ERIC Number: EJ998605
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Feb
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0926-7220
EISSN: N/A
How to Understand the Gene in the Twenty-First Century?
Meyer, Lia Midori Nascimento; Bomfim, Gilberto Cafezeiro; El-Hani, Charbel Nino
Science & Education, v22 n2 p345-374 Feb 2013
It is widely acknowledged in the literature on philosophy of biology and, more recently, among biologists themselves that the gene concept is currently in crisis. This crisis concerns the so-called "classical molecular concept", according to which a gene is a DNA segment encoding one functional product, which can be either a RNA molecule or a polypeptide. In this paper, we first describe three categories of anomalies that challenge this way of understanding genes. Then, we discuss proposals for revising the gene concept so as to accommodate the increasingly known complexity of genomic architecture and dynamics. Our intention is to provide an informative overview of recent proposals concerning how we should conceive of genes, which are probably not very familiar to many science educators and teachers, but can bring relevant contributions to genetics teaching, in particular, to a more critical treatment of genes and their role in living systems.
Descriptors: Science Education, Genetics, Science Instruction, Scientific Concepts, Molecular Structure, Concept Formation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A