Toward a New Synthesis? DNA and Cell Biology—Comparative and Controversial

摘要

Science is changing and so is DNA and Cell Biology. Thenunity of biology has always been evident, but genomicsnhas made it an inescapable truth that biological themes arenrecapitulated at the molecular, cellular, organismal, andnpopulation levels. Every new gene sequence brings us to thenbrink of some other field of biology. Every search for sequencensimilarity immerses us in evolution. Every list ofnhomologues forces us to peer into the secrets of an organismnwe never thought had any similarity to the one we study.nDNA sequences have become the threads of the fabric ofnbiology, uniting motifs and establishing principles derivednfrom the sheer repetition of themes. The new DNA and CellnBiology is intended to bring into relief themes that are repeatednacross the Tree of Life.