title: Newton, laplace, and the epistemology of systems biology.
abstract: For science, theoretical or applied, to significantly advance, researchers must use the most appropriate mathematical methods. A century and a half elapsed between Newton's development of the calculus and Laplace's development of celestial mechanics. One cannot imagine the latter without the former. Today, more than three-quarters of a century has elapsed since the birth of stochastic systems theory. This article provides a perspective on the utilization of systems theory as the proper vehicle for the development of systems biology and its application to complex regulatory diseases such as cancer.
authors.affiliation: Computational Biology Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bittner
authors.forename: Edward R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Dougherty