Model Selection in Genomics. (Editorials)

Shmulevich, Ilya, Environmental Health Perspectives

With the discovery of DNA, the completion of genome sequencing of a number of organisms, and the advent of powerful high-throughput measurement technologies such as microarrays, it is now commonly said that biology has gone through a revolution. But I also have heard it said that biology is only about to go through a scientific revolution, much as physics did in the 17th century. In messianic hopes, people foretell the coming of the Newton of biology, but it is up to us, the scientific community, to set the stage for that to happen.

Both views are valid, each in their own sense. The discovery of DNA and the more recent development of powerful new technologies have certainly revolutionized our understanding of the inner workings of life and allowed us to probe deep into the machinery of living organisms, much as the Copernican system and Galileo's telescope helped revolutionize astronomy. It was Sir Isaac Newton, however, who placed science on a solid footing by formalizing existing knowledge in terms of mathematical …

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Publication information: Article title: Model Selection in Genomics. (Editorials). Contributors: Shmulevich, Ilya - Author. Journal title: Environmental Health Perspectives. Volume: 111. Issue: 6 Publication date: May 15, 2003. Page number: A328+. © 2006 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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