Earlier this year in collaboration with Cambridge University Press, we launched a new open-access scientific journal, aimed at providing an interdisciplinary forum for high quality research on ground-breaking discoveries and predictions in quantitative plant science.
The journal, Quantitative Plant Biology aims to publish papers that enhance our quantitative understanding of how plants function from a physiological and evolutionary perspective.
We asked Editor-in-Chief Dr Olivier Hamant his thoughts on why this new journal is important and how taking a quantitative approach can generate interesting questions and answer them accurately.
Science, is based around finding answers to questions.
First you have to identify what question to ask. Then, when you have a question, you need to develop a strategy around how to answer it.
As scientists, we tend to spend a lot of time on the strategy and less time on finding the right questions to ask.
So, the first question to ask is, what makes a good question?
Often a good question is a simple question. So, what makes a simple question?
A simple question is one that;
Examples of this can be found throughout scientific history, for example when Gregor Mendel asked the simple question; how does heredity work? His attempts to answer this question opened up the new research area; genetics.
Within the broad field of genetics, in my own research we ask the question; how do genes relate to shape? To answer that question, we needed to think outside the discipline, adding mechanics, physics and mathematics. By doing so, we see how genes and proteins are affecting the mechanics of the cells, in turn affecting the shape of the cells and the tissues. In turn, a shape can then affect the gene, through mechanical forces, but also through biochemistry. Altogether, this created a new field of research that some call morphodynamics.
This is what the new journal Quantitative Plant Biology is all about; taking simple questions and trying to address them by formalising an answer. The mathematical formalisation is really important to getting to the bottom of the question and this is what the journal is about.
This is very timely, because we are generating a lot of data at the moment, be it bioimaging, omics, or virtual data we have a lot of data but we need to make sense of it. The quantitative approach is one way to do it.
Finally, you start with a simple question and from that many other questions emerge. By adopting a quantitative approach, we can;
Our brains, as any optical illusion demonstrates, are limited and, as many studies have shown, we are subject to several cognitive biases. This can be problematic as scientists, because we are analysing our data through the lens of our biases.
For example, we are innately conservative and it is easier to stick to what we know than try something new. It is therefore hard to go against established dogma. As Max Planck said; A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that are familiar with it.
Similarly, as humans we struggle with thinking about systems and understanding feedback. For example, take the Cathy Freeway in Houston, Texas, which suffered from heavy traffic jams. Human intuition suggests that if you want to solve the simple question of a traffic jam, you can add another lane to the road and that will alleviate the congestion. However, if you add more lanes, what you actually do is make the road more attractive, meaning more traffic uses them and the jams get worse. This is known as the Braess Paradox. Unable to learn this lesson, planners continued to add lanes to try and relieve the increasing jams and currently the Cathy Freeway has 26 lanes and the jams are as bad as ever.
We can apply the Braess Paradox to food security. A simple solution to food security would be to increase food production. However, there is increasing evidence that if you increase production, you increase the problems associated with distribution and in-turn all you ultimately produce is more food waste.
The quantitative approach provides a way to go around these biases, because it allows us to address the questions in an unbiased way, by trusting the data.
Quantitative approaches also allow us to maximise the output of another revolution; the rise of citizen science, which allows us to dramatically increase our sample sizes and can see huge heterogenous datasets generated from all over the world.
That is why I am really excited to be part of this new Quantitative Plant Biology journal. I really believe it will stimulate effort in the plant community, both to formalise answers to questions and to inspire new questions and new fields of research.
Dr Hamant, is an INRAE Director of research at the RDP institute at ENS de Lyon. A biologist by profession, he tries to understand how plants use forces to control their development, by combining molecular and cellular biology, mechanics and modelling approaches.
See the article here:
How to know what questions to ask; taking an quantitative approach - The John Innes Centre
- Heredity - DNA, Genes, Inheritance | Britannica - January 6th, 2025
- Comparing Genetics and Molecular Genetics: What's the Difference? - December 19th, 2024
- Standards and guidelines for the interpretation of sequence ... - PubMed - December 19th, 2024
- Chapter 12: Techniques of Molecular Genetics - Biology LibreTexts - December 19th, 2024
- 8.S: Techniques of Molecular Genetics (Summary) - December 19th, 2024
- Master of Science Computational Biology and Quantitative Genetics - December 19th, 2024
- Pitt Researchers Lead Group that Calls for Global Discussion About Possible Risks from Mirror Bacteria - Pitt Health Sciences - December 19th, 2024
- Molecular Genetics Testing - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - November 16th, 2024
- Working with Molecular Genetics (Hardison) - Biology LibreTexts - November 16th, 2024
- Molecular Underpinnings of Genetic and Rare Diseases: From ... - Frontiers - November 16th, 2024
- The molecular genetics of schizophrenia: New findings promise new insights. - November 16th, 2024
- 8: Techniques of Molecular Genetics - Biology LibreTexts - September 4th, 2024
- 1.5: Molecular Genetics - Biology LibreTexts - September 4th, 2024
- Molecular genetics made simple - PMC - National Center for ... - September 4th, 2024
- 4 Introduction to Molecular Genetics - University of Minnesota Twin Cities - September 4th, 2024
- Molecular genetics - Definition and Examples - Biology Online - September 4th, 2024
- A Detailed Look at the Science of Molecular Genetics - KnowYourDNA - September 4th, 2024
- Molecular Genetics | NHLBI, NIH - September 4th, 2024
- Molecular biology - Wikipedia - September 4th, 2024
- Genetics, Molecular & Cellular Biology Admissions - September 4th, 2024
- Researchers map 50,000 of DNAs mysterious knots in the human genome - EurekAlert - September 4th, 2024
- Artificial selection of mutations in two nearby genes gave rise to shattering resistance in soybean - Nature.com - September 4th, 2024
- Mainz Biomed Expands Corporate Health Program for ColoAlert with the Addition of Three New Companies in Germany - Marketscreener.com - April 7th, 2023
- Molecular Genetics and Metabolism | Journal - ScienceDirect - December 11th, 2022
- People don't mate randomly but the flawed assumption that they do is an essential part of many studies linking genes to diseases and traits - The... - November 25th, 2022
- Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics - Master of Science / PhD ... - October 7th, 2022
- NIPD Genetics: Leading Genetic Testing Company - October 7th, 2022
- Skeletal Biology and Regeneration Students Recognized For Research Excellence - UConn Today - University of Connecticut - October 7th, 2022
- Mary Munson elected fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology - UMass Medical School - October 7th, 2022
- Every Body's Talking at Them: an Interview with Jon Lieff - CounterPunch - October 7th, 2022
- TriBeta invites students to explore opportunities to work with faculty at research fair on Oct. 11 - Ohio University - October 7th, 2022
- Genetics: the Vatican Does Not Intend to Be Behind the Times - FSSPX.News - October 7th, 2022
- Yield10 Bioscience Appoints Willie Loh, Ph.D., to the Board of Directors - citybiz - October 7th, 2022
- Molecular pathways of major depressive disorder converge on the synapse | Molecular Psychiatry - Nature.com - October 7th, 2022
- Sigyn Therapeutics Strengthens Board of Directors With the Appointments of Richa Nand, Jim Dorst and Christopher Wetzel - Yahoo Finance - October 7th, 2022
- UTHSC Researcher Co-Leads Study of Genes that Modulate Aging, Lifespan - UTHSC News - UTHSC News - October 7th, 2022
- GATC Health Investor Conference to Feature First Public Demonstration of Its AI Platform's Drug Discovery Capabilities - PR Newswire - October 7th, 2022
- Three Professors Conferred Tenure and Eleven Promoted - Wesleyan Argus - October 7th, 2022
- Who will get the call from Stockholm? It's time for STAT's 2022 Nobel Prize predictions - STAT - October 7th, 2022
- Dalhousie to present exhibition celebrating Gerhard Herzberg and his legacy - Dal News - October 7th, 2022
- Why Some People Should Rethink Their Morning Cup Of Coffee - Health Digest - October 7th, 2022
- Cell and Gene Therapy: Rewriting the Future of Medicine - Technology Networks - October 7th, 2022
- UofL researchers lead the call to increase genetic diversity in immunogenomics - uoflnews.com - July 6th, 2021
- In Brief This Week: Foundation Medicine, Myriad Genetics, Genetron Health, and More - GenomeWeb - July 6th, 2021
- More filling? Tastes great? How flies, and maybe people, choose their food - Yale News - July 6th, 2021
- Genetic mapping of subsets of patients with fragile X syndro | TACG - Dove Medical Press - July 6th, 2021
- What is The Babydust Method? Danielle Lloyd swears method helped her conceive girl - The Mirror - July 6th, 2021
- Datar Cancer Genetics joins hands with US based Iylon Precision Oncology to offer personalized Precision Oncology cancer treatment solutions - PR Web - July 6th, 2021
- Mapping a pathway to competitive production - hortidaily.com - hortidaily.com - July 6th, 2021
- Associations between pancreatic expression quantitative traits and risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. - Physician's Weekly - July 6th, 2021
- Global Genomics Market | Rising Incidence of Chronic and Genetic Diseases are Key Factors to Grow Market During 2021-2029 | 23andMe, Agilent... - July 6th, 2021
- The Babydust Method Danielle Lloyd used to conceive a girl after four sons and how it works - RSVP Live - July 6th, 2021
- In the beginning science and faith - The Irish Times - June 24th, 2021
- Ancient Maya Maintained Native Tropical Forest Plants around Their Water Reservoirs | Archaeology - Sci-News.com - June 24th, 2021
- Local foundation awards $1.25 million to MIND Institute to study rare genetic condition - UC Davis Health - June 24th, 2021
- Xlife Sciences AG: Collaboration with the University of Marburg - Yahoo Finance - June 24th, 2021
- Genetics diagnostics in India is on the verge of transformation: Neeraj Gupta, Founder and CEO of Genes2me - The Financial Express - June 24th, 2021
- Precision Medicine: Improving Health With Personalized Solutions - BioSpace - June 24th, 2021
- Half of Portland areas 22 top National Merit winners hail from just 2 schools - OregonLive - June 24th, 2021
- Investing in stem cells, the building blocks of the body - MoneyWeek - June 24th, 2021
- New study finds low levels of a sugar metabolite associates with disability and neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis - Newswise - May 14th, 2021
- Cernadas-Martn Is a Champion for Marine and Human Diversity | | SBU News - Stony Brook News - May 14th, 2021
- Four Penn Faculty: Election to the National Academy of Sciences - UPENN Almanac - May 14th, 2021
- Is there a difference between a gene-edited organism and a 'GMO'? The question has important implications for regulation - Genetic Literacy Project - May 14th, 2021
- 5 Students Inducted Into American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Honor Society - Wesleyan Connection - May 14th, 2021
- The Science of Aliens, Part 2: What Kind of Genetic Code Would Extraterrestrials Have? - Air & Space Magazine - May 14th, 2021
- UT Austin Faculty Member Receives 2021 Piper Professor Award - Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost - UT News | The University of Texas... - May 14th, 2021
- Distinguished University of Birmingham plant scientist elected to the Royal Society - University of Birmingham - May 14th, 2021
- Double Hoo Research: Undergrads and Grads Team Up to Create Knowledge - University of Virginia - May 14th, 2021
- Global Genetic Testing Market Top Countries Analysis and Manufacturers With Impact of COVID-19 | 2021-2028 Detail Analysis focusing on Application,... - May 14th, 2021
- Morag Park named to the Order of Quebec - McGill Reporter - McGill Reporter - May 14th, 2021
- Third Rock Ventures Launches Flare Therapeutics With $82 Million Series A - BioSpace - May 14th, 2021
- The Royal Society announces election of new Fellows 2021 - Cambridge Network - May 14th, 2021
- Researchers Decode the "Language" of Immune Cells - Technology Networks - May 14th, 2021
- RepliCel Launches the Next Stage of a Research Project with the University of British Columbia to Build World-Class Hair Follicle Cell Data Map -... - May 14th, 2021
- Mice Sperm Sabotage Other Swimmers With Poison | Smart News - Smithsonian Magazine - February 14th, 2021
- Study Identifies Never-Before-Seen Dual Function in Enzyme Critical for Cancer Growth - Newswise - February 14th, 2021
- Devious sperm 'poison' their rivals, forcing them to swim in circles until they die - Livescience.com - February 14th, 2021
- More needs to be done to find and fight COVID-19 variants, says Colorado researcher - FOX 31 Denver - February 14th, 2021
- Selfish sperm genes 'poison' the competition for the win - Big Think - February 14th, 2021