Knowledge Tree
gene
Facts (18)
Sources
The Problem of Hard and Easy Problems cambridge.org Mar 31, 2023 9 facts
claimDavid Chalmers' use of the term 'gene' in his functionalist argument refers to a concept of his own invention ('gene*') rather than the definition used in genetics and molecular biology.
claimDNA functions as a gene* by storing and transmitting hereditary information, but it also functions as a structural support for chromosomes, demonstrating that explaining one functional role does not account for others.
quoteDavid Chalmers stated: “all it means to be a gene is to be an entity that performs the relevant storage and transmission function.”
claimA scientific concept like 'gene' is a definition of a class of objects rather than a phenomenon needing explanation or an explanation itself.
claimDavid Chalmers' 'gene*' concept encompasses a wide range of biological and environmental factors, including chromosomes, plasmids, maternal RNA, transcription factors, DNA methylation, histone acetylation, mitochondria, and various environmental influences like drugs, pathogens, viruses, and prions.
claimExplaining how one entity functions as a 'gene*' (a storer and transmitter of inheritance information) does not necessarily explain how a different entity functions as a 'gene*'.
claimThe collection of factors included in David Chalmers' 'gene*' concept does not constitute a natural kind because each factor relies on a different mechanism for heredity.
claimIt is logically consistent to accept an explanation of how chromosomal DNA functions as a 'gene*' while simultaneously noting that the explanation does not account for how maternal RNA functions as a 'gene*'.
quoteDavid Chalmers asserts that claiming an explanation of DNA's storage and transmission functions fails to explain 'what a gene is' constitutes a conceptual mistake, because being a gene is defined by performing those functions.
The Evolution of Diet - National Geographic nationalgeographic.com 2 facts
claimHuman ability to extract sugars from starchy foods during chewing varies based on the number of copies of a specific gene inherited by an individual.
claimPopulations with a history of high starch consumption, such as the Hadza, possess more copies of the gene responsible for starch digestion compared to meat-eating populations like the Yakut of Siberia, allowing their saliva to break down starches before digestion in the stomach.
Moving Forward on the Problem of Consciousness - David Chalmers consc.net 2 facts
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2015 Edition) plato.stanford.edu May 23, 2001 1 fact
referenceSewall Wright authored 'Gene and Organism', published in The American Naturalist in 1953.
Addressing common challenges with knowledge graphs - SciBite scibite.com 1 fact
measurementSciBite provides a range of ontologies called VOCabs, which comprise tens of millions of synonyms for more than 120 life science entity types, including gene, drug, and disease.
Evolutionary Psychology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 1 fact
quoteRichard Dawkins defined a meme as 'a unit of cultural inheritance, hypothesized as analogous to the particulate gene, and as naturally selected in virtue of its phenotypic consequences on its own survival and replication in the cultural environment.'
Construction of Knowledge Graphs: State and Challenges - arXiv arxiv.org 1 fact
claimPublic biochemical databases, such as the National Library of Medicine, allow for the retrieval of gene and protein data based on their symbols to enrich knowledge graphs.
Hard Problem of Consciousness | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 1 fact
referenceThe gene can be reductively explained as follows: (1) The gene is the unit of hereditary transmission (by analysis); (2) Regions of DNA are the unit of hereditary transmission (by empirical investigation); (3) Therefore, the gene is regions of DNA (by transitivity of identity).