The Role of Theory in Advancing 21st-Century Biology Catalyzing Transformative Research (2008) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 13-24
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From page 13... ...
The means by which these practices are actually carried out is profoundly affected by the technologies available, with new tools regularly opening up new realms to experimentation, observation, analysis, and novel conceptual insight. Both biologists and nonbiologists occasionally caricature biology in these terms -- a science dedicated to endless observation, collection, and testing, leading to a snowballing accumulation of facts.
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From page 14... ...
Explanatory theories are critical to making sense of what is observed -- to order biological phenomena, to explain what is seen and to make predictions, and to guide observation and suggest experimental strategies. Because the living world is so complex, biological theory is also exceptionally rich and varied.
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From page 15... ...
It is worth considering whether we have the tools and resources necessary to identify potentially unifying themes or organizing principles. A sequel to the 1989 report examining in that same spirit today's "Opportunities in Biology" could easily require 800 pages and 22 subcommittees and would identify hundreds of exciting potential areas for biological discovery.
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From page 16... ...
This should not have been a surprise for this is a common phenomenon -- the recognition that facts are accumulating that contradict the prevailing theoretical framework often characterizes highly active and exciting research and a field in which important changes are imminent. At its second meeting, the committee invited a diverse group of biologists, focusing especially on researchers in subdisciplines that were not represented on the committee, to give talks discussing the theories and concepts underlying their research.
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From page 17... ...
However, the committee did not find that each subdiscipline of biology has its own more or less well-developed set of foundational theories. The committee's assessment of which areas of biology were "theory-rich" and which areas needed stronger conceptual foundations for substantial advancement concluded that all areas of biology rest on a rich theoretical framework but that the range and types of theories in use were exceptionally diverse.
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From page 18... ...
Despite the integral role that theory plays throughout the practice of biology, biologists rarely think of themselves as theoretical scientists. Part of the reason is that the word "theory" can be used to mean many different things, ranging from a mere hunch to a set of mathematical equations codifying a "law of nature." Although the word is generally used by scientists more rigorously than the general public to mean an explanatory framework supported by a large body of observational and experimental evidence, even scientists tend to confine the idea of "theoretical science" to the practice of developing mathematical equations to represent a large body of phenomena.
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From page 19... ...
A scientist whose model of cellular robustness rules out the possibility of life below pH 3 or above 90oC will not look for bacteria in the human stomach or in the hot springs of Yellowstone. Explicit recognition that one's theoretical and conceptual framework is affecting choices throughout one's research -- from the tools used, to the experiments done, to the interpretation of the results and more -- may help stimulate truly innovative and transformative research.
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From page 20... ...
Perhaps even more challenging is the effort to understand enough about other scientific disciplines to know whether the research being done on a specific biological question could inform, advance, or build on research being done outside biology. Key Questions The committee chose to illustrate the role theory can play in answering broad questions in the field of biology and addressing grand challenges for society by developing a set of questions that have relevance across many subdisciplines of biology.
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From page 21... ...
This report hopes to avoid the stereotype that theoretical science is, at heart, a computational and mathematical exercise: Computation is blind and mathematical modeling is pointless without experimental verification and the development of fundamental concepts and frameworks. Nevertheless, advances in our ability to digitize, store, manipulate, compare, look for patterns in, and interconnect different kinds of biological information represent a technological advance that contributes to all areas of biological practice, from observation, to experiment, and to hypothesis testing, as well as the elaboration of theory.
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From page 22... ...
22 THE ROLE OF THEORY IN ADVANCING 21ST-CENTURY BIOLOGY Elephant illustration © Jason Hunt (naturalchild.org/jason) It was six men of Indostan, To learning much inclined, Who went to introduction Fig 1 see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind)
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From page 23... ...
INTRODUCTION 23 The Third approach'd the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: "I see," -quoth he- "the Elephant Is very like a snake! " The Fourth reached out an eager hand, And felt about the knee: "What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain," -quoth he, "'Tis clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!
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From page 24... ...
Combining insights from different scales and explicitly linking them to see how different approaches complement each other, and to see larger patterns, will allow a richer conceptual basis for "understanding the elephant" to be built. By explicitly giving theory equal status with the other aspects of biology, biological science can become even more productive in the 21st century.
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Key Terms
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