Journal of Science and Technology Studies (과학기술학연구)

Korean Association of Science and Technology Studies (한국과학기술학회)
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Deciphering the Genetic Code in the RNA Tie Club: Observations on Multidisciplinary Research and a Common Research Agenda

RNA 타이 클럽의 유전암호 해독 연구: 다학제 협동연구와 공동의 연구의제에 관한 고찰

  • 김봉국 (서울대학교 과학사 및 과학철학 협동과정)
  • Received : 2017.05.04
  • Accepted : 2017.06.11
  • Published : 2017.06.30
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Abstract

In 1953, theoretical physicist George Gamow attempted to explain the process of protein synthesis by hypothesizing that the base sequence of DNA encodes a protein's amino acid sequence and, in response, proposed the nucleic acid-protein information transfer model, which he dubbed the "diamond code." After expressing interest in discussing the daring hypothesis, contemporary biologists, including James Watson, Francis Crick, Sydney Brenner, and Gunther Stent, were soon invited to join the RNA Tie Club, an informal research group that would also count biologists and various researchers in physics, mathematics, and computer engineering among its members. In examining the club's formation, growth, and decline in multidisciplinary research on deciphering the genetic code in the 1950s, this paper first investigates whether Gamow's idiosyncratic approach could be adopted as a collaborative research forum among contemporary biologists. Second, it explores how the RNA Tie Club's research agenda could have been expanded to other relevant research topics needing multidisciplinary approach? Third, it asks why and how the RNA Tie Club dissolved in the late 1950s. In answering those questions, this paper shows that analyses on the intersymbol correlation of the overlapping code functioned to integrate diverse approaches, including sequence decoding and statistical analysis, in research on the genetic code. As those analyses reveal, the peculiar approaches of the RNA Tie Club could be regarded as a useful method for biological research. The paper also concludes that the RNA Tie Club dissolved in the late 1950s due to the disappearance of the collaborative research agenda when the overlapping code hypothesis was abandoned.

1953년에 이론물리학자 조지 가모프는 "DNA의 염기 서열에 의해 단백질의 아미노산 서열이 암호화된다"는 가설로 단백질 합성 현상을 설명했고, "다이아몬드 코드"라는 핵산-단백질 정보전달 모형을 제안했다. 왓슨, 크릭, 브레너, 스텐트 같은 당대의 생물학자들은 이런 대담한 제안에 관심을 보이며 가모프와 토론했고, 이에 가모프는 이들 간의 의견교환을 활성화하기 위해 RNA 타이 클럽이라는 비공식 연구자 모임을 결성했다. 이후 생물학자들뿐만 아니라 물리학자, 수학자, 컴퓨터엔지니어들이 RNA 타이 클럽에 동참했고, 이들의 다학제적 유전암호 해독 연구는 1950년대 후반까지 활발히 이루어졌다. 본고는 RNA 타이 클럽의 형성, 성장, 와해의 과정을 살피면서 다음과 같은 논제를 다루려 한다. 첫째, 정통 생물학과 거리가 먼 '문자열 간 번역원리를 찾는 가모프의 수학적 접근'은 어떻게 생물학자들의 공동의 연구의제로 채택될 수 있었을까? 둘째, RNA 타이 클럽의 연구의제는 어떻게 다양한 학제의 연구주제들로 풍부하게 확장될 수 있었을까? 셋째, RNA 타이 클럽의 쇠락과 와해를 가져온 요인은 무엇이었을까? 이런 분석을 통해, 본고는 타이 클럽 연구자들의 근본 가정인 "아미노산 서열에 배열 패턴이 존재한다"는 가정이 다양한 학제적 접근방식을 매개하는 연결고리 역할을 했고, 또 이를 통해 당대 생물학의 실험 데이터를 활용할 수 있게 되면서 이들의 번역코드 연구는 유의미한 생물학 연구방법으로 자리 잡을 수 있게 되었음 주장할 것이다. 아울러 위의 논의의 연장선상에서 타이 클럽의 와해 요인을 해명함으로써, 다양한 학제의 연구자들을 성공적으로 매개할 생산적 연구의제가 갖춰야 할 요건은 무엇인지 고찰해 볼 것이다.

Keywords

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