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Metaphors have been central to modern genetics—what has been called the'new'genetics—since 1953. As many have pointed out, modern genetics is phrased in the metaphor of the information theory, through words such as' code'. Several authors have looked at the metaphors used in biomedical science and genetics—some from a historical position (Kay, 1995; Fox Keller, 1995) and others from a more philosophical perspective (Doyle, 1994; Montgomery, 1991).

These previous analyses have not addressed the significant literature discussing the role of metaphor in science. Theoretical issues include the following questions. What is metaphor? How does it work? Are some metaphors better than others? What is metaphor's role in theory-formation? Could scientific language be metaphorfree? Do metaphors help construct reality or do they just represent it? What is the role of the'information'metaphor in the history …