Creativity in Biology: A Major Case and a Minor Case

Sydney Brenner and Francois Jacob's discovery of messenger RNA—which carries the information for making protein from the DNA to the ribosomes—shows how creativity requires a variety of skills and the ability to integrate a considerable amount of knowledge. Most important was the correct formulation of the problem. Not only did the discovery require a theoretical understanding, but also considerable experimental skills. It provides an example of sudden illumination. The concept of positional information in relation to the development of pattern during embryonic development is another example of a change in paradigm in cell biology from metabolism to information. It was based on the aesthetic conviction that there must be general mechanisms for converting genetic information into spatial pattern.