Carrying out research in genetics and genomics and communicating about them would not be possible without metaphors such as “information,” “code,” “letter” or “book.” Genetic and genomic metaphors have remained relatively stable for a long time but are now beginning to shift in the context of synthetic biology and epigenetics. This article charts the emergence of metaphors in the context of epigenetics, first through collecting some examples of metaphors in scientific and popular writing and second through a systematic analysis of metaphors used in two UK broadsheets. Findings show that while source domains for metaphors can be identified, such as our knowledge of electrical switches or of bookmarks, it is difficult to pinpoint target domains for such metaphors. This may be indicative both of struggles over what epigenetics means for scientists (natural and social) and of difficulties associated with talking about this, as yet, young field in the popular press.

中文翻译：

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寻找目标的隐喻：表观遗传学的奇怪案例


如果没有“信息”、“代码”、“信件”或“书”等隐喻，就不可能进行遗传学和基因组学研究并就它们进行交流。遗传和基因组隐喻长期以来一直保持相对稳定，但现在在合成生物学和表观遗传学的背景下开始发生变化。本文首先通过收集科学和通俗写作中的一些隐喻示例，然后通过对两份英国大报中使用的隐喻进行系统分析，描绘了表观遗传学背景下隐喻的出现。研究结果表明，虽然可以识别隐喻的源域，例如我们对电气开关或书签的了解，但很难确定此类隐喻的目标域。这可能既表明了表观遗传学对科学家（自然和社会）意味着什么的争论，也表明了在大众媒体上谈论这一新兴领域所面临的困难。