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5Darwin mythology: debunking myths, correcting falsehoods (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2024.This concise, accessible and engaging collection debunks the myths and corrects the falsehoods surrounding one of the most famous scientific figures in history - Charles Darwin. Leading scholars examine his life and work to set the historical record straight, and to draw conclusions about the very nature of science itself.
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5The Development of Darwin’s Theory: From Natural Theology to Natural SelectionIn Maria Elice Brzezinski Prestes (ed.), Understanding Evolution in Darwin's “Origin”: The Emerging Context of Evolutionary Thinking, Springer. pp. 99-110. 2023.It is often said that Darwin’s study of nature drove him to atheism. Whereas this might be, in principle, possible, it does not seem to have actually been the case for him. Both in his autobiography, which was not intended to be published, and in his personal correspondence, Darwin consistently described himself as an agnostic. It is true that he underwent several fluctuations of belief during his life, but in the end, he never explicitly rejected the existence of God. What is even more importan…Read more
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Television and the genetic imaginary: by Sofia Bull, London, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2019, 239pp., 114,39 € (Hardcover), ISBN 978-1-137-54846-7 (review)New Genetics and Society 40 (2): 238-239. 2021.
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12Michel Morange: The Black Box of Biology: A History of the Molecular Revolution, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2020History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 44 (1): 1-4. 2022.
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69Uncertainty: how it makes science advanceOxford University Press. 2019.Scientific knowledge is the most solid and robust kind of knowledge that humans have because of its inherent self-correcting character. Nevertheless, anti-evolutionists, climate denialists, and anti-vaxxers, among others, question some of the best-established scientific findings, making claims unsupported by empirical evidence. A common aspect of these claims is reference to the uncertainties of science concerning evolution, climate change, vaccination, and so on. This is inaccurate: whereas the…Read more
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4Eugene Earshaw-Whyte,Modelling Evolution: A New Dynamic Account, New York: Routledge, 2018, 145 pp, £105.00 (hardback) (review)History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 42 (1): 7. 2020.
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20Philosophy of Science for Biologists (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2019.Biologists rely on theories, apply models and construct explanations, but rarely reflect on their nature and structure. This book introduces key topics in philosophy of science to provide the required philosophical background for this kind of reflection, which is an important part of all aspects of research and communication in biology. It concisely and accessibly addresses fundamental questions such as: Why should biologists care about philosophy of science? How do concepts contribute to scient…Read more
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6A (Really Useful) Companion to the History of ScienceScience & Education 28 (6-7): 823-825. 2019.
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31Reconsidering the Meaning of Concepts in Biology: Why Distinctions Are So ImportantBioessays 40 (11): 1800148. 2018.Concepts have a central and important place in science, therefore, it is important that their meanings are always made clear. However, such clarity does not always exist, even in the case of such fundamental biological concepts as “gene” and “adaptation.” A quick look at textbooks reveals that different meanings may be attributed to the same concept, even within the same textbook, without explicitly discussing the differences of those meanings. This can be misleading, and mask important conceptu…Read more
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18Making Sense of GenesCambridge University Press. 2017.What are genes? What do genes do? These seemingly simple questions are in fact challenging to answer accurately. As a result, there are widespread misunderstandings and over-simplistic answers, which lead to common conceptions widely portrayed in the media, such as the existence of a gene 'for' a particular characteristic or disease. In reality, the DNA we inherit interacts continuously with the environment and functions differently as we age. What our parents hand down to us is just the beginni…Read more
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15Turning Points: How Critical Events Have Driven Human Evolution, Life, and DevelopmentPrometheus Books. 2018.An accessible introduction to core concepts in evolution for lay readers, which shows that random events have played a critical role in the development of life Critical historical events–or “turning points”–have shaped evolution and continue to have a decisive effect on individual lives. This theme is explored and explained in this lucid, accessible book for lay readers. The author argues that, although evolution is the result of unpredictable events, these events have profound influences on sub…Read more
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21Genetics and Society—Educating Scientifically Literate Citizens: Introduction to the Thematic IssueScience & Education 23 (2): 251-258. 2014.
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23The) Nature(s) of Science(s) and (the) Scientific Method(sScience & Education 25 (1-2): 1-2. 2016.
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13There is More to Evolution than Just Natural SelectionScience & Education 25 (1-2): 229-234. 2016.
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16The Bad Use of Metaphors and the Use of Bad MetaphorsScience & Education 25 (9-10): 947-949. 2016.
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13History and Philosophy of Science Courses for Science StudentsScience & Education 26 (6): 611-612. 2017.
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23Mendelian Genetics as a Platform for Teaching About Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry: The Value of TextbooksScience & Education 24 (1-2): 205-225. 2015.