A third way to the selected effect/causal role distinction in the great encode debate.

Since the ENCODE project published its final results in a series of articles in 2012, there is no consensus on what its implications are. ENCODE's central and most controversial claim was that there is essentially no junk DNA: most sections of the human genome believed to be «junk» are functional. This claim was met with many reservations.

Notes on a complicated relationship: scientific pluralism, epistemic relativism, and stances.

While scientific pluralism enjoys widespread popularity within the philosophy of science, a related position, epistemic relativism, does not have much traction. Defenders of scientific pluralism, however, dread the question of whether scientific pluralism entails epistemic relativism. It is often argued that if a scientific pluralist accepts epistemic relativism, she will be unable to pass judgment because she believes that "anything goes".

Small RNA research and the scientific repertoire: a tale about biochemistry and genetics, crops and worms, development and disease.

The discovery of RNA interference in 1998 has made a lasting impact on biological research. Identifying the regulatory role of small RNAs changed the modes of molecular biological inquiry as well as biologists' understanding of genetic regulation. This article examines the early years of small RNA biology's success story.

Friedrich Miescher's Discovery in the Historiography of Genetics: From Contamination to Confusion, from Nuclein to DNA.

In 1869, Johann Friedrich Miescher discovered a new substance in the nucleus of living cells. The substance, which he called nuclein, is now known as DNA, yet both Miescher's name and his theoretical ideas about nuclein are all but forgotten. This paper traces the trajectory of Miescher's reception in the historiography of genetics.

Before Watson and Crick in 1953 Came Friedrich Miescher in 1869.

In 1869, the young Swiss biochemist Friedrich Miescher discovered the molecule we now refer to as DNA, developing techniques for its extraction. In this paper we explain why his name is all but forgotten, and his role in the history of genetics is mostly overlooked. We focus on the role of national rivalries and disciplinary turf wars in shaping historical memory, and on how the story we tell shapes our understanding of the science.

Use/disuse paradigms are ubiquitous concepts in characterizing the process of inheritance.

In recent years, a Lamarckian theme has found its way back into academic discourse on evolution and inheritance. Especially the emerging field of transgenerational small RNAs has provided at least a proof of concept for the inheritance of acquired traits. Yet it remains unclear whether the Lamarckian concept of inheritance will in fact have its rennaisance or whether it will remain the rallying cry for the outlaws, heretics and enfants terribles of molecular biology.