SOME THOUGHTS ON CAUSALITY IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

It can be difficult to establish causality in biology. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that something can be an important factor but not a cause of a disease. In biology, 'X causes Y' tends to many 'X is necessary and sufficient for Y'. We have to start thinking of systems where we can talk about causation in a more realistic way to make progress in biology.