Thursday, February 25, 1999
at 4:00 PM
Francis Scott Key Building, Room 1117

This paper explores the epistemology of developmental biological research with the nematode worm C. elegans in order to reexamine two commonly held beliefs: first, that this type of science aims to establish universal generalizations; second, that C. elegans is a fruitful model due to its developmental simplicity. This paper argues that when developmental analysis actually began in the 1970s, universal laws of development could not have been the goal; otherwise choice of C. elegans as an experimental organism would have been inappropriate since it was known to be atypical in its developmental rigidity (in that cell fate was assumed to determined by cell autonomous mechanisms). Instead, the research goals involved describing fundamental patterns of development that might or might not be components of development in more complex organisms. In fact, when laser ablation techniques were employed to elucidate underlying mechanisms of development, they revealed that cell-cell interactions sometimes affected cell fate, contrary to widely held expectations of cell autonomy. Finding instances of cell-cell interaction provided essential support for the instances of cell-cell interaction provided essential support for the claim that C. elegans is a fruitful model for development in metazoans, since in higher organisms cell fate is known to be affected by cell autonomous mechanisms and cell-cell interactions.

Rachel A. Ankeny is currently the Class of '43 Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Science at Connecticut College, New London, where she teaches interdisciplinary courses on philosophy, history, and science. She previously served on the faculty of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, and has a Ph.D. in HPS as well as master's degrees in philosophy and in medical ethics. Her research interests include an ongoing project on the history and philosophy of research using the nematode C. elegans, as well as work on bioethical issues arising in transplantation and reproductive technologies. She also is co-editor of a forthcoming book on the conceptual foundations of medical genetics.

Spring 1999