A theory has only the alternatives of being wrong or right. A model has a third possibility: It may be right but irrelevant.
--Manfred Eigen1
When molecular biology techniques propelled reductionism to a new height 30 years ago, scientists far and wide began isolating cellular parts. During that time, researchers described the cell as a membrane packed with protoplasm or a balloon filled with molasses, its contents moving around randomly. The idea that the cell was a highly structured, three- dimensional system was a notion that only a few initially adopted. In addition, the thought that cells could be linked to each other and an extracellular matrix was virtually unexplored. Furthermore, the suggestion that mechanical signals could be converted into chemical signals, contributing to cell physiology, was an undeveloped frontier.
Since then, subcellular denizens have been inventoried and catalogued. Moreover, the recent convergence of multiple scientific disciplines, from the biological, ...
