大数据驱动下的生命科学研究范式变革

The Paradigm Shift of Big Data-Driven Life Science Research

在生命科学领域出现的将大数据技术广泛应用于科学过程的方法对生命科学造成了颠覆性的影响,导致了生命科学研究范式的变革,产生了大数据驱动下的生命科学研究范式。这一生命科学研究范式以新方法论与认识论、新的组织方式、新的产业经济范式和新的价值论为构成要素。对这些要素的形成和变革进行研究,分析其发生的原因及影响,对当代前沿生命科学的健康发展具有指导意义。

Since the 21st century,a series of life science research breakthroughs related to big data have not only promoted the rapid development of life science itself,but also pushed human society into a new era:the era of biological big data.In the era of big data,life science research increasingly needs to analyze these big data with the help of mathematics,computer science,artificial intelligence and molecular engineering to obtain an understanding of the nature of life,and life science research has increasingly become big data-centric research.This big data-centric approach to research is also known as"big data-driven research".The big data-driven approach to life science research is a major change in the contemporary life science research paradigm.Big data-driven life science research has not only changed the epistemology and methodology of traditional life science research,but also changed the organizational model of life science,the interaction mode between life science and social economy,and the ethical and legal boundaries of life science research.In relation to the aspects of epistemology and methodology,both the subject and the object of cognition and action have changed.The subject is no longer just human researchers,but rather is composed of human researchers and intelligent technological machines,which have come together in the researching subject.They do the research together.The object of life science has also changed from living entities to a mixture of data and living entities.As humans and machines make scientific assumptions and discoveries together,the discovery method of life science has correspondingly changed from human discovery to human-machine discovery.In terms of organizational mode,in the era of big data,life science research retains the characteristics of the previous big science as well,but it now involves more participants,higher integration of science and technology,and more diversified organizations,revealing new characteristics involving socialization,ecology,technology and commercialization.Life science research relies more on the interactions of the whole society,whereby all participating organizations and persons work together forming an ecological system.As well,life science has become more technology-intensive.The different outcomes of life science can be directly traced back to new technologies.Business organizations play a key role in life science,and in many cases,they can lead the direction of the research.In terms of its interaction with society,life science provides momentum for social and economic development,and in turn,the development of social economy further promotes the development of life science.The outcome is biological economy:an economic form based on life science,which constitutes a new economic form following agricultural economy,industrial economy,and information economy.In terms of its ethical and legal boundaries,the development of life science puts forward higher requirements for the respect and protection of the dignity of life.Big data technology and artificial intelligence technology will soon transcend the boundaries of human value and greatly increase the risk of data abuse.Thus,in addition to data security concerns,life science creates new security issues,including personal safety,racial security,and social security.People's lives are at stake,even potentially situating entire races as targets of biological attacks.The whole human race can be endangered due to deliberate or accidental misconducts in life research.Therefore,we need to set value and legal guardrails for data-driven life science.The four aspects mentioned above as components of the new scientific paradigm are not isolated from each other but are closely linked.Using common philosophical frameworks,they can be mapped into epistemology and methodology,organization theory and practice theory,function theory,and theory of value respectively,thus realizing a unity in the philosophical sense.Epistemology is the foundation of the new scientific paradigm and identifies the latest features of life science research.The content of organization theory and practice theory reflects how the life science community organizes the science to conduct life science research,which is an adaptation to the new epistemology and methodology.Functional theory explains how the new life science research and its achievements affect the development of social economy and how the new social and economic development in turn affects the new life science research,which is the result of the new organization and practice.Axiology illustrates the ethical and legal boundaries of life science research:it is the purpose and constraint condition of life science,which restricts all other aspects.The new paradigm of life science adopts the generalized view of the scientific paradigm,thus expanding its scope.At the same time,it reveals the development law of life science in the era of big data.It is instructive and enlightening to researchers,research institutions,social organizations,and government departments.Researchers will have a better use of the new methods when they can understand the mechanism of the new paradigm.Research organizations will find the right roles they can play in life research.It also offers government guidance when making policies.