Die technogene Natürlichkeit des Artifiziellen : wie Natur in technisch erzeugte Forschungsgegenstände eingeschrieben wird

Im Zentrum dieser Arbeit steht die These, dass trotz zunehmend technisierter Forschungsmethoden sowie artifizieller Forschungsgegenstände wissenschaftliche Forschungslegitimationen dennoch ein Bedürfnis nach Natürlichkeit bzw. Ursprünglichkeit ausdrücken. Durch eine retrospektive Einschreibung werden auch artifizielle Forschungsobjekte oftmals als natürliche gerechtfertigt, was sich z.B. in den Argumentationslinien wissenschaftlicher Publikationen offenbart. Diese Form der Legitimation wird als ´technogene Natürlichkeit des Artifiziellen´ bezeichnet. Auf Basis theoretischer Grundlagen aus den Bereichen der Naturphilosophie, Artefakttheorie, Wissenschaftstheorie, Science and Technology Studies und der Wissenschaftshermeneutik werden drei Forschungsgegenstände aus drei unterschiedlichen Wissenschaftsdisziplinen in Fallstudien auf diese These hin untersucht. Die erste Fallstudie behandelt die Entwicklungsgeschichte des Lasers sowie dessen heutiger Einsatz in Forschungs- und Anwendungskontexten. Innerhalb der zweiten Fallstudie aus dem Bereich der physikalischen Grundlagenforschung wird die Theoriebildung sowie der experimentelle Entdeckungszusammenhang des Higgs-Bosons näher beleuchtet. Kontrastiert werden diese beiden natur- bzw. ingenieurwissenschaftlichen Forschungskontexte durch eine dritte Fallstudie aus den Bibelwissenschaften, bei der die sogenannte Logienquelle Q, ein künstlich rekonstruierter Evangelienquelltext, im Fokus der Betrachtung steht. In allen drei Diskursen zeigt sich die oben beschriebene Legitimationsfigur. Am Ende der Arbeit wird diskutiert, inwieweit die entstehende Legitimationsambivalenz zwischen Artifizialität und Natürlichkeit durch eine philosophische Reflexion im Rahmen der Forschungskonzeption vermieden werden kann

Physicochemical Investigations of Homeopathic Preparations: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis—Part 3

Objectives: In parts I and II of our review of physicochemical research performed on homeopathic preparations, we identified relevant publications and analyzed the data in terms of individual experiments, looking for the most promising techniques that were used in the past. In this third part, we analyze the results of the experiments seeking to extract information about the possible modes of action underpinning homeopathic preparations. Methods: We summarized the results from the 11 experimental areas previously introduced, extracting the general findings and trends. We also summarized the results in terms of specific research topics: aging, medium used for potentization, sample volume, temperature, material of potentization vessel, and, finally, the use of molecules to probe homeopathic samples. Results: We identified a number of effects that appear consistently throughout the data: Differences to con- trols seem to increase with: time, moderate temperature, small samples volume, and in ionic medium, whereas high temperatures seem to abolish differences to controls. Based on the present analysis, there is no consistent evidence to date for the nanoparticle hypothesis to explain specific homeopathic treatment effects. However, the quantum coherence domain hypothesis, the dynamic water cluster hypothesis, and the weak quantum theory are still contenders and need to be further assessed experimentally. Conclusions: The field requires further targeted experimentation to validate past findings reporting differ- ences between homeopathic dilutions and controls, and to expand these findings by specifically testing the three main working hypotheses that are currently at hand

Physicochemical investigations of homeopathic potencies: A systematic review of the literature

Introduction: In order to direct future research on homeopathic potencies, it is necessary to have a solid overview over previously used methods and experimental results. For this systematic review, we focussed on laboratory experiments that investigated physicochemical properties of homeopathic potencies and compared them to controls or between several potency levels. Methods: Relevant publications were searched for in databases (SCOPUS, Embase, Web of Science, HomBRex, PubMed), article references, and personal collections of literature. Eligible documents were peer-reviewed articles, theses, books, book sections, and conference proceedings without language restrictions. Biological systems and mathematical models were excluded. All articles found were rated by two reviewers according to a manuscript information score (MIS). Articles could score between 0 and 10 points, as 0 to 2 points were given each for description of: experimental procedure, materials, measuring instruments, potentisation method, controls. Articles with an average MIS ≥5 were retained for further review. Results: 173 publications were submitted to information scoring. 57 publications were excluded due to low MIS, and 116 publications with an average MIS of 7.2 were included in the review. Among the physical and chemical methods used were: nuclear magnetic resonance; spectroscopy; (thermo)luminescence; fluorescence; conductivity; calorimetry; pH; atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. High quality research was characterised by the use of several independent production series of the potencies, adequate controls, blinding and randomisation of the samples, and statistical analyses of the results. Conclusions:Arigorous methodology is necessary to receive meaningful results in the physicochemical characterisation of homeopathic potencies

Physicochemical Investigations of Homeopathic Preparations: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis-Part 1.

OBJECTIVES The last systematic review of physicochemical research performed on homeopathic preparations was published in 2003. The aim of the study is to update and expand the current state of knowledge in the area of physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. In part 1 of the study, we aim to present an overview of the literature with respect to publication quality and methods used. In part 2, we aim to identify the most interesting experimental techniques. With this, we aim to be in a position to generate meaningful hypotheses regarding a possible mode of action of homeopathic preparations. METHODS A two-step procedure was adopted: (1) an extensive literature search, followed by a bibliometric and quality analysis on the level of publications and (2) a thorough qualitative analysis of the individual physicochemical investigations found. In this publication, we report on step (1). We searched major scientific databases to find publications reporting physicochemical investigations of homeopathy from its origin to the end of 2015. Publications were assessed using a scoring scheme, the Manuscript Information Score (MIS). Information regarding country of origin of the research and experimental techniques used was extracted. RESULTS We identified 183 publications (compared to 44 in the last review), 122 of which had an MIS ≥5. The rate of publication in the field was ∼2 per year from the 1970s until 2000. Afterward, it increased to over 5.5 publications per year. The quality of publications was seen to increase sharply from 2000 onward, whereas before 2000, only 12 (13%) publications were rated as "high quality" (MIS ≥7.5); 44 (48%) publications were rated as "high quality" from 2000 onward. Countries with most publications were Germany (n = 42, 23%), France (n = 29, 16%), India (n = 27, 15%), and Italy (n = 26, 14%). Techniques most frequently used were electrical impedance (26%), analytical methods (20%), spectroscopy (20%), and nuclear magnetic resonance (19%). CONCLUSIONS Physicochemical research into homeopathic preparations is increasing both in terms of quantity and quality of the publications

Physicochemical Investigations of Homeopathic Preparations: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis—Part 2

Objectives: In Part 1 of the review of physicochemical research performed on homeopathic preparations the authors identified relevant publications of sufficient reporting quality for further in-depth analysis. In this article, the authors analyze these publications to identify any empirical evidence for specific physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations and to identify most promising experimental techniques for future studies. Methods: After an update of the literature search up to 2018, the authors analyzed all publications in terms of individual experiments. They extracted information regarding methodological criteria such as blinding, randomization, statistics, controls, sample preparation, and replications, as well as regarding experimental design and measurement methods applied. Scores were developed to identify experimental techniques with most reliable outcomes. Results: The publications analyzed described 203 experiments. Less than 25% used blinding and/or ran- domization, and about one third used adequate controls to identify specific effects of homeopathic preparations. The most promising techniques used so far are nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation, optical spec- troscopy, and electrical impedance measurements. In these three areas, several sets of replicated high-quality experiments provide evidence for specific physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations. Conclusions: The authors uncovered a number of promising experimental techniques that warrant replication to assess the reported physicochemical properties of homeopathic preparations compared with controls. They further discuss a range of experimental aspects that highlight the many factors that need to be taken into consideration when performing basic research into homeopathic potentization. For future experiments, the authors generally recommend using succussed (vigorously shaken) controls, or comparing different homeo- pathic preparations with each other to reliably identify any specific physicochemical properties