Biogenesis: number mysticism in protein thinking 1

Historically, great minds have been tantalized by the idea that integers contain hidden, subtle meanings that could give us deep insights into natural (and supernatural) phenomena. Numerological analysis has been used in religion, mythology, and the sciences. In the field of proteins, integers played a stimulating role during early struggles to unravel structure, but they ultimately proved constrictive and misleading. In contrast, the introduction of imaginary (or complex) numbers into the algebra and numerical analysis of ligand‐protein affinities can open new perspectives into such interactions.—Klotz, I. M. Number mysticism in protein thinking. FASEB J. 7: 1219‐1225; 1993.