For a general intoduction to Systems Biology, please read: Systems Biology: the 21st Century Science

The 20th century witnessed remarkable advances in knowledge about the properties of matter (physics, chemistry and engineering) and the digitalization of information (computer science). As a result, we can fly to Paris, talk on our cell phones, and surf the internet. However, many of us still get diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases because contemporary medicine has yet to develop an effective set of strategies for predicting and preventing their occurrence. This is true because of the precise etiologies of these complex diseases, and the reasons why some people have increased susceptibility to them, are not particularly well understood. But there is hope!

The 21st century began with the complete sequencing of the Human Genome, an achievement that provides the foundation for revolutionary leaps in biology, (the science of living systems). Biologists can now “read” the source code of any species whose DNA they can isolate. Delineation of a species’ genes is the starting point for systems biology. The genes, and the proteins they encode, constitute a “parts list” for any said species. Once the parts are in hand, a focused, yet global, investigation of how their molecular interactions engender the distinctive properties of the species becomes more tractable and more exciting. Whether it be with yeast, fruitfly or mouse, large-scale experiments that could only be imagined a few decades ago can now be performed routinely because now we know the genomic sequence.

There has been a vast increase since year 2000 in the number of publications, news articles, web pages, journals, and academic organizations devoted to systems biology. Clearly, this integrative approach has captured the imagination of biologists and the wider scientific culture. But is it real and will it work? Some naysayers charge that systems biology is nothing more than a fashion fad that will pass once the hype dies down. Others maintain that systems biology is, in essence, a repackaging of established concepts and methodologies under a new description. And a third camp endorses the idea of systems biology as an enticing and powerful new discipline but thinks that it’s premature. They argue that the required knowledge base, datasets and methodologies aren’t “there” yet.

Leading systems biology organizations such as the ISB intend to prove the skeptics wrong by providing the concepts, methods, and paradigmatic “proof of principle” demonstrations that are necessary for establishing systems biology as a firm scientific discipline. But what is it exactly? At present, there is no universally accepted all-encompassing definition of systems biology, even among scientists at the ISB.

However, there is a set of premises that characterize the approach. Methodologies for performing systems biology research are being developed and becoming more standardized. Nonetheless, the field still faces significant experimental, technical, computational and sociological challenges that will need to be addressed over the next several years. As these challenges are met, the promise of systems biology research will be realized to the extent that practical applications with real-world impact become available.

At the ISB, we are convinced that the systems biologists’ understanding of the interplays of different hierarchies of biological information DNA, RNA, proteins, macromolecular complexes, signaling networks, cells, organs, organisms, species within their environmental contexts will promote conceptual insights and practical innovations that will profoundly transform peoples’ daily lives. Predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory medicine will be the most obvious impact. But other transformations will occur. For example, in the development of alternative sources of food and energy. Likewise, a much deeper understanding of the biological basis of human behavior may, in the future, lead to efforts to predict and control it. The ethical, social, legal and political implications of systems biology and its applications, are significant and ought not be ignored or underappreciated by the research community.

With the new high throughput tools emerging—both technical and computational—we maintain that the real revolution in 21^st century biology and medicine will be its digitalization. Digitalization means a number of different things:

• Bookkeeping of biology and medicine will necessarily be digitalized.
• Tools will permit the relevant information to be extracted from single molecules and indeed the information content from single cells.

For example, we can envision the time when an entire genome sequence can be determined from a single cell. Computational methods will allow all of the genes in this sequence to be identified. The corresponding translated proteins will be folded into their three dimensional structures (greatly facilitating the annotation of the genes as three-dimensional structures as more highly conserved than digital linear structures). The interactions of these proteins with one another and other small and large molecules will be determined to generate the potential protein networks and gene regulatory networks. Thus, in this sense, the logic of life for the corresponding organism will be revealed computationally—although the interplay of environmental information with the digital genome information will still require experimentation.

The important point is that digital, as opposed to analog information, is much easier to assess, analyze and manipulate. The digital world of biology and medicine will transcend even the digitalization leading to modern information technology.