In science, it is a well known fact that in the process of
applying extending theories to the real world, it is as much a
question of known “how much” of something is happening, apart
from what exactly is happening. Its this crucial aspect that has
physicists worrying about adding never ending degrees of
precision to any numbers they report (typical numbers in
particle physics have up to 9 significant digits [PDF alert]).
Chemists know well how important getting the right amount of
catalysts is in order to make test-tube magic. Biology ,
unfortunately, has been the orphan child of this scientific
obsession. The complexity of a single cell introduces so many
variables that approaching the precision of physics is all but
deemed impossible. Indeed, some have suggested that certain
behaviors of living systems may really be ‘incomputable’. But
perhaps this is why it is an exciting time for biology.
Scientific thought in the last 20 years has morphed slowly from
the search for universals to understanding the nature