Abstract
This last chapter examines the relative contributions of theory and experiments to some key discoveries in molecular biology. Three cases are compared: the identification of the semiconservative mode of DNA replication, the definition and deciphering of the genetic code, and the discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) in prokaryotes. Analysis shows that as the complexity of an investigated problem increased, theory became less potent and the part of experiment turned out to be dominant or absolute. Thus abstract conjectures had major part in the elucidation of the mechanics of DNA replication, whereas the role of hypotheses in the definition of the genetic code was limited and theory had no significant part in the discovery of mRNA. Examination of a fourth more complex case reveals total failure of theory to predict the split nature of eukaryotic genes and RNA splicing. It is suggested, therefore, that biology—even at its molecular level—is mostly too complex to allow effective theorization.
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