Searching for synergy in silico, in vitro and in vivo

In this paper, I examine the role of the idea of synergy in life science research using examples in the fields of pharmacology/toxicology, molecular genetics and development, biochemistry, ecology and metabolic engineering. The research shows that synergy exhibits scale invariance. Small molecules act synergistically in the activation of single receptor molecules. Proteins function synergistically in development, metabolism and signaling. Synergy was found in the interaction between communities of organisms. Synergy manifests itself quantitatively or qualitatively: synergistic effects can be smaller or larger or they can be entirely different from what was expected. There is no single mathematical model that can be used uniformly to detect and quantify synergy. Synergy provides benefits for human health, wellbeing and economy. Synergy has explanatory and heuristic value in our quest to understand the function of and in designing complex biological systems.