Scientific advancement is characterized, in part, by progressively more precise understandings of aspects of the physical and natural worlds, with a resulting increased capacity to explain, predict, and control events. From recognizing that the atom has distinct parts to identifying the presence of exons and introns within genes (parts used to make and not to make proteins, respectively), scientists have made progressive refinements in understanding that facilitate the explanation of what had previously been unexplainable. In virtually every area of science, increased precision in our understanding of phenomena is an active, ongoing enterprise.
