title: Bridging the gaps in systems biology.
abstract: Systems biology aims at creating mathematical models, i.e., computational reconstructions of biological systems and processes that will result in a new level of understanding-the elucidation of the basic and presumably conserved "design" and "engineering" principles of biomolecular systems. Thus, systems biology will move biology from a phenomenological to a predictive science. Mathematical modeling of biological networks and processes has already greatly improved our understanding of many cellular processes. However, given the massive amount of qualitative and quantitative data currently produced and number of burning questions in health care and biotechnology needed to be solved is still in its early phases. The field requires novel approaches for abstraction, for modeling bioprocesses that follow different biochemical and biophysical rules, and for combining different modules into larger models that still allow realistic simulation with the computational power available today. We have identified and discussed currently most prominent problems in systems biology: (1) how to bridge different scales of modeling abstraction, (2) how to bridge the gap between topological and mechanistic modeling, and (3) how to bridge the wet and dry laboratory gap. The future success of systems biology largely depends on bridging the recognized gaps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg, Chalmers Tvärgata 3, 412 96, Göteborg, Sweden, marija.cvijovic@chalmers.se.
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cvijovic
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almquist
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hagmar
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hohmann
authors.forename: Hans-Michael
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kaltenbach
authors.forename: Edda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Klipp
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krantz
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nelander
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pagnani
authors.forename: Natasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Przulj
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raue
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stelling
authors.forename: Szymon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stoma
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.forename: Judith A H
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wodke
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zecchina
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jirstrand
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D012015:Reference Standards; D049490:Systems Biology
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