Introduction - Molecular Theory of the Living Cell - page 3

“alive,” by developing a molecular theory of life based on both the experimental
findings on dead cells and theoretical concepts applicable to living cells.
The concept of “theory” in biology is relatively new and seemingly alien to most
practicing biologists. Biologists have learned throughout the recent history of
molecular cell biology that many breakthroughs in biology are possible without
any deep biological theory (witness: the discovery of the DNA double helix, the
deciphering of the genetic code, the completion of the human genome sequencing
project, and many fundamental findings in stem cell research [Holden and Vogel
2008]). As a consequence, biologists may have unwittingly come to entertain the
view that no deep theory, comparable to quantum mechanics in physics and chemis-
try, is needed in biology. In fact many bioscientists may hold the opinion that living
systems are too complex for any deep theoretical approaches to be possible, as one of
the most respected living biologists whom I know once challenged me: Why do
theory when you can solve problems by doing experiments? Such a perspective on
theory found among many biologists contrasts with that of contemporary physicists
who most often carry out experiments in order to test the predictions made by theory
(Moriyasu 1985). It is hoped that the publication of the present topic will contribute
to establishing a culture in biology wherein theory is viewed as essential as
experiments in solving problems in biology.
To gauge what a future molecular theory of biology may look like, it may be
useful to survey other fields of human inquiries where experiment and theory have
established firm relations. As summarized in Table 1.1 , physics, chemistry, and
linguistics appear to have progressed through three distinct stages of development,
viewed either globally/macroscopically or locally/microscopically. Some of the
boxes in the table are empty by definition. Assuming that biology will also follow
the three stages of description , organization , and theory building , I have filled in the
boxes belonging to Biology based primarily on my own research experience over
the past four decades (i.e., 1970-2012). It is possible that there are many other
candidates that can fill these boxes and that any of my own theories may be replaced
by some of these in the future. There are a total of ten theories listed in the last
column of the Biology section, all of which are discussed throughout this topic in
varying details.