Systems Biology is an emerging field that is expected to lead at system-level understanding of complex biological processes and to an accurated prediction of their dynamics.
The aim of Systems Biology is to obtain knowledge about regulatory circuits through the integration of molecular analysis of system properties (done utilizing also post genomic approaches) and mathematical modeling and simulation analysis.
 
 
 
ESF systems biology


Systems Biology is the new biology and medical research frontier.
It is clearly more than a new branch of science or a collection of innovative technologies: but rather metaphor that points to an interdisciplinary, integrative approach to biology. Biochemistry, molecular biology, mathematics, informatics, control and network theories are the most relevant areas.
A number of programs and world-leading institutes are now dedicated to this field: Institute of Systems Biology, Seattle; Institute for Systems Biology, Tokyo; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard University; scientific programs founded in the USA (NSF and NIH), in Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, and Japan.
Alliances (such as the Yeast Systems Biology Alliance and E. Coli Systems Biology Alliance) of international researchers from the European Union, USA and Japan have been set.

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The interest in the Systems Biology is driving growing investments


From the public sector

Government Initiatives
Both in Europe and in the USA. In Europe: SysMO is a trans-national funding program for Systems Biology of MicroOrganisms (supported by BMBF-Federal Ministry of Education and Research/Germany, NOW-Netherlands Organization for Scientific research and BM:BWK-Ministry of Education, Science and Culture/Austria); Eureka (InSysBio) is a European project that proposes to promote industry-driven R & D projects in Systems Biology to reinforce the competitiveness of European pharmaceuticals and biotech companies.

Education
Many universities are creating systems biology programs, centres or institutes (Institute of Systems Biology of Seattle, Harvard, MIT, Duke University, University of Michigan, Princeton, University of California, University of Leiden, University of Amsterdam, Max Plank Institute Germany).



From the private sector

Biotech Companies
Many companies are developing new measurement platforms and data integration tools in a total ‘knowledge system’.

IT Companies
IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Sun Microsystems, Oracle: players in the information-rich systems biology domain.


The systems biology approach promises to assist comprehension into how diseases modify biological processes. It also improves decision making in pharmaceutical development by accelerating hypothesis-driven biology, by modelling specific physiologic problems and by providing rapid characterization and interpretation of disease-relevant cell and cell system level responses.