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Linda Van Speybroeck

Bio: Linda Van Speybroeck is an academic researcher from Ghent University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Philosophy of biology & Philosophy of science. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 23 publications receiving 580 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Today's epigenetics more and more offers the possibility to enfeeble biological thinking in terms of genes only, as it expands the gene‐centric view in biology by introducing a flexible and pragmatically oriented hierarchy of crucial genomic contexts that go beyond the organism.
Abstract: One continuous thread in this volume is the name of Conrad H. Waddington (1905-1975), the developmental biologist known as the inventor of the term epigenetics. After some biographical notes on his life, this article explores the meaning of the Waddingtonian equation and the context wherein it was developed. This equation holds that epigenesis + genetics = epigenetics, and refers in retrospect to the debate on epigenesis versus preformationism in neoclassical embryology. Whereas Waddington actualized this debate by linking epigenesis to developmental biology and preformation to genetics, thereby stressing the importance of genetic action in causal embryology, today's epigenetics more and more offers the possibility to enfeeble biological thinking in terms of genes only, as it expands the gene-centric view in biology by introducing a flexible and pragmatically oriented hierarchy of crucial genomic contexts that go beyond the organism.

203 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the societal debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) gradually extended in terms of actors involved and concerns reflected, and the lasting skeptical and/or ambivalent attitude of Europeans towards agro-food biotechnology is interpreted as signaling an ongoing social request and quest for an evaluation of biotechnology with Sense and Sensibility.
Abstract: Via a historical reconstruction, this paper primarily demonstrates how the societal debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) gradually extended in terms of actors involved and concerns reflected. It is argued that the implementation of recombinant DNA technology out of the laboratory and into civil society entailed a “complex of concerns.” In this complex, distinctions between environmental, agricultural, socio-economic, and ethical issues proved to be blurred. This fueled the confusion between the wider debate on genetic modification and the risk assessment of transgenic crops in the European Union. In this paper, the lasting skeptical and/or ambivalent attitude of Europeans towards agro-food biotechnology is interpreted as signaling an ongoing social request – and even a quest – for an evaluation of biotechnology with Sense and Sensibility. In this (re)quest, a broader-than-scientific dimension is sought for that allows addressing the GMO debate in a more “sensible” way, whilst making “sense” of the different stances taken in it. Here, the restyling of the European regulatory frame on transgenic agro-food products and of science communication models are discussed and taken to be indicative of the (re)quest to move from a merely scientific evaluation and risk-based policy towards a socially more robust evaluation that takes the “non-scientific” concerns at stake in the GMO debate seriously.

84 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The evolution of the term epigenesis is situated in the context of early embryological studies as discussed by the authors, and it is shown that epigenesis gained alternating attention from the 17th century onwards, as it was introduced into neo-classical embryology and considered to be the opposite of the preformationist tradition.
Abstract: In current biological and philosophical literature, the use of the terms epigenesis and epigenetics has increased tremendously As these terms are often confused, this paper aims at clarifying the distinction between them by drawing their conceptual and historical evolutions The evolution of the term epigenesis is situated in the context of early embryological studies Departing from Aristotle's natural philosophy, it is shown that epigenesis gained alternating attention from the 17th century onwards, as it was introduced into neo-classical embryology and considered to be the opposite of the preformationist tradition Where preformation stated that the germ cells of each organism contain preformed miniature adults that unfold during development, epigenesis held that the embryo forms by successive gradual exchanges in an amorphous zygote Although both traditions tried to explain developmental organization, religious and metaphysical arguments on the conception of embryonic matter as either active or passive determined the scope of their respective explanations It is shown that these very arguments still underlie the use of gene-centric metaphors in the molecular revolution of the 20th century

58 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that differences in how one relates the genome to its surrounding contexts leads to diverse interpretations of the term epigenetics, and a paradigmatic shift has taken place in biology from the abandonment of a gene‐centric position on to the present.
Abstract: In this paper, it is argued that differences in how one relates the genome to its surrounding contexts leads to diverse interpretations of the term epigenetics. Three different approaches are considered, ranging from gene-centrism, over gene-regulation, to dynamic systems approaches. Although epigenetics receives its widest interpretation in a systems approach, a paradigmatic shift has taken place in biology from the abandonment of a gene-centric position on to the present. The epistemological and ontological consequences of this shift are made explici

39 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper aims at analysing what has been Kant's original conceptualisation of living organisms as natural purposes, how the current perspectives are to be related to Kant's viewpoint, and what are the main trends in current complexity thinking.
Abstract: Living organisms are currently most often seen as complex dynamical systems that develop and evolve in relation to complex environments Reflections on the meaning of the complex dynamical nature of living systems show an overwhelming multiplicity in approaches, descriptions, definitions and methodologies Instead of sustaining an epistemic pluralism, which often functions as a philosophical armistice in which tolerance and so-called neutrality discharge proponents of the burden to clarify the sources and conditions of agreement and disagreement, this paper aims at analysing: (i) what has been Kant's original conceptualisation of living organisms as natural purposes; (ii) how the current perspectives are to be related to Kant's viewpoint; (iii) what are the main trends in current complexity thinking One of the basic ideas is that the attention for structure and its epistemological consequences witness to a great extent of Kant's viewpoint, and that the idea of organisational stratification today constitutes a different breeding ground within which complexity issues are raised The various approaches of complexity in biological systems are captured in terms of two different styles, universalism and (weak and strong) constructivism, between which hybrid forms exist

36 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
23 May 2007-Nature
TL;DR: This model proposes that hereditary disorders of the epigenetic apparatus lead to developmental defects, that cancer epigenetics involves disruption of the stem-cell programme, and that common diseases with late-onset phenotypes involve interactions between the epigenome, the genome and the environment.
Abstract: It is becoming clear that epigenetic changes are involved in human disease as well as during normal development. A unifying theme of disease epigenetics is defects in phenotypic plasticity--cells' ability to change their behaviour in response to internal or external environmental cues. This model proposes that hereditary disorders of the epigenetic apparatus lead to developmental defects, that cancer epigenetics involves disruption of the stem-cell programme, and that common diseases with late-onset phenotypes involve interactions between the epigenome, the genome and the environment. Increased understanding of epigenetic-disease mechanisms could lead to disease-risk stratification for targeted intervention and to targeted therapies.

1,518 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of the epigenetics and biology of how environmental factors can promote transgenerational phenotypes and disease is provided.
Abstract: The ability of environmental factors to promote a phenotype or disease state not only in the individual exposed but also in subsequent progeny for successive generations is termed transgenerational inheritance. The majority of environmental factors such as nutrition or toxicants such as endocrine disruptors do not promote genetic mutations or alterations in DNA sequence. However, these factors do have the capacity to alter the epigenome. Epimutations in the germline that become permanently programmed can allow transmission of epigenetic transgenerational phenotypes. This review provides an overview of the epigenetics and biology of how environmental factors can promote transgenerational phenotypes and disease.

613 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is now considerable evidence that elements of the heritable or familial component of disease susceptibility are transmitted by nongenomic means, and that environmental influences acting during early development shape disease risk in later life.
Abstract: There is now considerable evidence that elements of the heritable or familial component of disease susceptibility are transmitted by nongenomic means, and that environmental influences acting during early development shape disease risk in later life. The underlying mechanisms are thought to involve epigenetic modifications in nonimprinted genes induced by aspects of the developmental environment, which modify gene expression without altering DNA sequences. These changes result in life-long alterations in gene expression. Such nongenomic tuning of phenotype through developmental plasticity has adaptive value because it attempts to match an individual's responses to the environment predicted to be experienced. When the responses are mismatched, disease risk increases. An example of such mismatch is that arising either from inaccurate nutritional cues from the mother or placenta before birth, or from rapid environmental change through improved socioeconomic conditions, which contribute substantially to the increasing prevalence of type-2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Recent evidence suggests that the effects can be transmitted to more than the immediately succeeding generation, through female and perhaps male lines. Future research into epigenetic processes may permit us to develop intervention strategies.

520 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article systematically and comprehensively analyses academic literature concerning the ethical implications of Big Data, providing a watershed for future ethical investigations and regulations and identifies eleven themes that provide a thorough critical framework to guide ethical assessment and governance of emerging Big Data practices.
Abstract: The capacity to collect and analyse data is growing exponentially. Referred to as ‘Big Data’, this scientific, social and technological trend has helped create destabilising amounts of information, which can challenge accepted social and ethical norms. Big Data remains a fuzzy idea, emerging across social, scientific, and business contexts sometimes seemingly related only by the gigantic size of the datasets being considered. As is often the case with the cutting edge of scientific and technological progress, understanding of the ethical implications of Big Data lags behind. In order to bridge such a gap, this article systematically and comprehensively analyses academic literature concerning the ethical implications of Big Data, providing a watershed for future ethical investigations and regulations. Particular attention is paid to biomedical Big Data due to the inherent sensitivity of medical information. By means of a meta-analysis of the literature, a thematic narrative is provided to guide ethicists, data scientists, regulators and other stakeholders through what is already known or hypothesised about the ethical risks of this emerging and innovative phenomenon. Five key areas of concern are identified: (1) informed consent, (2) privacy (including anonymisation and data protection), (3) ownership, (4) epistemology and objectivity, and (5) ‘Big Data Divides’ created between those who have or lack the necessary resources to analyse increasingly large datasets. Critical gaps in the treatment of these themes are identified with suggestions for future research. Six additional areas of concern are then suggested which, although related have not yet attracted extensive debate in the existing literature. It is argued that they will require much closer scrutiny in the immediate future: (6) the dangers of ignoring group-level ethical harms; (7) the importance of epistemology in assessing the ethics of Big Data; (8) the changing nature of fiduciary relationships that become increasingly data saturated; (9) the need to distinguish between ‘academic’ and ‘commercial’ Big Data practices in terms of potential harm to data subjects; (10) future problems with ownership of intellectual property generated from analysis of aggregated datasets; and (11) the difficulty of providing meaningful access rights to individual data subjects that lack necessary resources. Considered together, these eleven themes provide a thorough critical framework to guide ethical assessment and governance of emerging Big Data practices.

449 citations

MonographDOI
14 Mar 2005
TL;DR: The origins of morphology, the science of form, Owen and Darwin, the archetype and the ancestor, the first generation of evolutionists, and the evolution synthesis are discussed in this article.
Abstract: 1. Introduction Part I. Darwin's Century: Beyond the Essentialism Story: 2. Systematics and the birth of the natural system 3. The origins of morphology, the science of form 4. Owen and Darwin, the archetype and the ancestor 5. Evolutionary morphology: the first generation of evolutionists 6. Interlude Part II. Neo-Darwin's Century: Explaining the Absence and the Reappearance of Development in Evolutionary Thought: 7. The invention of heredity 8. Basics of the evolutionary synthesis 9. Structuralist reactions to the synthesis 10. The synthesis matures 11. Recent debates and the continuing tension.

383 citations