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That's a bad headline. It implies that nothing else influences gene expression, when the article says that physical stretching of force-sensitive histones can
by logfromblammo 7y ago
That's a bad headline. It implies that nothing else influences gene expression, when the article says that physical stretching of force-sensitive histones can influence gene expression, without the assistance of any other factors.
To be clear, factors other than physical force can also influence gene expression.
- hammock 7y ago>when the article says that "study reveals" >physical stretching of force-sensitive histones "physical force" >can influence gene expression, "spurs gene expression" >without the assistance of any other factors "alone"
- logfromblammo 7y agoMeaning the of conveyed sentences is order words of also by the the.
- hammock 7y agoIn this case it's not about the order of the words, but your interpretation of the meaning of "alone." Read the headline as it is, a news headline (rather than a scientific conclusion), and it might make more sense.
- logfromblammo 7y agoAmbiguity is less tolerable in journalism than it may be in other media. A good sentence can be a bad headline. It's the same principle as Murphy's Law in engineering. If it can be interpreted in a different way, you don't put it at the top of your story. In this case, removing the word "alone" makes a better headline.
- thaumasiotes 7y agoThe meaning of sentences is also influenced by the space of what they might possibly mean. While you're correct that the headline, interpreted according to the normal rules of English, implies that nothing other than physical force can affect gene expression, this interpretation is easily ruled out by the fact that it's impossible. It's not a long stretch to the intended meaning.
- pests 7y agoThe intended meaning was obvious to me, fwiw. I think the "alone" also adds emphasis to the key discovery.
- vangelis 7y ago"He alone is capable of pulling the sword from the stone." Does this imply he can pull the sword from the stone by himself or that only he can pull the sword from the stone?
- whiddershins 7y agoOnly he can. He can do this alone = he can do it without help He alone can do this = no one but him can do it
- hammock 7y agoHow about "ARM STRENGTH alone is capable of pulling the sword from the stone." Does that mean that your leg muscles (which are stronger) are NOT capable of pulling the sword? Does that mean a tractor can't do it?