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Hypothesis, analysis and synthesis: it’s all Greek to me!

Ioannis Iliopoulos, Sophia Ananiadou, Antoine Danchin, John P. A. Ioannidis, Peter D. Katsikis, Christos A. Ouzounis, Vasilis J. Promponas
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/561175
Ioannis Iliopoulos
1Division of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Crete, GR-71110 Heraklion, Greece,
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  • For correspondence: iliopj@med.uoc.gr
Sophia Ananiadou
2School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK,
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  • For correspondence: sophia.ananiadou@manchester.ac.uk
Antoine Danchin
3Institute of Cardiometabolism & Nutrition, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 blvd. de l’Hôpital, F-75013 Paris, France,
4School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Kashing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, SAR Hong Kong, China,
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  • For correspondence: antoine.danchin@normalesup.org antoine.danchin@normalesup.org
John P. A. Ioannidis
5Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS), Stanford University, 1265 Welch Rd, MSOB X306, Stanford, CA 94305, USA,
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  • For correspondence: jioannid@stanford.edu
Peter D. Katsikis
6Department of Immunology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands,
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  • For correspondence: p.katsikis@erasmusmc.nl
Christos A. Ouzounis
7Biological Computation & Process Lab (BCPL), Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute (CPERI), Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH), PO Box 361, GR-57001 Thessalonica, Greece,
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  • For correspondence: ouzounis@certh.gr
Vasilis J. Promponas
8Bioinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, PO Box 20537, CY-1678 Nicosia, Cyprus,
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  • For correspondence: vprobon@ucy.ac.cy
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Abstract

The linguistic foundations of science and technology have relied on a range of terms many of which are borrowed from ancient languages, a known but little researched fact from a statistical perspective. Precise definitions and novel concepts are often crafted with those — frequently used — terms, yet their etymology from Greek or Latin might not always be fully appreciated. Herein, we demonstrate that frequently used terms span almost the entire PubMed® database, while a handful of terms of Greek origin retrieve 80% of all entries. We argue that the etymology of those critical terms needs to be fully grasped to ensure correct use, in conjunction with other concepts. We further propose a number of terms for genomics, using prepositions that can accurately define subtle sub-disciplines of this ever-expanding field. Finally, we invite commentary by both the science community and the humanities, for possible adoption of suggested terms, not least to avoid inaccurate usage or inappropriate notions that may compromise clarity of meaning.

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Posted February 28, 2019.
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Hypothesis, analysis and synthesis: it’s all Greek to me!
Ioannis Iliopoulos, Sophia Ananiadou, Antoine Danchin, John P. A. Ioannidis, Peter D. Katsikis, Christos A. Ouzounis, Vasilis J. Promponas
bioRxiv 561175; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/561175
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Hypothesis, analysis and synthesis: it’s all Greek to me!
Ioannis Iliopoulos, Sophia Ananiadou, Antoine Danchin, John P. A. Ioannidis, Peter D. Katsikis, Christos A. Ouzounis, Vasilis J. Promponas
bioRxiv 561175; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/561175

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