Systems biology

Systems biology is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on complex interactions within biological systems, using a holistic approach (holism instead of the more traditional reductionism) to biological and biomedical research.

History

The term "systems biology" was first used in the 1960s and 1970s, but the concept has evolved significantly over time. The field has grown with the advent of high-throughput techniques and the increasing use of computational models.

Overview

Systems biology involves the use of computer modeling and mathematical modeling to understand and predict the behavior of complex systems. It is closely related to bioinformatics, which is an integration of mathematics, statistics and computer science.

Techniques

Systems biology techniques are numerous and constantly evolving. They include genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics. These techniques are used to gather large amounts of data, which are then integrated and analyzed using computational models.

Applications

Systems biology has many applications in various fields, including medicine, drug discovery, biotechnology, agriculture and environmental science. In medicine, for example, systems biology is used to understand complex diseases like cancer and diabetes.

See also

• Bioinformatics
• Computational biology
• Genomics
• Proteomics
• Transcriptomics
• Metabolomics

References

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  Genomics GTL Pictorial Program
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  Trends in Most Cited Research in Systems Biology
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  Signal Transduction Pathways
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  Toy Biological Model
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  Toy Model Plot