- times in the absence of any evidence at all. -
The Joys and Burdens of Our Heroes 12/05/2021
More Fun Than Fun: The Joys and Burdens of Our Heroes 12/05/2021 An iconic photo of Konrad Lorenz with his favourite geese. Photo: Willamette Biology, CC BY-SA 2.0 This article is part of the ‘More Fun Than Fun‘ column by Prof Raghavendra Gadagkar. He will explore interesting research papers or books and, while placing them in context, make them accessible to a wide readership. RAGHAVENDRA GADAGKAR Among the books I read as a teenager, two completely changed my life. One was The Double Helix by Nobel laureate James D. Watson. This book was inspiring at many levels and instantly got me addicted to molecular biology. The other was King Solomon’s Ring by Konrad Lorenz, soon to be a Nobel laureate. The study of animal behaviour so charmingly and unforgettably described by Lorenz kindled in me an eternal love for the subject. The circumstances in which I read these two books are etched in my mind and may have partly contributed to my enthusiasm for them and their subjects. The Double Helix was first published in London in 1968 when I was a pre-university student (equivalent to 11th grade) at St Joseph’s college in Bangalore and was planning to apply for the prestigious National Science Talent Search Scholarship. By then, I had heard of the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA and its profound implications. I was also tickled that this momentous discovery was made in 1953, the year of my birth. I saw the announcement of Watson’s book on the notice board in the British Council Library, one of my frequent haunts. -
Biology Powerhouse Raises Railway Alarm
NEWS IN FOCUS to enrol all participants by 2018. Certain factors make researchers optimis- tic that the British study will succeed where the US one failed. One is the National Health Service, which provides care for almost all pregnant women and their children in the United Kingdom, and so offers a centralized means of recruiting, tracing and collecting medical information on study participants. In the United States, by contrast, medical care is provided by a patchwork of differ- ent providers. “I think that most researchers in the US recognize that our way of doing population-based research here is simply different from the way things can be done in the UK and in Europe, and it will almost always be more expensive here,” says Mark Klebanoff, a paediatric epidemiologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Colum- bus, Ohio, who was involved in early dis- cussions about the US study. The Francis Crick Institute sits at the nexus of three central London railway hubs. At one stage, US researchers had planned to knock on doors of random houses looking URBAN SCIENCE for women to enrol before they were even pregnant. “It became obvious that that wasn’t going to be a winning formula,” says Philip Pizzo, a paediatrician at Stanford University Biology powerhouse in Palo Alto, California, who co-chaired the working group that concluded that the National Children’s Study was not feasible. raises railway alarm “The very notion that someone was going to show up on your doorstep as a representa- tive from a government-funded study and Central London’s Francis Crick Institute fears that proposed say ‘Are you thinking of getting pregnant?’ train line will disrupt delicate science experiments. -
Discovery of DNA Structure and Function: Watson and Crick By: Leslie A
01/08/2018 Discovery of DNA Double Helix: Watson and Crick | Learn Science at Scitable NUCLEIC ACID STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION | Lead Editor: Bob Moss Discovery of DNA Structure and Function: Watson and Crick By: Leslie A. Pray, Ph.D. © 2008 Nature Education Citation: Pray, L. (2008) Discovery of DNA structure and function: Watson and Crick. Nature Education 1(1):100 The landmark ideas of Watson and Crick relied heavily on the work of other scientists. What did the duo actually discover? Aa Aa Aa Many people believe that American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick discovered DNA in the 1950s. In reality, this is not the case. Rather, DNA was first identified in the late 1860s by Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher. Then, in the decades following Miescher's discovery, other scientists--notably, Phoebus Levene and Erwin Chargaff--carried out a series of research efforts that revealed additional details about the DNA molecule, including its primary chemical components and the ways in which they joined with one another. Without the scientific foundation provided by these pioneers, Watson and Crick may never have reached their groundbreaking conclusion of 1953: that the DNA molecule exists in the form of a three-dimensional double helix. The First Piece of the Puzzle: Miescher Discovers DNA Although few people realize it, 1869 was a landmark year in genetic research, because it was the year in which Swiss physiological chemist Friedrich Miescher first identified what he called "nuclein" inside the nuclei of human white blood cells. (The term "nuclein" was later changed to "nucleic acid" and eventually to "deoxyribonucleic acid," or "DNA.") Miescher's plan was to isolate and characterize not the nuclein (which nobody at that time realized existed) but instead the protein components of leukocytes (white blood cells). -
Bloomsbury Scientists Ii Iii
i Bloomsbury Scientists ii iii Bloomsbury Scientists Science and Art in the Wake of Darwin Michael Boulter iv First published in 2017 by UCL Press University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Available to download free: www.ucl.ac.uk/ ucl- press Text © Michael Boulter, 2017 Images courtesy of Michael Boulter, 2017 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Non-derivative 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work for personal and non-commercial use providing author and publisher attribution is clearly stated. Attribution should include the following information: Michael Boulter, Bloomsbury Scientists. London, UCL Press, 2017. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787350045 Further details about Creative Commons licenses are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ ISBN: 978- 1- 78735- 006- 9 (hbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 78735- 005- 2 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 78735- 004- 5 (PDF) ISBN: 978- 1- 78735- 007- 6 (epub) ISBN: 978- 1- 78735- 008- 3 (mobi) ISBN: 978- 1- 78735- 009- 0 (html) DOI: https:// doi.org/ 10.14324/ 111.9781787350045 v In memory of W. G. Chaloner FRS, 1928– 2016, lecturer in palaeobotany at UCL, 1956– 72 vi vii Acknowledgements My old writing style was strongly controlled by the measured precision of my scientific discipline, evolutionary biology. It was a habit that I tried to break while working on this project, with its speculations and opinions, let alone dubious data. But my old practices of scientific rigour intentionally stopped personalities and feeling showing through. -
Cambridge's 92 Nobel Prize Winners Part 2 - 1951 to 1974: from Crick and Watson to Dorothy Hodgkin
Cambridge's 92 Nobel Prize winners part 2 - 1951 to 1974: from Crick and Watson to Dorothy Hodgkin By Cambridge News | Posted: January 18, 2016 By Adam Care The News has been rounding up all of Cambridge's 92 Nobel Laureates, celebrating over 100 years of scientific and social innovation. ADVERTISING In this installment we move from 1951 to 1974, a period which saw a host of dramatic breakthroughs, in biology, atomic science, the discovery of pulsars and theories of global trade. It's also a period which saw The Eagle pub come to national prominence and the appearance of the first female name in Cambridge University's long Nobel history. The Gender Pay Gap Sale! Shop Online to get 13.9% off From 8 - 11 March, get 13.9% off 1,000s of items, it highlights the pay gap between men & women in the UK. Shop the Gender Pay Gap Sale – now. Promoted by Oxfam 1. 1951 Ernest Walton, Trinity College: Nobel Prize in Physics, for using accelerated particles to study atomic nuclei 2. 1951 John Cockcroft, St John's / Churchill Colleges: Nobel Prize in Physics, for using accelerated particles to study atomic nuclei Walton and Cockcroft shared the 1951 physics prize after they famously 'split the atom' in Cambridge 1932, ushering in the nuclear age with their particle accelerator, the Cockcroft-Walton generator. In later years Walton returned to his native Ireland, as a fellow of Trinity College Dublin, while in 1951 Cockcroft became the first master of Churchill College, where he died 16 years later. 3. 1952 Archer Martin, Peterhouse: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for developing partition chromatography 4. -
Programme Final (1).Pages
BSHS Postgraduate Conference 2015 Programme !1 The British Society for the History of Science is a company limited by guarantee: registration number 562208 and charity number 258854. BSHS Executive Secretary PO Box 3401, Norwich NR7 7JF (+44) 01603516236 Email: offi[email protected] Webpage: www.bshs.org.uk © 2014, British Society for the History of Science !2 BSHS POSTGRADUATE CONFERENCE UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies 7 – 8 – 9 JANUARY 2015 The Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London welcomes you to the BSHS Postgraduate Conference 2015! This event is an annual conference for postgraduate scholars in the history, philosophy and sociology of science, technology and medicine interested in meeting and sharing research with other postgraduate scholars. This is a great opportunity to build professional and social networks within a supportive and constructive environment. We had an outstanding response for paper submissions and postgraduate attendance, and we are looking forward to an extraordinary conference this year. Thank you for your contribution! Sincerely, BSHS Postgraduate Conference 2015 Committee Elizabeth Jones Raquel Velho Erman Sozudogru !3 " !4 Blue: Grey: Yellow: Grant Museum of Zoology UCL Roberts Building Holiday Inn Bloomsbury 21 University Street Torrington Place Coram Street London WC1E 6DE London WC1E 7JE London WC1N 1HT CONFERENCE INFORMATION Webpage: http://www.bshs.org.uk/conferences/postgraduate-conference/2015- postgraduate-conference-ucl Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BSHS.PG.15 -
Introduction and Historical Perspective
Chapter 1 Introduction and Historical Perspective “ Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. ” modified by the developmental history of the organism, Theodosius Dobzhansky its physiology – from cellular to systems levels – and by the social and physical environment. Finally, behaviors are shaped through evolutionary forces of natural selection OVERVIEW that optimize survival and reproduction ( Figure 1.1 ). Truly, the study of behavior provides us with a window through Behavioral genetics aims to understand the genetic which we can view much of biology. mechanisms that enable the nervous system to direct Understanding behaviors requires a multidisciplinary appropriate interactions between organisms and their perspective, with regulation of gene expression at its core. social and physical environments. Early scientific The emerging field of behavioral genetics is still taking explorations of animal behavior defined the fields shape and its boundaries are still being defined. Behavioral of experimental psychology and classical ethology. genetics has evolved through the merger of experimental Behavioral genetics has emerged as an interdisciplin- psychology and classical ethology with evolutionary biol- ary science at the interface of experimental psychology, ogy and genetics, and also incorporates aspects of neuro- classical ethology, genetics, and neuroscience. This science ( Figure 1.2 ). To gain a perspective on the current chapter provides a brief overview of the emergence of definition of this field, it is helpful -
Calling Time the Nation’S Drinking As a Major Health Issue
Calling Time The Nation’s drinking as a major health issue 12 250 10 200 8 150 6 100 4 50 to income Price relative 2 Litres of alcohol per person aged 15+Litres 0 0 1960 1964 1968 1970 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 A report from the Academy of Medical Sciences With support from March 2004 The independent Academy of Medical Sciences promotes advances in medical science and public health and campaigns to ensure these are translated as quickly as possible into benefits for society. The Academy’s 750 Fellows are the United Kingdom’s leading medical scientists from hospitals, academia, industry and the public service. The aims of the Academy are to: • give national and international leadership in the medical sciences; • promote the application of research to the practice of medicine and to the advancement of human health and welfare; • promote the aims and ethos of medical sciences with particular emphasis on excellence in research and training; • enhance public understanding of the medical sciences and their impact on society; • assess and advise on issues of medical science of public concern. The Academy of Medical Sciences was established in 1998 following the recommendations of a working group chaired by Sir Michael Atiyah, Past President of the Royal Society. There is an elected Council of 22 Fellows that includes the five Officers of the Academy: President Sir Keith Peters, FRS, PMedSci Vice-President (Clinical) Lord Turnberg, FMedSci Vice-President (Non-clinical) Sir John Skehel, FRS, FMedSci Treasurer Sir Colin Dollery, FMedSci Registrar Professor Patrick Vallance, FMedSci The Academy is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. -
Uclpartners Academic Health Science Partnership
UCLPartners academic health science partnership Professor the Lord Ajay Kakkar, Chair, UCLPartners Professor Sir David Fish, Managing Director, UCLPartners Dr Charlie Davie, Director of UCLPartners AHSN Clare Panniker, Chief Executive, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust What is UCLPartners? Six million population 23 healthcare organisations acute and 11 higher education institutes mental health trusts; community providers and research networks 20 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) Industry partnerships in research and 26 boroughs and local councils translation of innovation into health and wealth 2 Local Enterprise Partnership – key challenge • Working with the London Enterprise Panel, established by the Mayor of London • Professor Stephen Caddick, Vice Provost (Enterprise), UCL, is the only academic representative on the Panel • Key challenges of the panel: to compete with Boston and San Francisco; improve access to the NHS market to increase venture capital • How UCLPartners is contributing: working with industry to co-create technology and devices; creating long-term partnerships with industry and giving confidence to entrepreneurs, e.g. through new business models and procurement initiatives • Other areas of joint working: MedCity, Care City, London Health Commission, three London AHSNs and preparing to enable the success of the Francis Crick Institute 3 Defragmenting the pathway – an integrated journey to transform healthcare through innovation into practice Bringing together formal designations under -
2021 Phd Projects and Supervisory Teams Doctoral Fellowships for Clinicians
2021 PhD projects and supervisory teams Doctoral Fellowships for Clinicians The role of “persistent PAMPs” in the cytokine storm and ARDS during severe COVID-19 and highly pathogenic influenza infection. Supervisory team: David Bauer (primary supervisor, Crick) and Mahdad Noursadeghi (UCL). Inflammation associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Supervisory team: Rupert Beale (primary supervisor, Crick) and Wendy Barclay (Imperial College London) Effect of acute myeloid leukaemia on normal haematopoiesis. Supervisory team: Dominique Bonnet (primary supervisor, Crick) and David Taussig (The Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Marsden) Investigation and modelling of multiple myeloma pathogenetic evolution. Supervisory team: Dinis Calado (primary supervisor, Crick), Richard Houlston (The Institute of Cancer Research) and Martin Kaiser (The Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Marsden) TGF-b family ligands as potential therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer. Supervisory team: Caroline Hill (primary supervisor, Crick) and Debashis Sarker (King’s College London) Development of multisynaptic tracing technologies to target and manipulate disease- relevant neural circuits. Supervisory team: Johannes Kohl (primary supervisor, Crick), Andrew Murray (UCL) and Rickie Patani (Crick/UCL) Human Cell Atlas: single-cell transcriptomics of vitiligo. Supervisory team: Nicholas Luscombe (primary supervisor, Crick), Magnus Lynch (King’s College London) and John Ferguson (King’s College London) Structural and biochemical analysis of Salmonella effector functions and their interaction with host proteins. Supervisory team: Katrin Rittinger (primary supervisor, Crick), Teresa Thurston (Imperial College London) and Rupert Beale (Crick) Developing new viral vectors for in vivo gene therapy. Supervisory team: Sam Rodriques (primary supervisor, Crick), Matthew Walker (UCL) and Rob Brownstone (UCL) Identifying and functionally characterising non-coding drivers of renal cancer evolution. -
Science & Policy Meeting Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz Science in The
SUMMER 2014 ISSUE 27 encounters page 9 Science in the desert EMBO | EMBL Anniversary Science & Policy Meeting pageS 2 – 3 ANNIVERSARY TH page 8 Interview Jennifer E M B O 50 Lippincott-Schwartz H ©NI Membership expansion EMBO News New funding for senior postdoctoral In perspective Georgina Ferry’s enlarges its membership into evolution, researchers. EMBO Advanced Fellowships book tells the story of the growth and ecology and neurosciences on the offer an additional two years of financial expansion of EMBO since 1964. occasion of its 50th anniversary. support to former and current EMBO Fellows. PAGES 4 – 6 PAGE 11 PAGES 16 www.embo.org HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EMBO|EMBL ANNIVERSARY SCIENCE AND POLICY MEETING transmissible cancer: the Tasmanian devil facial Science meets policy and politics tumour disease and the canine transmissible venereal tumour. After a ceremony to unveil the 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of EMBO, the 45th anniversary of the ScienceTree (see box), an oak tree planted in soil European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), the organization of obtained from countries throughout the European member states who fund EMBO, and the 40th anniversary of the European Union to symbolize the importance of European integration, representatives from the govern- Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). EMBO, EMBC, and EMBL recently ments of France, Luxembourg, Malta, Spain combined their efforts to put together a joint event at the EMBL Advanced and Switzerland took part in a panel discussion Training Centre in Heidelberg, Germany, on 2 and 3 July 2014. The moderated by Marja Makarow, Vice President for Research of the Academy of Finland.