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On the industrialisation of biology

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Abstract

The times required to develop new drugs is growing continuously and most drugs fail in the development process because we lack the detailed knowledge of biology and physiology needed to understand the result of a proposed treatment. The problem is one of complexity—we do not know the full complexity of living organisms, neither does traditional biology have the language to capture and integrate complexity. As a result, the life sciences are undergoing a period of radical change as the technological and mathematical methods developed for the analysis of physical sciences are being adapted for use in understanding living systems. This introduction of quantitative mathematical methods to represent and understand a previously descriptive subject resembles the Newtonian revolution in physics and its subsequent impact upon industry and manufacture. And just as in the post-Newtonian developments, the new ways are being resisted as the traditional reductionist biologists argue against a system level analysis. The comparison between the industrial revolution and the emerging revolution in life sciences is so strong that it can be usefully employed to explain the current process—the industrialisation of biology—in a way that informs the traditionalist movement. In particular, we draw upon ideas from innovation cycles and the staging of change in science and industry to clarify the current change processes in life science. Using specific examples in technology development we outline lessons that can be learnt in order to smooth the process of change and make it a harmonious one, rather than one of conflict.

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Acknowledgments

In writing this article, L.T.C. Rolt’s writings on the history of engineering have been a constant source of stimulation and inspiration. In particular, I have used (Rolt 1986) as the primary source for the history of machine tools. In addition, the online archive of the Newcomen Society (http://www.newcomen.com)and the internet resources of the Purdue University cytometry laboratory (http://www.cyto.purdue.edu) have been of invaluable assistance. The Hamilton Institute systems biology team, together with Christopher Kellett and Rick Middleton, were constructive and helpful critics of this article. Figure 4 is taken from an original diagram created by Eric Bullinger of the Hamilton Institute. Finally, it is a great pleasure to acknowledge the support of Clayton Christensen and for his comments on the ideas described here.

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  1. Hamilton Institute, NUIM, Maynooth, Co., Kildare, Ireland

    Peter Wellstead

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  1. Peter Wellstead
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Correspondence to Peter Wellstead.

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This work was supported by Science Foundation Ireland under grant 03/RP1/I382.

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Wellstead, P. On the industrialisation of biology. AI & Soc 26, 21–33 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-009-0232-3

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