The evolution of molecular biology

Abstract

Biology's various affairs with holism and reductionism, and their contribution to understanding life at the molecular level

Figure 1

An area of a two-dimensional network in which all single, reproducible causalities are known, here represented by the straight lines between junctions. They obviously depend on the physicochemical conditions, such as pH, temperature or pressure, which also determine the direction of a reaction.

Figure 2

A near-causality in a network is represented by the straight connections (red) between the cause C, and the effect E. As deviations are possible at each junction, a cause can also lead to a side effect E′ (see also Fig 3).

Figure 3

Analysing the individual causalities that link causes and effects (green) allows scientists to make better and more reliable predictions about the probability of effects and side effects.