Embracing complexity

Pushing limits by embracing complexity.

In this essay, celebrating the tenth anniversary of this journal, the author describes his journey, from being an engineering student to being a researcher in the biomolecular and biomedical sciences. Along the way, he is going to explain how he learned that handling the complexity of biological systems and cellular processes can provide guidance in situation we all face in our everyday life. I...

Intimate partner violence and HIV: embracing complexity.

Embracing complexity: organicism for the 21st century.

Organicism (materialistic holism) has provided the philosophical underpinnings for embryology since the time of Kant. It had influenced the founders of developmental mechanics, and the importance of organicism to embryology was explicitly recognized by such figures as O. Hertwig, H. Spemann, R. Harrison, A. M. Dalq, J. Needham, and C. H. Waddington. Many of the principles of organicism remain i...

Heart failure in older adults: embracing complexity

Heart failure (HF), particularly in the setting of preserved systolic function, disproportionately afflicts older individuals and results in significant morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. In the United States, among the Medicare population (age > 65 years), HF is among the leading cause of hospital admissions. Optimal care for older adults with HF requires knowledge of age-related phy...

Acknowledging conservation trade-offs and embracing complexity.

There is a growing recognition that conservation often entails trade-offs. A focus on trade-offs can open the way to more complete consideration of the variety of positive and negative effects associated with conservation initiatives. In analyzing and working through conservation trade-offs, however, it is important to embrace the complexities inherent in the social context of conservation. In ...