The next step in biology: a periodic table?
Systems biology is an approach to explain the behaviour of a system in relation to its individual components. Synthetic biology uses key hierarchical and modular concepts of systems biology to engineer novel biological systems. In my opinion the next step in biology is to use molecule-to-phenotype data using these approaches and integrate them in the form a periodic table. A periodic table in biology would provide chassis to classify, systematize and compare diversity of component properties vis-a-vis system behaviour. Using periodic table it could be possible to compute higher- level interactions from component properties. This paper examines the concept of building a bio-periodic table using protein fold as the fundamental unit.
Dhar
Pawan K
PK
Synthetic Genomics, Systems Biology Group, E209, RIKEN Genomic Sciences Centre, 1-7-22, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama,Kanagawa 230- 0045, Japan. pkdhar@gsc.riken.jp
D008958:Models, Molecular; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*
D011506:Proteins