The meanings of 'function' in biology and the problematic case of de novo gene emergence.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31674305.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.47014 and PMC identifier 6824840.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The word function has many different meanings in molecular biology. Here we explore the use of this word (and derivatives like functional) in research papers about de novo gene birth. Based on an analysis of 20 abstracts we propose a simple lexicon that, we believe, will help scientists and philosophers discuss the meaning of function more clearly.
Medical subject headings
- Biological Factors
- Molecular Biology
- Terminology as Topic