Principles of Systems Biology Building Models for Networks, Cells, Tissues, and Organs

This book provides a broad, integrative overview of systems biology, giving particular attention to functional modeling, analysis, and experimental testing of protein circuits. It begins at the fundamental building blocks of a cell, introducing the underpinnings from thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, and then addresses biochemical networks. The author focuses on giving students the practical toolkit necessary for work in this field, from model estimation to predictive modeling and beyond. Among the key topics discussed in depth are gene transcription, signal transduction, metabolism, synthetic biology, and systems physiology.

Dramatis Personae. The Amazing Worlds of Biological Macromolecules. The World of the Cell. Random Walks, Protein Diffusion, Transport. Putting Things Together. Chemical Kinetics. Biochemical Systems. Stochastic Chemical Kinetics. Model Estimation. Structure and Topology of Networks. Applications to Cellular Systems. Gene Transcription. Signal Transduction. Metabolism. Tissues, Organs and Populations. Pattern Formation in Organisms. Networks of Organisms: Ecological Models. Tissues and Organs. The Systems Biology of Cancer. Networks of Cells: The Brain