Analytic philosophy for biomedical research: the imperative of applying yesterday's timeless messages to today's impasses

The mantra that "the best way to predict the future is to invent it" (attributed to the computer scientist Alan Kay) exemplifies some of the expectations from the technical and innovative sides of biomedical research at present. However, for technical advancements to make real impacts both on patient health and genuine scientific understanding, quite a number of lingering challenges facing the entire spectrum from protein biology all the way to randomized controlled trials should start to be overcome. The proposal in this chapter is that philosophy is essential in this process. By reviewing select examples from the history of science and philosophy, disciplines which were indistinguishable until the mid-nineteenth century, I argue that progress toward the many impasses in biomedicine can be achieved by emphasizing theoretical work (in the true sense of the word 'theory') as a vital foundation for experimental biology. Furthermore, a philosophical biology program that could provide a framework for theoretical investigations is outlined

Epigenetic modification of histone 3 at lysine 9 in sheep zygotes and its relationship with DNA methylation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies indicated that, unlike mouse zygotes, sheep zygotes lacked the paternal DNA demethylation event. Another epigenetic mark, histone modification, especially at lysine 9 of histone 3 (H3K9), has been suggested to be mechanically linked to DNA methylation. In mouse zygotes, the absence of methylated H3K9 from the paternal pronucleus has been thought to attribute to the paternal DNA demethylation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By using the immunofluorescence staining approach, we show that, despite the difference in DNA methylation, modification of H3K9 is similar between the sheep and mouse zygotes. In both species, H3K9 is hyperacetylated or hypomethylated in paternal pronucleus relative to maternal pronucleus. In fact, sheep zygotes can also undergo paternal DNA demethylation, although to a less extent than the mouse. Further examinations of individual zygotes by double immunostaining revealed that, the paternal levels of DNA methylation were not closely associated with that of H3K9 acetylation or tri-methylation. Treatment of either 5-azacytidine or Trichostatin A did not induce a significant decrease of paternal DNA methylation levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that in sheep lower DNA demethylation of paternal genomes is not due to the H3K9 modification and the methylated DNA sustaining in paternal pronucleus does not come from DNA <it>de novo </it>methylation.</p

On the degradation evolution equations of cellulose

Cellulose degradation is usually characterized in terms of either the chain scission number or the scission fraction of cellulose unit as a function of degree of polymerisation (DP) and cellulose degradation evolution equation is most commonly described by the well known Ekenstam equations. In this paper we show that cellulose degradation can be best characterized either in terms of the percentage DP loss or in terms of the percentage tensile strength (TS) loss. We present a new cellulose degradation evolution equation expressed in terms of the percentage DP loss and apply it for having a quantitative comparison with six sets of experimental data. We develop a new kinetic equation for the percentage TS loss of cellulose and test it with four sets of experimental data. It turns out that the proposed cellulose degradation evolution equations are able to explain the real experimental data of different cellulose materials carried out under a variety of experimental conditions, particularly the prolonged autocatalytic degradation in sealed vessels. We also develop a new method for predicting the degree of degradation of cellulose at ambient conditions by combining the master equation representing the kinetics of either percentage DP loss or percentage TS loss at the lowest experimental temperature with Arrhenius shift factor function. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007