Characterisation of the Context-Dependence of the Gene Concept in Research Articles

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to interpret and qualitatively characterise the content in some research articles and evaluate cases of possible difference in meanings of the gene concept used. Using a reformulation of Hirst's criteria of forms of knowledge, articles from five different subdisciplines in biology (transmission genetic, molecular biology, genomics, developmental biology and population genetics) were characterised according to knowledge project, methods used and conceptual contexts. Depending on knowledge project, the gene may be used as a location of recombination, a target of regulatory proteins, a carrier of regulatory sequences, a cause in organ formation or a basis for a genetic map. Methods used range from catching wild birds and dissecting beetle larvae to growing yeast cells in 94 small wells as well as mapping of recombinants, doing statistical calculations, immunoblotting analysis of protein levels, analysis of gene expression with PCR, immunostaining of embryos and automated constructions of multi-locus linkage maps. The succeeding conceptual contexts focused around concepts as meiosis and chromosome, DNA and regulation, cell fitness and production, development and organ formation, conservation and evolution. These contextual differences lead to certain content leaps in relation to different conceptual schemes. The analysis of the various uses of the gene concept shows how differences in methodologies and questions entail a concept that escapes single definitions and Bdrift around^in meanings. These findings make it important to ask how science might use concepts as tools of specific inquiries and to discuss possible consequences for biology education.

Examining Reasoning Practices and Epistemic Actions to Explore Students’ Understanding of Genetics and Evolution

“…Educational implications and limitations of the study Taking evidence from our findings into consideration, we believe that awareness of rhetorical discourses should be developed further by teachers to help students understand how they view biological processes in wider scenarios. This may mean helping teachers recognize the importance of 'framing' in students' discourse, the ways in which frames are connected to particular terms (Flodin 2017) and how such terms are connected to cultural beliefs. Referring back to Affifi (2017) and van Dijk (2016), metaphorical terms that are largely used in biology and to which we have become habituated will need to be examined and decontextualized to disclose their figurative meanings.…”