Understanding the Dynamics of Biological Systems: Lessons Learned from Integrative Systems Biology

Systems biology has risen as a direct result of the limitation of conventional (reductionistic) biology to understand complex phenomena emerging as a result of dynamic and multiscale biological interactions. By applying mathematical and computational models, systems biologists integrate the elementary processes into a coherent description that allows them to predict and characterize the systems-level properties and behavior of complex biological phenomena. As the field of systems biology matures, we are beginning to see practical answers to real biological problems. It is timely to step back and review the insight obtained from a systems biology approach by presenting an overview of current research.

The book encompasses the key disciplines of biology, mathematics, and information technology that contribute to systems biology. It introduces some of the main methods and techniques of systems biology and assesses their contributions based on case studies. The biological phenomena investigated include tissue organization, hormonal control, bacterial stress response, tumor growth and cellular metabolism. Each chapter serves simultaneously as design blueprint, user guide, research agenda and communication platform. The book is targeted at an interdisciplinary audience consisting of students, teachers, researchers, developers, and practitioners in life science, mathematics, computer science and cognate areas.