3 ms·

We understand very well how gene expression works. It's the editing, with precision, in trillions of living cells, without harm, on an entire population, that's

• rjsw 11y ago
  > What do you mean by non-linear? I mean in the mathematical sense [1], if modifying a piece of DNA can still produce unpredictable results then I wouldn't really feel we should claim that we understand how the whole process works. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinear_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinear_system
  • toufka 11y ago
    >Wouldn't really feel we should claim that we understand how the whole process works." It's more like classical vs quantum mechanics [1]. Both are correct in their limit. And yet we also know that neither is actually True. With respect to genetic regulation we understand the largest terms in the non-linear system, and many of the smaller terms. Does that mean we 'understand' it completely? No, but like physics, we understand it 'completely enough' for many engineering purposes. The fun of it is that there are still exceptions and edge-cases to play with and learn from. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correspondence_principle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correspondence_principle