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Systemic biology
(or systems biology or integrative biology)
The aim of systemic biology is to study and understand the fundamental rules that govern the global and dynamic functioning of a cell. It focuses on groups of elements in interaction with each other (DNA, proteins, molecular complexes, supramolecular architectures, small molecules, etc.).
Standards and models for biology
Over the past few decades, the sequencing of complete human genomes has generated an increasingly voluminous mass of experimental data stemming from different sources. These data are by nature very different and provide detailed information on the individual components of a cell but not enough to understand the dynamics of a living cell.
Dynamic interactions
The different collaborations between different teams represent a major advantage in this approach. The main aim is to benefit from competences in applied mathematics and automation to build dynamic models of the complex interacting networks that are omnipresent in cellular biology.
What contribution does systems biology make to medical research?
Systems biology uses mathematical modelling to understand how biological systems function, communicate and connect with each other. This discipline is used in particular to treat cancers.
Systems biology permits taking the biological context into account in the drug development process more rapidly. Its purpose is to understand how the modification of the environment (pollution, lifestyle, diet, etc.) influences metabolic pathways. It therefore leads to better understanding of the disease. It also allows better identification of the real mode of action of a drug through the analysis of every level of organisation involved in the system, by modifying all the possible parameters.
Thus medical research from traditional molecular biology – reductionist by nature, mainly focused on the characterisation of the individual components of the cell – to systemic biology, which emphases the global rather than the individual importance of components.