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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · 2d

I am glad to have hosted Shimon Sakaguchi in Prague last year. I expect he's going to be a very busy man very soon. 🙂

Nature @nature.com · 2d

BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance"

Stay tuned for more.
#NobelPrize

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Reposted by Martin Zach

Thomas Pradeu @pradeu.bsky.social · Jun 30

New paper out! rdcu.be/etKdN Experts in #cancer across the tree of life and philosophers of science teamed up to explore how comparative thinking can improve current approaches to cancer, including conceptually and therapeutically. #evolution #ecology #oncology #philosophy

Advancing cancer research via comparative oncology

Nature Reviews Cancer - Comparative oncology combines evolutionary biology, ecology, veterinary medicine and clinical oncology to better understand cancer, for example, by identifying the molecular...

rdcu.be

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Reposted by Martin Zach

British Journal for the Philosophy of Science @thebjps.bsky.social · Sep 4

A Complementary Account of Scientific Modelling
– Martin Zach

Abstract in alt text or read it here:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

#philsci #philsky

ABSTRACT. According to a widely held view, scientific modelling consists of entertaining a set of model descriptions that specify a model. Rather than studying the phenomenon of interest directly, scientists investigate the phenomenon indirectly via a model in the hope of learning about some of the phenomenon’s features. I call this view the description-driven modelling (DDM) account. I argue that although it is an accurate description of much of scientific research, the DDM account is found wanting as regards the mechanistic modelling found in many branches of biology. By analysing research practices in cancer immunology concerning the development of mechanistic models of the process of cancer metastasis, this article presents and argues for a complementary account of scientific modelling, herein called the experimentation-driven modelling (EDM) account. In EDM, scientists investigate a set of experimental systems and then integrate the results obtained from experiments into a mechanistic model. While EDM shares some key features with DDM, the two are epistemically very different approaches to research.

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Sep 3

I am now considering introducing an intentional typo into the title of my presentation. 🤭 Don't tell anyone.

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Sep 3

Here's a guest piece (credits to @vtgvzdk.bsky.social ) which draws on a report we wrote together for the Czech media (it may yet come out) regarding the results of a national representative survey we did on the issue of how #philosophy is perceived by the public.
dailynous.com/2025/09/03/h...

How the Public Sees Philosophy: Insights from a National Survey in the Czech Republic (guest post) - Daily Nous

What do ordinary people think philosophy is for? That's one of the questions a pair of philosophers, Vít Gvoždiak and Martin Zach (Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences) aimed to answer. ...

dailynous.com

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Sep 3

Soon... Registration still open!
#ImmunoSky #philbio #philsci
Link: pmpos.flu.cas.cz/host-microbe...

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Aug 20

Po dlouhé době další blogový příspěvek, tentokrát na výbušné téma ohledně počtu pohlaví.
Odkaz 👉 medium.seznam.cz/clanek/marti...

Kolik je pohlaví a proč spousta lidí žádné nemá? - Médium.cz

Kolik je biologických pohlaví? Záleží na definici. Evoluční biologie, genetika, medicína i filosofie vědy ukazují, že pohledů je víc — a některé naznačují, že ne každý člověk pohlaví vůbec má.

medium.seznam.cz

Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Aug 12

Register at pmpos.flu.cas.cz/host-microbe...
On-site / online stream
@flu-cas.bsky.social @ggreslehner.bsky.social‬

With kind support from @iocbtech.bsky.social‬ @czechacademy.bsky.social‬ @honzadobes87.bsky.social‬ @sciencecharles.bsky.social‬

Host-microbe interactions – PMPOS

pmpos.flu.cas.cz

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Aug 12

"Immunology Meets Philosophy vol. 2" focuses on host-microbe interactions while highlighting a variety of conceptual approaches and phenomena, from infectious diseases to evolutionary and metabolic perspectives. #ImmunoSky #philbio #philsci
On-site / online stream registration - link in comments 👇

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Feb 3

Pokračování mého "blogu", tentokrát stručně představuji obor filosofie vědy a k čemu je dobrý.
Odkaz 👉 medium.seznam.cz/clanek/marti...

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Jan 28

New book by Maël Lemoine in CUP. Very cool stuff! And surely provocative to many in philosophy of medicine. #philmed #philsci

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Jan 15

Jak čas dovolí, formou krátkých příspěvků zkusím širšímu publiku představit obor filosofie vědy, včetně kontroverzních témat jako třeba ideologie ve vědě aj. První příspěvek je obecnější o vztahu filosofie a vědy, k čemuž se nejspíš občas vrátím. Za sdílení budu rád. medium.seznam.cz/clanek/marti...

Zabili filosofii, parchanti! - Médium.cz

Filosofie je prý mrtvá, protože neudržela krok s moderní vědou. Jaký má ale filosofie vztah k vědě? Ačkoli určitá část filosofie opravdu zaspala dobu, obecně je filosofie mnohem pestřejší, než by se m...

medium.seznam.cz

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Reposted by Martin Zach

Rod Rahimi @rodrahimi.bsky.social · Jan 9

"unlike type 1 immune responses, type 2 immunity is perceived as a potential promoter of tumorigenesis. Emerging evidence challenges this perspective, painting a more nuanced picture in which type 2 immunity might protect against or even actively suppress tumour growth and progression." #ImmunoSky

Reinventing type 2 immunity in cancer - Nature

This Review addresses the roles of type 2 immunity in cancer and the potential for cancer immunotherapies targeting this pathway.

www.nature.com

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Jan 9

It's scary swimming in the great depths where darkness lurks.

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Jan 2

Go follow @philinbiomed.bsky.social if you are interested in keeping track of events on conceptual questions in medicine and biology. #mediky #immunosky #philsci

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Dec 28

My colleague, Vladimir Havlik, just published a paper in Synthese on meaning and understanding in LLMs - a controversial topic! Holiday reading for those interested. #AI #LLM #philsci

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Meaning and understanding in large language models - Synthese

Can a machine understand the meanings of natural language? Recent developments in the generative large language models (LLMs) of artificial intelligence have led to the belief that traditional philoso...

link.springer.com

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Dec 2

One of the coolest places to do a degree in #philsci #philbio #philmed The training takes place in an immunology lab but welcomes applications from all fields of biology and medicine, and is open to those considering a career in science and/or philosophy.

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Dec 2

Check out the new SPSP Newsletter #22, covering biomedical validation, philosophy of science for and with astrophysics, "evolving evolution", Uni of Valpareiso highlights, ... #philsci #philbio #philmed

sway.cloud.microsoft/tvRXL53AU0du...

SPSP Newsletter # 22

November 2024

sway.cloud.microsoft

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Dec 1

I am one of those who has no clue what process ontology ultimatrly is despite reading about it and talking to process ontologists. No problem with processes and ptocessual thinking, but with "process ontology". 🤷‍♂️

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Nov 21

Published on #WorldPhilosophyDay out of all the days in existence as @elenapopaphi.bsky.social noted 🙂 #philosophy #PhilSky

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Nov 21

How did we arrive at our current notion of antibodies? With colleagues we show that the concept of antibodies has been the result of numerous shifts (progressive yet discontinuous conceptual changes in 100+ years) driven also by technology. #philsci #immunosky
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

How Technical Advances Changed the Concept of Antibodies

Shaped by advances in scientific instrumentation and experimental techniques, the concept of antibody has undergone profound transformations throughout the history of immunology. Serological assays, ...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Martin Zach

Jakub Mihalik @jakubmihalik.bsky.social · Nov 14

Here's a CFP for workshop on AI & consciousness that @tmarvan.bsky.social and I are co-organizing in Prague.

Tom Marvan 🇪🇺 @tmarvan.bsky.social · Nov 12

Call for papers for the 13th Ernst Mach Workshop in Prague is up. Keynotes: Anil Seth (Sussex) & Kathinka Evers (Uppsala)

Working on conscious AI? Send us your abstract by the end of February.

emw.flu.cas.cz

#consci #philmind #philsky

Ernst Mach Workshop

emw.flu.cas.cz

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Nov 13

Glad to see this book in print by Alex Krauss. I read and commented on the draft. Now here's the final product in open access at OUP #philsci academic.oup.com/book/58964

Science of Science: Understanding the Foundations and Limits of Science from an Interdisciplinary Perspective

Abstract. How do we drive new knowledge and science? What are their present boundaries? And how can we improve science? We still do not understand these es

academic.oup.com

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Nov 10

Last week I was invited to give a public lecture on the conceptual changes regarding the understanding of immunity #immunosky, followed by an interview on the role of philosophy of science #philsci in such efforts. It's in Czech though .
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqeK...

IF: Nové pojetí imunity / Revoluce v poznání o fungování našeho těla

YouTube video by Mezinárodní festival dokumentárních filmů Ji.hlava

www.youtube.com

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Martin Zach @mzach.bsky.social · Nov 9

Thanks! Unfortunately I am skipping PSA yet again, but fingres crossed I can make it to EPSA.

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