Inside science : revolution in biology and its impact / Benjamin Lewin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lewin, Benjamin, author.

Contributor:

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biology--Methodology.

Biology.

Genomics.

Molecular biology.

Science--History.

Science.

Physical Description:

xiii, 327 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

[S.l.] : COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB, 2023.

New York : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, [2023]

Summary:

Looking behind widely held beliefs about the myth of the scientific enterprise, Inside Science is a rare examination of how science really functions. Drawing on his 25 years of experience as the founding editor of Cell, the world's leading journal in biology, Benjamin Lewin questions the dogma that scientific papers describe how research was actually done, describes the distortions caused by pressure to publish, and considers the effects of changes in the way science is communicated as we move ever further into the digital era. The view that science protects itself by identifying and excluding work that is not reproducible is rigorously examined, as is the prevalence of fraud in science. Lewin argues that the move from research done in small teams to the much larger scale of "big science" has the potential to change the nature of science itself. He asks if science can continue in its present form or if new methods of evaluation will be needed for science to function in the future. Lewin brings these general principles to life by considering the history of the genetics revolution, from the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA to the sequencing of the human genome and the possibilities of gene editing today. History shows us that each period of progress in science relied on dogmas that often advanced but sometimes retarded progress, and that views of reality often changed suddenly and dramatically. One example is the current critical reassessment of epigenetics that is raising the possibility that there may be factors in inheritance extraneous to DNA. The book concludes by asking if the reductionist manifesto that has dominated biology for the past half century can continue to hold, and revisits the much-debated question: What is science? -- Publisher's website 20231019

Contents:

INTRODUCTION

What Is Science?

PART 1: DATA

1 Science in Flux

2 Data Mining

3 Patents versus Science

4 Biotech

PART 2: PUBLISHING

5 The Myth of the Scientific Paper

6 Reproducibility

7 Publish or Perish

8 E-Science

PART 3: SOCIETY

9 Funding

10 Fraud

11 Politics and Ethics

PART 4: HISTORY

12 Mendel's Garden

13 The Double Helix

14 Dogma

15 Doctrines

PART 5: LANDMARKS

16 Mapping

17 Genomes

18 Editing

19 Epigenetics

20 Stem Cells

EPILOGUE

Epilogue: Reductionism

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

1621825019

9781621825012

OCLC:

1367232185

Publisher Number:

99994560732