The “Controllables”

15 July 2022

Biology and the molecular biosciences is a discipline of nuance and subtlety - our “breakthrough” discoveries are not dramatic in the moment - a slightly darker colour change, a small band appearing, or a reading that is slightly lower or higher than we expected. This reflects the complexity of organisms and how tightly constructed every part of our biology is. Even a 5-10% shift in gene expression can mean the difference between normal cell growth and cancer. A 5-10% difference might also mean nothing - it could just be the statistical margin of error. The thin line that separates genuine breakthroughs from random background noise only exists if we can control as many experimental conditions as possible.