Competing hypotheses, preferred hypothesis

The claim conld be made that systematics can proceed without underlying universal laws, for what is reqnired is nothing bnt a method that allows us to choose a preferred hypothesis from a set of competing hypotheses of relationships relative to some theory such as evolutionary theory. Indeed, we do have a method at our disposal that allows us to do just this, but is it Popperian in its logic The conformity of parsimony analysis with Popper s falsificationism has been asserted in terms of Popper s concepts of logical probability, explanatory power, degrees of corroboration and severity of test. Let us look at these concepts in more detail. 

Common ancestry, 208 Common descent, implication of, 51 Common sense philosophei 58 Community of descent, 198 Comparative anatomy, 166 Competing h3 tfaeses, preferred hypothesis ove 82... 

The similarity of its bioactive and X-ray conformations had been anticipated on the basis of SAR data and of its structural homology to dictyostatin [125], Dictyostatin (Fig. 16) is another MT-stabilizing agent that competes with PTX and has a similar effect on MT dynamics [125], The preferred solution structure of the conformation-ally constrained dictyostatin overlays quite closely the tubulin-bound conformation of DDM, suggesting that they interact in a similar way with MT (Fig. 19). This hypothesis was further supported by the synthesis of a macrocyclic DDM/dictyostatin hybrid, that displays considerable antiproliferative activity [126],... 

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