Question

1. Why is system biology needed?

2. What types of tools, approaches,methodologies and technologies are used in system biology ?

Please answer both questions

Answer 1

1. Living systems are dynamic and complex, and their behavior may be hard to predict. System biology is needed in deciphering the complexity of biological systems since the networks that form the whole of living organisms are more than the sum of their parts.  

2. Systems biology aims to develop and use efficient algorithms, data structures, visualization and communication tools with the goal of modelling of biological systems. It involves the use of quantitative measurements of the behavior of groups of interacting components, systematic measurement technologies such as genomics, bioinformatics and proteomics, and mathematical and computer simulations of biological systems, including cellular subsystems (such as the networks of metabolites and enzymes which comprise metabolism, signal transduction pathways and gene regulatory networks), to both analyze and visualize the complex connections of the cellular processes.