My above comment was not ironic. What I meant is that we have already discovered the algorithm that gives rise to all biological phenomena: Evolution by Natural Selection.

We also have some grand principles that further unite the field, like the cell as the basic unit of organismal life, emergent properties of higher order systems, &c.

The remaining work is mostly 'stamp collecting' - looking at the details of the output of that algorithm. Of course those details are enormously complex. Kind of like mapping out the Mandlebrot Set after you already know the algorithm.