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Introduction
Systems
Biology is a new methodological paradigm
that transformed 21st century research in
Biology. While Molecular Biology has led
to remarkable progress in our
understanding of biological systems, the
current focus is mainly on identification
of genes and functions of their products
which are components of the system.
Biology has become increasingly
cross-disciplinary as biologists, computer
scientists, engineers, mathematicians,
physicists and physicians, work together
to develop the high throughput
technologies and
computational/mathematical tools required
for this new biology – all driven by the
contemporary needs of biology and
medicine. Finally, all these changes have
enabled the emergence of Systems Biology
-- the idea that we can study interactions
of all the elements in a biological system
to reveal their emergent properties.
The systemic approach to biology is not
new, but recently gained new impact,
mainly due to the remarkable progress of
experimental and computational
(Bioinformatic) methods, each time most
ingenious and powerful. It is supported in
the accumulated biological knowledge,
increasingly detailed, the creation of new
experimental techniques in genomics and
proteomics, new technologies for making
comprehensive measurements on DNA
sequence, gene expression profiles,
protein-protein interactions, the
tradition of mathematical modelling of
biological processes, and exponential
growing of Bioinformatic computer
programming skills (as a prerequisite for
building huge databases
and analysis of large-scale systems).
We have now a golden opportunity to
uncover the essential principles of
biological systems that enable us to
understand them in their entirety by
investigating: (1). the structure of the
systems, such as genes, metabolism, and
signal transduction networks and physical
structures, (2). the dynamics of such
systems, (3). methods to control them, and
(4.) methods to design and modify them for
desired properties.
This
course aims to give an overview of the
main mathematical modelling
approaches to the field of Systems
Biology, that will provide an holistic,
system-level understanding of life.
João Nuno Tavares
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