Misuses of biology in the context of the paranormal

Public suspicion of science stems from science's challenging of perceptions and myths about reality, and a public fear of new technology. The result is a susceptibility to pseudoscience. In claiming that creation 'science' is as valid as evolution the creationists misquote scientists and seek to spread their own 'scientific' myths concerning a young age for the earth, an act of creation based on a particular literalist interpretation of the Christian Bible and a single worldwide flood. They use methods of debate and politics, rather than scientific research. A selection of their arguments is examined and the nature of the evidence for evolution is discussed. Problems with the creation 'science' model are noted. In the myth of the hundredth monkey phenomenon, original research is misquoted to denigrate scientific research and support sentimental ideas of paranormal events. The misuse of science is seen as damaging to society because it reduces the effective gathering and application of scientific information. However, pseudoscience provides a valuable guide to gaps in public scientific education.     

On the epistemological foundations of the law of the lever

In this paper I challenge Paolo Palmieri’s reading of the Mach—Vailati debate on Archimedes’ proof of the law of the lever. I argue that the actual import of the debate concerns the possible epistemic (as opposed to merely pragmatic) role of mathematical arguments in empirical physics, and that construed in this light Vailati carries the upper hand. This claim is defended by showing that Archimedes’ proof of the law of the lever is not a way of appealing to a non-empirical source of information, but a way of explicating the mathematical structure that can represent the empirical information at our disposal in the most general way.     

Influence of N-methylformamide on the development, the NAD synthesis, and the activity of the ADPR transferase of rat embryos

When N-methylformamide is administered to rats on the 11th day of pregnancy approximately 50% of the fetuses are resorbed and a reduced weight of the developed animals is found in comparison to the controls on the 21th day (delivery by Caesarian section). The toxic effect is increased by using nicotinamide and methionine. If a combination of these substances is employed practically all fetuses are resorbed. Tryptophan, however, has a considerably protective influence. N-Methylformamide has no influence on the NAD-synthesis induced by nicotinamide or tryptophan. It does, however, inhibits the activity of the ADPR transferase.     

On the genesis of the soil mantle of the region of Manaus,Central Amazonia,Brazil

Summary The dynamics of the forest to the north of Manaus is tightly linked to that of the soil. The latosol that covers the plateau, which supports a dense forest, consists from top to bottom of: (a) a brown, clayey organic horizon (0.3 m), (b) a yellow horizon, very rich in clay but permeable (from 0.3 to 4 m), (c) a nodular horizon rich in Al and Fe oxides (from 4 to 9 m), and (d) a horizon which still preserves the sedimentary structures of the parent sandstone, where quartz is intensely dissolved and kaolinite crystallizes in pores. In perfectly flat areas, the clay of the organic horizon is destroyed by acidocomplexolysis, and the dissolved Al is transported vertically by the drainage water. A part of this Al is used to make the gibbsite nodules of horizon (c), and the rest is used to make kaolinite in horizon (d). Because aluminum is thus conserved within any vertical prism, the rate of destruction of horizon (a) is equivalent to the rate of advance of the kaolinization zone into the sediment: the latosol is said to be in equilibrium, the surface remains perfectly flat as it slowly sinks, the quantity of kaolinite increases with time, and the silica released by quartz dissolution in the whole profile is exported by drainage water to the water table. In contrast, near drainage axes, however small initially, the drainage becomes inclined toward the axis. Part of the Al released by acidocomplexolysis of horizon (a) is now exported to rivers, and Al is no longer conserved within any given prism. The rate of advance of the kaolinization zone (d) into the sediment now becomes less than the rate of destruction of horizon (a) and the surface sinks faster than that of the surrounding plateau. After this differential podzolization has gone on long enough, it creates a network of geochemical valleys characterized by convex slopes and bounded by sandy soils (campinas). The vegetation becomes sparser and sparser. At the end, only some bushes and lichens survive on the white sand.Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to Dr E. Merino (Dept. of Geology, Indiana University) for helpful criticisms and suggestions. This research was carried out in I.N.P.A. (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia) and was financially supported by the CNPq-CNRS/ORSTOM conv.     

The fine structure of the conical-headed sperm of the crinoidAntedon bifida

Summary Scanning- and transmission electron microscopy show that the sperm head ofAntedon bifida is conical and thus different from the spherical sperm head that is typical of crinoids. The head consists of the acrosome and the nucleus. The posterior fibrogranular component of the acrosome is housed in a tubular, axial invagination running from the anterior pole almost to the posterior pole of the nucleus. The middle piece includes a mitochondrion and a pair of centrioles. One of the centrioles is a basal body, which gives rise to the tail flagellum.     

Goethe's Archetype and the romantic concept of the self

This paper attempts to illuminate Goethe's concept of an archetype by setting it alongside the concept of the self that was being articulated at the same time, also by writers of the Romantic movement. The Romantic concept of the self expresses a new concept of the self as a 'core' plus an expression of the core: and it is the same 'core plus expression' idea that is embodied in the Goethean archetype. Goethe's archetype is not simply a 'plan'. It is a kind of agent at the heart of a thing, striving for self expression, and to this end driving the thing's development. Both Romantic self and archetype reflect the wider attempt to reinstate the concept of action in our understanding of things and happenings in general. The root idea of there being at the heart of a living thing an agent pursuing a goal remains in the modern concept of the organism.     

On the necessary truth of the laws of classical mechanics

The idealization of primitive mechanical experience is shown to lead to four mutually related formulations of classical mechanics based on connections, action at a distance, stresses, and collisions. For a given structure of spacetime and a given characterization of mechanical systems, fundamental laws (including Newton's law of acceleration and d’Alembert's principle) are derived from a few general principles regarding the comprehensibility of motion. Special emphasis is placed on the “secular principle,” according to which the evolution of a system at the relevant time scale should not depend on finer details of the applied forces.     

Misuses of biology in the context of the paranormal

Summary Public suspicion of science stems from science's challenging of perceptions and myths about reality, and a public fear of new technology. The result is a susceptibility to pseudoscience. In claiming that creation science is as valid as evolution the creationists misquote scientists and seek to spread their own scientific myths concerning a young age for the earth, an act of creation based on a particular literalist interpretation of the Christian Bible and a single worldwide flood. They use methods of debate and politics, rather than scientific research. A selection of their arguments is examined and the nature of the evidence for evolution is discussed. Problems with the creation science model are noted. In the myth of the hundredth monkey phenomenon, original research is misquoted to denigrate scientific research and support sentimental ideas of paranormal events. The misuse of science is seen as damaging to society because it reduces the effective gathering and application of scientific information. However, pseudoscience provides a valuable guide to gaps in public scientific education.     

Enzymatic characteristics of the guanylate cyclase of KB cells: their change as a function of the development of the cultures]

We have localized 71% of the guanylate cyclase activity in the (G X 105,000) supernatent fraction of broken KB cells. The reaction follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics, the apparent Km for GTP is 0,5 mM, as long as GTP is lower than a limited concentration, then activity is inhibited. The ion Mn++ is an absolutely required activator, it does not change enzyme-substrate affinity. The enzyme shows several types of binding sites of Mn++. Guanylate cyclase, studied over a period of development of culture, shows, in KB cells without cell contact, an activity higher than that observed in confluent cells. This is not due to the fact of a change in enzyme-substrate affinity but to a modification of Mn++ influence.     

On the viability of the No Alternatives Argument

If we cannot directly empirically test the claims of a particular scientific theory directly, then it would be nice to have some other criteria with which to assess its viability. In his 2013 book, String Theory and the Scientific Method, Richard Dawid aims to develop such criteria, with an eye to vindicating research programmess in disciplines where direct empirical data is scant or non-existent. In an accompanying paper, Dawid, Hartmann and Sprenger formalise Dawid's so-called ‘No Alternatives Argument’ (NAA) using a generalised Bayesian framework, as a first step towards formalising Dawid's entire research programme (which itself relies on two further arguments). In this paper, I argue that the formalisation of the NAA cannot play the central role in Dawid's programme as intended. This is based on the observation that not all confirmation is non-negligible confirmation. For Dawid's programme to be useful, it must demonstrate the viability not just of non-empirical theory confirmation, but of non-negligible non-empirical theory confirmation. I argue that Dawid et al.‘s appeal to Bayesian confirmation theory to formalise his NAA cannot guarantee non-negligible confirmation. As a result, I conclude that if Dawid's overall project is to succeed, it must do so without the NAA formalised in this way.     

Aristotle, Copernicus, Bruno: centrality, the principle of movement and the extension of the Universe

This paper¹ studies the different conceptions of both centrality and the principle or starting point of motion in the Universe held by Aristotle and later on by Copernicanism until Kepler and Bruno. According to Aristotle, the true centre of the Universe is the sphere of the fixed stars. This is also the starting point of motion. From this point of view, the diurnal motion is the fundamental one. Our analysis gives pride of place to De caelo II, 10, a chapter of Aristotle’s text which curiously allows an ‘Alpetragian’ reading of the transmission of motion.In Copernicus and the Copernicans, natural centrality is identified with the geometrical centre and, therefore, the Sun is acknowledged as the body through which the Deity acts on the world and it also plays the role of the principle and starting point of cosmic motion. This motion, however, is no longer diurnal motion, but the annual periodical motion of the planets. Within this context, we pose the question of to what extent it is possible to think that, before Kepler, there is a tacit attribution of a dynamic or motive role to the Sun by Copernicus, Rheticus, and Digges.For Bruno, since the Universe is infinite and homogeneous and the relationship of the Deity with it is one of indifferent presence everywhere, the Universe has no absolute centre, for any point is a centre. By the same token, there is no place that enjoys the prerogative of being—as being the seat of God—the motionless principle and starting point of motion.     

An hypothesis for the process of selection at the subcellular level leading to the appearance of new clones]

According to the hypothesis we propose, the stimulation of one lymphocyte by an antigen induces the simultaneous expression of a great diversity of immunoglobulins of different specificities. Each molecular species is associated with the corresponding mRNA within a subcellular structure: the ergastoplasmic cisterna. It has been shown that in some responding lymphocytes at an early stage of the immune response a few such cisternae are loaded with antibodies while most of the cisternae are synthesizing non specific immunoglobulins. The main point of our proposal is that the selective action of antigen bears on these cisternae and that the mRNA corresponding to the immunoglobulins fitting best to the antigen is transcribed to DNA which is then inserted into the genome. This cell and its progeny become thereafter a monospecific clone submitted to regulation as an element of the network.     

Kuhn and the genesis of the "new historiography of science"

In this paper I identify a tension between the two sets of works by Kuhn regarding the genesis of the "new historiography of science". In the first, it could be said that the change from the traditional to the new historiography is strictly endogenous (referring to internal causes or reasons). In the second, the change is predominantly exogenous. To address this question, I draw on a text that is considered to be less important among Kuhn's works, but which, as shall be argued, allows some contact between Kuhn's two approaches via Koyré. I seek to point out and differentiate the roles of Koyré and Kuhn--from Kuhn's point of view--in the development of the historiography of science and, as a complement, present some reflections regarding the justification of the new historiography.     

The Casimir Effect and the Interpretation of the Vacuum

The Casimir force between two neutral metallic plates is often considered conclusive evidence for the reality of electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations in ‘empty space’ (i.e. in absence of any boundaries). However, it is not well known that the Casimir force can be derived from many different points of view. The purpose of this note is to supply a conceptually oriented introduction to a representative set of these different interpretations. The different accounts suggest that the Casimir effect reveals nothing conclusive about the nature of the vacuum.     

Kepler: Analogies in the search for the law of refraction

This paper examines the methodology used by Kepler to discover a quantitative law of refraction. The aim is to argue that this methodology follows a heuristic method based on the following two Pythagorean principles: (1) sameness is made known by sameness, and (2) harmony arises from establishing a limit to what is unlimited. We will analyse some of the author's proposed analogies to find the aforementioned law and argue that the investigation's heuristic pursues such principles.     

Effect of parathyroidectomy on the fasting-refeeding response in the rat colon

Following fasting and refeeding, the colonic epithelium of the rat exhibits a marked hyperplasia. This response is of a similar magnitude but of a longer duration to that observed in mice. This response is not affected by reducing serum calcium levels to those reported to alter normal tissue proliferation in vivo.     

Some reflections on the phylogeny and function of the pineal

The pineal gland is a universal feature of vertebrate organization and has been implicated in the control of rhythmic adaptations to daily and seasonal cycles. This paper considers three aspects of pineal function; the generation of a rhythmical endocrine signal (the nocturnal synthesis of melatonin) and the use of the signal in the regulation of circadian and photoperiodic functions. The shape of the nocturnal signal is determined by an interaction of afferent neural control and biochemical processes intrinsic to the pinealocyte. The nature of the effect of the signal upon circadian systems is unclear, and in adult mammals may not be a specific, direct influence upon the entrainment pathways of the oscillator. In the foetus, strong evidence exists for a physiological role of the maternal melatonin signal as a true internal zeitgeber, remnants of which may persist in the adult. Photoperiodic time measurement in adult and foetal mammals is critically dependent upon the melatonin signal. Indirect evidence indicates that several neural systems may be involved in the response to melatonin and consistent with this, a variety of central melatonin binding sites have been identified in the brain and pituitary. The intra-cellular actions of melatonin and the properties of melatonin responsive neural systems have yet to be identified, but in the context of photoperiodic time measurement, it is clear that the neural responses to melatonin are not dependent upon the circadian clock. The two central effects of melatonin; photoperiodic time measurement and circadian entrainment are probably mediated through completely separate mechanisms.     

Some reflections on the phylogeny and function of the pineal

Summary The pineal gland is a universal feature of vertebrate organization and has been implicated in the control of rhythmic adaptations to daily and seasonal cycles. This paper considers three aspects of pineal function; the generation of a rhythmical endocrine signal (the nocturnal synthesis of melatonin) and the use of the signal in the regulation of circadian and photoperiodic functions. The shape of the nocturnal signal is determined by an interaction of afferent neural control and biochemical processes intrinsic to the pinealocyte. The nature of the effect of the signal upon circadian systems is unclear, and in adult mammals may not be a specific, direct influence upon the entrainment pathways of the oscillator. In the foetus, strong evidence exists for a physiological role of the maternal melatonin signal as a true internal zeitgeber, remnants of which may persist in the adult. Photoperiodic time measurement in adult and foetal mammals is critically dependent upon the melatonin signal. Indirect evidence indicates that several neural systems may be involved in the response to melatonin and consistent with this, a variety of central melatonin binding sites have been identified in the brain and pituitary. The intra-cellular actions of melatonin and the properties of melatonin responsive neural systems have yet to be identified, but in the context of photoperiodic time measurement, it is clear that the neural responses to melatonin are not dependent upon the circadian clock. The two central effects of melatonin; photoperiodic time measurement and circadian entrainment are probably mediated through completely separate mechanisms.The Editors wish to thank Dr M. Hastings for coordinating this multi-author review.