This article reconsiders the theoretical role of the genetic code. By drawing on published and unpublished sources from the 1950s, I analyse how the code metaphor was actually employed by the scientists who first promoted its use. The analysis shows that the term ‘code’ picked out mechanism sketches, consisting of more or less detailed descriptions of ordinary molecular components, processes, and structural properties of the mechanism of protein synthesis. The sketches provided how-possibly explanations for the ordering of amino acids by nucleic acids (the ‘coding problem’). I argue that employing the code metaphor was justified in virtue of its descriptive-denotational and explanatory roles, and because it highlighted a similarity with conventional codes that was particularly salient at the time. 1 Introduction 2 Coding Schemes in the 1950s 2.1 The research problem: Determining amino acid sequences 2.2 The solution: Mapping schemes or ‘codes’ 3 The Code Metaphor Played Descriptive and Explanatory Roles 4 The Abstractness of Codes and the Expendability of the Code Metaphor 5 The Role of Arbitrariness 6 Conclusions 1 Introduction 2 Coding Schemes in the 1950s 2.1 The research problem: Determining amino acid sequences 2.2 The solution: Mapping schemes or ‘codes’ 2.1 The research problem: Determining amino acid sequences 2.2 The solution: Mapping schemes or ‘codes’ 3 The Code Metaphor Played Descriptive and Explanatory Roles 4 The Abstractness of Codes and the Expendability of the Code Metaphor 5 The Role of Arbitrariness 6 Conclusions

中文翻译：

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重新考虑“基因编码”：对实际使用情况的分析

本文重新考虑了遗传密码的理论作用。通过借鉴 1950 年代已发表和未发表的资料，我分析了最初推广其使用的科学家实际上是如何使用代码隐喻的。分析表明，术语“代码”挑选了机制草图，包括对蛋白质合成机制的普通分子成分、过程和结构特性的或多或少的详细描述。这些草图为核酸对氨基酸的排序（“编码问题”）提供了可能的解释。我认为使用代码隐喻是有道理的，因为它具有描述性-外延性和解释性作用，并且因为它突出了与当时特别突出的传统代码的相似性。1 引言 2 1950 年代的编码方案 2.