Most of science involves making observations, forming hypotheses, and testing those hypotheses, to form valid conclusions. However, a distinct, longstanding, and very productive scientific approach does not follow this paradigm; rather, it begins with a screen through a random collection of drugs or genetic variations for a particular effect or phenotype. Subsequently, the identity of the drug or gene is determined, and only then are hypotheses formed and the more standard scientific method employed. This alternative approach is called forward screening and includes methods such as genetic mutant screens, small molecule screens, metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics. This review explains the rational for forward screening approaches and uses examples of screens for mutants with altered anesthetic sensitivities and for novel anesthetics to illustrate the methods and impact of the approach. Forward screening approaches are becoming even more powerful with advances in bioinformatics aided by artificial intelligence.

中文翻译：

---

系统化的机缘巧合：麻醉药物和靶标的钓鱼探险。


大多数科学都涉及进行观察、形成假设和测试这些假设，以形成有效的结论。然而，一种独特的、长期的、非常有效的科学方法并不遵循这种范式;相反，它从筛选特定效果或表型的随机药物或遗传变异开始。随后，确定药物或基因的身份，然后形成假设并采用更标准的科学方法。这种替代方法称为前向筛选，包括遗传突变筛选、小分子筛选、代谢组学、蛋白质组学和转录组学等方法。本综述解释了前向筛查方法的合理性，并使用了麻醉药敏感性改变的突变体和新型麻醉剂的筛查示例来说明该方法的方法和影响。随着人工智能辅助的生物信息学的进步，前向筛查方法变得越来越强大。