Elements of Computational Systems Biology

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ADVANCES IN COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS BIOLOGY

Huma M. Lodhi

Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Computational systems biology, a rapidly evolving field, is at the interface of computer science, mathematics, physics, and biology. It endeavors to study, analyze, and understand complex biological systems by taking a coordinated integrated systems view using computational methodologies. From the middle of the twentieth century till present, we have been witnessing breakthrough discoveries in biology that range from molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to the generation of the sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. There have also been recent advances in sophisticated computational methodologies, high-throughput biotechnologies, and computational power. The stunning developments in diverse disciplines such as biology and computer science are playing a key role in the fast progression of the emerging field. Computational systems biology provides a point of convergence for genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and computational modeling. It is characterized by its focus on experimental data, computational techniques, and hypotheses testing [1–3].

Open and unsolved problems in biology range from understanding structure and dynamics of biological systems to prediction and inference in the complex systems. In the postgenomic era, systems-based approaches may provide a solution to such unsolved problems. It is ...