Art and the science of life. (Biotechnology: A Resourceful Gene)

ART and science both endeavour to explore the mysteries of existence. Art does it by creating physical forms that reveal intangible subject matter or illuminate previously unconsidered aspects of the physical world. Science progresses by dissecting the physical world, assessing how each of the parts works first in isolation and then as a part of the whole. One significant difference between art and science, however, is the extent to which they concern themselves with telling people about their discoveries.

The archetypal scientist--caricatured as a person devoid of normal human drives, human emotions and human values--is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge. Moving from one piece of knowledge to the next like a hunter, he or she is generally unconcerned about communicating that knowledge to a wider public. Indeed, science often appears to build its walls high with the bricks of experiment and cement them together with quick-drying jargon and runic mathematics. In its keep are the precious jewels of knowledge, jewels that belong to everybody but are jealously guarded. In media reporting of science you will often find phrases such as "researchers have revealed" or "scientists have unlocked the secrets of", reflecting both the mystery that has become attached to science and the …