Francesca Bellazzi

• Bellazzi, Francesca (2025). “Shape is everything: on proteins’ functions”. Biology & Philosophy. ISSN 0169-3867. 41(1). doi: 10.1007/s10539-025-10005-5. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Proteins are often defined as the molecules that enable life thanks to the special functions they display. But what are proteins’ functions? Despite their relevance in various debates, the answer to this question is often left implicit. This paper argues that a correct characterisation of proteins’ functions must consider the native structure of the protein, building on Bellazzi’s definition of biochemical functions: proteins’ functions are dispositions associated to specific chemical and geometrical structural properties relevant for the tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins, and they contribute to specific evolved biological processes. Section 1 introduces the problem of protein’s functions. Section 2 unpacks the “structure problem” and the “function problem”, where the former inquiries into the function bearer of proteins’ function and the second into the relevant account of function. Section 3 presents an answer to the structure problem by arguing that the focus should be on native structure. Section 4 and Sect. 5 focus on the function problem and the account defended. Section 5 also considers two specific case studies, haemoglobin and crystallins, and a critical evaluation of the account. Section 6 concludes.

• Bellazzi, Francesca (2025). WHAT IS IT ABOUT VITAMINS? - VITAMINS AS INVESTIGATIVE KINDS. Philosophy of Science. ISSN 0031-8248. s. 25–25. doi: 10.1017/psa.2025.10158. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Abstract Vitamins are important scientific categories in different contexts. This paper argues that vitamins are investigative kinds in middle-range ontologies: categories subject to open-ended investigation and that track features of the world. Section 2 presents the history of vitamin discovery to illustrate how the introduction of the “vitamin” category and subsequent research led to the identification of many different vitamins. Section 3 explores whether vitamins can be considered natural or conventional kinds. Section 4 argues that vitamins are investigative kinds. Section 5 considers the ontology of vitamins as investigative kinds in a middle-range ontology.

• Bellazzi, Francesca (2025). The Metaphysics of Pregnancy. Philosophy Compass. 20(4). doi: 10.1111/phc3.70026. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Pregnancy is a one of the most complex phenomena of life and is essential to the life cycle of mammals. Pregnancy is also a crucial aspect of humans' life and experience. But what is pregnancy? This question has received little attention in philosophy until recently, when it got picked up by metaphysicians and philosophers of science. However, the philosophical discussion is still in its infancy. This article provides a survey of the recent debate on the metaphysics of pregnancy. It explores the relation between the pregnant organism and the gestated one, motivating the further study of pregnancy from a philosophical perspective (§1, §2). It summarises the three main models of pregnancy present in the literature, the containment view (§3), the parthood view (§4) and the splitting process view (§5) with their advantages and shortcomings. Then, it explores a recent debate on whether pregnancy is a disease (§6). Lastly, it considers how one can decide between these models, for instance by favouring a given view of biological individuality over another (§7). The article concludes that none of the views is fully satisfactory, and thus inviting to continue the research on pregnancy from a metaphysical and philosophical perspective.

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• Bellazzi, Francesca (2024). Rahul Sam Podcast w/t Francesca Bellazzi: "The gene, self-assembly, and the philosophy of biochemistry". [Internet]. YouTube; Spotify. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bellazzi, Francesca (2024). Two sides of the same coin. Chemistry World. ISSN 1473-7604. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bellazzi, Francesca (2024). Episode 1023 of The Dissenter "Francesca Bellazzi: Biochemical Kinds and Functions, Genes, and Virtue Ethics". [Internet]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-No7N8hhp0&t=36s&ab_channel. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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