Crucial stem cell experiments? Stem cells, uncertainty, and single-cell experiments
I have previously argued that stem cell experiments cannot in principle demonstrate that a single cell is a stem cell ([reference omitted for anonymous review]). Laplane and others dispute this claim, citing experiments that identify stem cells at the single-cell level. This paper rebuts the count...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of the Basque Country
2015-06-01
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| Series: | THEORIA : an International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.ehu.eus/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/article/view/12707 |
| Summary: | I have previously argued that stem cell experiments cannot in principle demonstrate that a single cell is a stem cell ([reference omitted for anonymous review]). Laplane and others dispute this claim, citing experiments that identify stem cells at the single-cell level. This paper rebuts the counterexample, arguing that these alleged ‘crucial stem cell experiments’ do not measure self-renewal for a single cell, do not establish a single cell’s differentiation potential, and, if interpreted as providing results about single cells, fall into epistemic circularity. I then examine the source of the dispute, noting differences in philosophical and experimental perspectives. |
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| ISSN: | 0495-4548 2171-679X |