Systems biology

Systems biology studies how interactions among biological components produce the behavior of cells, organisms, and ecosystems, combining experiments with computational and mathematical models.

Gene regulatory network: A network of genes and regulatory molecules whose interactions control gene expression. It represents how coordinated gene activity produces cellular states.
High-throughput sequencing: Sequencing technology that reads millions of DNA or RNA molecules in parallel. It provides genome-wide measurements for reconstructing biological systems.
Network medicine: An approach to disease that analyzes how molecular networks shape health and pathology. It applies systems-level interaction maps to disease mechanisms and treatment choices.
Ludwig von Bertalanffy: An Austrian biologist who developed general systems theory in the twentieth century. His emphasis on organized wholes helped establish intellectual roots for systems approaches in biology.
Reductionism: An approach that explains complex phenomena by analyzing their simpler parts. Systems biology retains component-level analysis but emphasizes interactions and emergent behavior.
Metabolic network: A map of biochemical reactions linking metabolites through enzymes and other catalysts. It captures the coordinated flows of matter and energy in cells.
Transcriptomics: The study of the complete set of RNA transcripts produced by a cell or organism. Expression profiles show how system-wide gene activity changes across conditions.
Personalized medicine: Medical care tailored to a person's characteristics, including molecular and clinical data. Integrated models can connect individual molecular profiles with likely disease responses.
Norbert Wiener: An American mathematician who founded cybernetics, the study of control and communication in animals and machines. Cybernetic ideas about feedback and regulation shaped later biological systems thinking.
Molecular biology: The study of biological processes at the molecular level, especially interactions among DNA, RNA, and proteins. Systems biology integrates molecular findings into models of larger interacting networks.

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