Question

in what ways does the Kuhnian revolution can be linked to the DNA structure's discovery. explain

Answer 1

Kuhnian theory - A paradigm shift, a concept identified by the American physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn, is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. Kuhn presented his notion of a paradigm shift in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962).The science philosopher Thomas Kuhn famously described science as long periods of normality punctuated by times of crisis, when anomalous observations culminate in revolutionary changes that replace one paradigm with another.

KUHNIAN REVOLUTION ABOUT DNA STRUCTURE DISCOVERY-

The discovery that DNA is the transforming principle of heredity and the subsequent elucidation of its structure also meet our criteria for revolutionary science because they launched the field of molecular biology while transforming the fields of genetics, medicine, and biochemistry. Eventually, this revolutionary discovery would even resonate in the fields of criminology, anthropology, and history, where it was used to solve crimes, clarify relationships between human populations, and determine the paternity of Thomas Jefferson’s descendants. The discovery that DNA is the transforming principle had an immediate impact on numerous fields of scientific inquiry and within a generation had given rise to technologies to produce new pharmacological products such as human insulin.

Revolutionary science is not synonymous with extraordinary or important science. For example, the discovery of reverse transcriptase upended the central dogma of molecular biology, explained how RNA viruses replicate, and provided a target for some of our most important antiretroviral drugs. The discovery was recognized with a Nobel Prize. By any measure, this is extraordinary and important science. A yet, in our view, the discovery of reverse transcriptase does not qualify as a scientific revolution, as the discovery occurred within the established field of molecular biology and did not launch a new discipline or significantly affect disciplines outside virology and closely related fields. Similarly, targeted genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 is a technology of tremendous importance that is rapidly having an impact in many fields associated with molecular biology. However, at this time, this discovery does not yet meet the criteria for revolutionary science, although it remains possible that subsequent events will establish it as a revolutionary finding. In contrast, the invention of the PCR meets our criteria for revolutionary science because it spawned new fields such as forensic DNA analysis and provided a transformative tool for such unrelated fields as anthropology, archeology, criminology, and historical analysis. We note that other accepted revolutions in science also appear to meet our criteria.