&gt;Wouldn&#x27;t really feel we should claim that we understand how the whole process works.&quot;<p>It&#x27;s more like classical vs quantum mechanics [1].  Both are correct in their limit.  And yet we also know that neither is actually <i>True</i>.  With respect to genetic regulation we understand the largest terms in the non-linear system, and many of the smaller terms.  Does that mean we &#x27;understand&#x27; it completely?  No, but like physics, we understand it &#x27;completely enough&#x27; for many engineering purposes.  The fun of it is that there are still exceptions and edge-cases to play with and learn from.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Correspondence_principle" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Correspondence_principle</a>