Systems biology: design principles of whole biological systems. Preface.

摘要

Systems biology takes a holistic view on biology and aims at elucidating design principles of whole biological systems rather than characterizing individual molecules or single events. It is generally believed that systems biology will transform biology from a descriptive to a predictive science, making it possible to understand, explain, and eventually engineer complex biological systems. In the past decades, we witnessed burgeoning development of various fields that mutually complement each other and together define the scope and methods of systems biology. This young and rapidly growing consortium of disciplines defies all attempts at rigid definition of its purpose and boundaries while continuing to evolve and develop new experimental tools and theoretical paradigms. Perhaps, the most definitive characteristic feature of systems biology is that it is a fundamentally interdisciplinary science that became a point of fusion of the traditional experimental biology with physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. Inevitable cross-talk of distinct cultures, often a tumultuous and never an easy process, brought about the emergence of a new culture of modern quantitative biology.