Relativism as a means to alleviate biology from genomic reductionism: But is the remedy effective?

Abstract

For the past several decades, biomedical research has principally been centered on molecular biology and genomic science. Although many molecular pathways and players in different disease and normal biological processes have been elucidated over this period, the much hoped-for “true” understanding of cellular and organismic functions has arguably not been achieved. Furthermore, current mainstream research paradigms from neurodegenerative disease to oncology to evo-devo research do not signal a clear path forward as to how that desired “true” understanding could be achieved. Here three questions can be raised: Why are we where we are in biology? What is the level and type of understanding that should and can be reached? And how do we get there? Denis Noble’s recent book makes illuminating contributions to answering these questions, providing a thoughtful analysis of the historical and contextual basis of the current state of biological research.