The Inner Workings of Life
Vignettes in Systems Biology

An easy-to-read introductory text, comprised of concise vignettes that explain key concepts within systems biology without using jargon.

Eberhard O. Voit (Author)

9781316604427, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 May 2016

218 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 1 cm, 0.36 kg

'One aspect of the book that particularly impresses is the inclusion of the history of the development of each topic, an example to first year university lecturers, who, in their determination to be up to date, often omit or skimp on this important dimension.' Graham Godfrey, The Biologist

Living systems are dynamic and extremely complex and their behaviour is often hard to predict by studying their individual parts. Systems biology promises to reveal and analyse these highly connected, regulated and adaptable systems, using mathematical modelling and computational analysis. This new systems approach is already having a broad impact on biological research and has potentially far-reaching implications for our understanding of life. Written in an informal and non-technical style, this book provides an accessible introduction to systems biology. Self-contained vignettes each convey a key theme and are intended to enlighten, provoke and interest readers of different academic disciplines, but also to offer new insight to those working in the field. Using a minimum amount of jargon and no mathematics, Voit manages to convey complex ideas and give the reader a genuine sense of the excitement that systems biology brings with it, as well as the current challenges and opportunities.

Appetizer
Acknowledgements
1. Status: it's complicated
2. I'd rather be fishin'
3. Whizzes and apparitions
4. Why?
5. Simply engenious!
6. Just a little bit
7. Supermodels
8. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades
9. Emergence preparedness
10. Life without chaos?
11. What God hath wrought!
12. Tell me with whom you go and I'll tell you who you are
13. Time for a change
14. Can't we all get along?
15. Love thyself and fight all others
16. A billion dollars for your thoughts!
17. The computer will see you now
18. Redesigning perfect
19. Let me go in the agorá!
20. Dessert
Selected further readings and citations
Gentle jargon
Index.

Subject Areas: Molecular biology [PSD], Genetics [non-medical PSAK]