10 Questions You Should to Know about Molecular Biology Kits for Research

Chapter 1. The Secrets of Life: A Mathematician's Introduction to Molecular Biology

Eris S. Lander

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Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Michael S. Waterman

University of Southern California

Molecular Biology has emerged from the synthesis of two complementary approaches to the study of life—biochemistry and genetics—to become one of the most exciting and vibrant scientific fields at the end of the twentieth century. This introductory chapter provides a brief history of the intellectual foundations of modern molecular biology and defines key terms and concepts that recur throughout the subsequent chapters.

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The concepts of molecular biology have become household words. DNA, RNA, and enzymes are routinely discussed in newspaper stories, prime-time television shows, and business weeklies. The passage into popular culture is complete only 40 years after the discovery of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by James Watson and Francis Crick and only 20 years after the first steps toward genetic engineering. With breathtaking speed, these basic scientific discoveries have led to astonishing scientific and practical implications: the fundamental biochemical processes of life have been laid bare. The evolutionary record of life can be read from DNA sequences. Genes for proteins such as human insulin can be inserted into bacteria, which then can inexpensively produce large and pure amounts of the protein. Farm animals and crops can be engineered to produce healthier and more desirable products. Sensitive and reliable diagnostics can be developed for viral diseases such as AIDS, and treatments can be developed for some hereditary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis.

Molecular biology is certain to continue its exciting growth well into the next century. As its frontiers expand, the character of the field is changing. With ever growing databases of DNA and protein sequences and increasingly powerful techniques for investigating structure and function, molecular biology is becoming not just an experimental science, but a theoretical science as well. The role of theory in molecular biology is not likely to resemble the role of theory in physics, in which mathematicians can offer grand unifying theories. In biology, key insights emerge less often from first principles than from interpreting the crazy quilt of solutions that evolution has devised. Interpretation depends on having theoretical tools and frameworks. Sometimes, these constructs are nonmathematical. Increasingly, however, the mathematical sciences—mathematics, statistics, and computational science—are playing an important role.

This book emerged from the recognition of the need to cultivate the interface between molecular biology and the mathematical sciences. In the following chapters, various mathematicians working in molecular biology provide glimpses of that interface. The essays are not intended to be comprehensive up-to-date reviews, but rather vignettes that describe just enough to tempt the reader to learn more about fertile areas for research in molecular biology.

This introductory chapter briefly outlines the intellectual foundations of molecular biology, introduces some key terms and concepts that recur throughout the book, and previews the chapters to follow.

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