Was Feyerabend a Popperian? Methodological issues in the History of the Philosophy of Science

For more than three decades, there has been significant debate about the relation between Feyerabend and Popper. The discussion has been nurtured and complicated by the rift that opened up between the two and by the later Feyerabend's controversial portrayal of his earlier self. The first part of the paper provides an overview of the accounts of the relation that have been proposed over the years, disentangles the problems they deal with, and analyses the evidence supporting their conclusions as well as the methodological approaches used to process that evidence. Rather than advancing a further speculative account of the relation based on Feyerabend's philosophical work or autobiographical recollections, the second part of the paper strives to clarify the problems at issue by making use of a wider range of evidence. It outlines a historical reconstruction of the social context within which Feyerabend's intellectual trajectory developed, putting a special emphasis on the interplay between the perceived intellectual identity of Feyerabend, Feyerabend's own intellectual self-concept, and the peculiar features of the evolving Popperian research group.     

The evolution of X chromosome inactivation in mammals: the demise of Ohno’s hypothesis?

Ohno’s hypothesis states that dosage compensation in mammals evolved in two steps: a twofold hyperactivation of the X chromosome in both sexes to compensate for gene losses on the Y chromosome, and silencing of one X (X-chromosome inactivation, XCI) in females to restore optimal dosage. Recent tests of this hypothesis have returned contradictory results. In this review, we explain this ongoing controversy and argue that a novel view on dosage compensation evolution in mammals is starting to emerge. Ohno’s hypothesis may be true for a few, dosage-sensitive genes only. If so few genes are compensated, then why has XCI evolved as a chromosome-wide mechanism? This and several other questions raised by the new data in mammals are discussed, and future research directions are proposed.     

Narrative and evidence. How can case studies from the history of science support claims in the philosophy of science?

A common method for warranting the historical adequacy of philosophical claims is that of relying on historical case studies. This paper addresses the question as to what evidential support historical case studies can provide to philosophical claims and doctrines. It argues that in order to assess the evidential functions of historical case studies, we first need to understand the methodology involved in producing them. To this end, an account of historical reconstruction that emphasizes the narrative character of historical accounts and the theory-laden character of historical facts is introduced. The main conclusion of this paper is that historical case studies are able to provide philosophical claims with some evidential support, but that, due to theory-ladenness, their evidential import is restricted.     

Wnt and lithium: a common destiny in the therapy of nervous system pathologies?

Wnt signaling is required for neurogenesis, the fate of neural progenitors, the formation of neuronal circuits during development, neuron positioning and polarization, axon and dendrite development and finally for synaptogenesis. This signaling pathway is also implicated in the generation and differentiation of glial cells. In this review, we describe the mechanisms of action of Wnt signaling pathways and their implication in the development and correct functioning of the nervous system. We also illustrate how a dysregulated Wnt pathway could lead to psychiatric, neurodegenerative and demyelinating pathologies. Lithium, used for the treatment of bipolar disease, inhibits GSK3β, a central enzyme of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Thus, lithium could, to some extent, mimic Wnt pathway. We highlight the possible dialogue between lithium therapy and modulation of Wnt pathway in the treatment of the diseases of the nervous system.     

Cys-tRNACys formation and cysteine biosynthesis in methanogenic archaea: two faces of the same problem?

Aminoacyl-tRNA (transfer RNA) synthetases are essential components of the cellular translation machinery as they provide the ribosome with aminoacyl-tRNAs. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthesis is generally well understood. However, the mechanism of Cys-tRNACys formation in three methanogenic archaea ( Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus and Methanopyrus kandleri) is still unknown, since no recognizable gene for a canonical cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase could be identified in the genome sequences of these organisms. Here we review the different routes recently proposed for Cys-tRNACys formation and discuss its possible link with cysteine biosynthesis in these methanogenic archaea.     

Grasping the spirit in nature: Anschauung in Ørsted's epistemology of science and beauty

The intersection between art, poetry, philosophy and science was the leitmotif which guided the lives and careers of romantic natural philosophers including that of the Danish natural philosopher, H. C. Ørsted. A simple model of Ørsted’s career would be one in which it was framed by two periods of philosophical speculation: the youth’s curious and idealistic interest in new attractive thoughts and the experienced man’s mature reflections at the end of his life. We suggest that a closer look at the epistemological aspects of his works on the theory of beauty reveals a connection between this late work and his early philosophical work including experimental philosophy, but also with the work in teaching and textbook writing, that lies in between. The latter includes Ørsted’s view on the application of mathematics in natural philosophy as well as his failed attempt at a genetic presentation of elementary geometry.     

Indoleamines and the UV-light-sensitive photoperiodic responses of the melanocyte network: a biological calendar?

The pineal, serotoninergic and pigmented neurons are associated with light-dependent sleep/arousal, serving as a biological clock with a circadian rhythm. This rhythm is maintained by melatonin which serves to recognise the dark phase. The neural network that responds to seasonal variations in day/night length has not been identified. The present study demonstrates that melanocytes in human skin respond to changes in the duration of UV exposure, and can serve as a biological calendar. These responses are mediated by two indoleamines, serotonin and melatonin. Higher melatonin levels correspond to long nights and long days (short UV pulse), while high serotonin levels in the presence of melatonin reflect short nights and long days (long UV exposure). This response recapitulates the sleep/arousal patterns in animals exposed to large variations in day/night cycle that cause changes in coat colour from pure white in winter to complete repigmentation in summer.     

Epigenetic dysregulation of brainstem nuclei in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease: looking in the correct place at the right time?

Even though the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains unknown, it is suggested that an interplay among genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors is involved. An increasing body of evidence pinpoints that dysregulation in the epigenetic machinery plays a role in AD. Recent developments in genomic technologies have allowed for high throughput interrogation of the epigenome, and epigenome-wide association studies have already identified unique epigenetic signatures for AD in the cortex. Considerable evidence suggests that early dysregulation in the brainstem, more specifically in the raphe nuclei and the locus coeruleus, accounts for the most incipient, non-cognitive symptomatology, indicating a potential causal relationship with the pathogenesis of AD. Here we review the advancements in epigenomic technologies and their application to the AD research field, particularly with relevance to the brainstem. In this respect, we propose the assessment of epigenetic signatures in the brainstem as the cornerstone of interrogating causality in AD. Understanding how epigenetic dysregulation in the brainstem contributes to AD susceptibility could be of pivotal importance for understanding the etiology of the disease and for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.     

Natural selection and the ‘antiquity of man’: Intellectual impacts in the Australian colonies

Two months before the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859), Scottish geologist Charles Lyell announced a consensus on ‘the antiquity of man.’ Although stemming from separate intellectual traditions, human antiquity and natural selection had such a powerful influence on nineteenth century science that the former is often thought to be an inevitable conceptual and chronological consequence of the latter. Various scholars have argued it was in fact the acceptance of human antiquity that provided a foundation for the intelligibility and eventual acceptance of evolution by natural selection. This article investigates how these two interwoven theories affected understandings of human antiquity in Australia; itself an under-examined topic in Australian scholarship. Indeed, most historians maintain Australia's human antiquity was not ‘discovered’ or broadly understood until the advent of radiocarbon dating and professional archaeology in the 1960s. This over-simplified narrative has only recently begun to be reassessed. To contribute to this reassessment, and to the broader reclamation of human antiquity as a historical subject, this article focuses on the early decades of human antiquity's dissemination in Australia, examines its complex relationship with natural selection, and ultimately challenges narratives of its ‘recent’ discovery.     

What constitutes a network in the acinar cells of amphibian and mammalian pancreas?

Résumé Il a été montré que l'appareil réticulaire classique de Golgi dans les cellules pancréatiques des amphibies et des mammifères est un produit artificiel. Un certain nombre de raisons sont proposées pour expliquer ce fait.     

‘The accomplishment of many years’: Three notes towards a history of the sand-glass

The first note examines current assumptions about the medieval origins of the sand-glass and underlines the defective nature of our knowledge. The second note suggests a possible etymology for an unusual fifteenth-century English term for the instrument. The third note assembles such evidence as can be found on the price of sand-glasses and the structure of the trade that produced them.     

Is lysine the source of the pyridine ring in nicotine?

Zusammenfassung Gibt man L(+)-Lysin--¹⁵N oder in allen Stellungen mit¹⁴C markiertes L(+)-Lysin zu keimfreien Kulturen von abgeschnittenen Wurzeln vonNicotiana tabacum, so erzeugen die Wurzeln Nikotin, welches kleine Mengen¹⁵N oder¹⁴C enthält. Ferner enthält das Nikotin mehr¹⁵N oder¹⁴C im Pyrrolidinring als im Pyridinring. Lysin liegt daher nicht auf dem direkten biogenetischen Weg zum Nikotin.

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Research performed under the auspices of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.     

Does the ectodermal proctodaeum participate in the development of the pronephric duct in urodele amphibia?

Zusammenfassung Vom ektodermalen Proctodaeum wächst ein kleiner Divertikel dem Vornierengang entgegen und vereinigt sich mit dessen kaudalem Ende. Einen weiteren Anteil hat das Proctodaeum an der Bildung des Vornierenganges nicht. Zugleich mit dem Proctodaeum invaginiert Material für den Mesonephros, das sich in Zellgruppen entlang dem hinteren Ende des Vornierenganges lagert.