Focus on chemical systems biology

In this issue - pv

doi:10.1038/nchembio1108-v

Full Text - In this issue | PDF (215 KB) - In this issue

Focus on chemical systems biology

Networking chemical biology - p633

doi:10.1038/nchembio1108-633

Closer interactions between chemical biology and systems biology have the potential to provide a more integrated understanding of how biology functions.

Full Text - Networking chemical biology | PDF (118 KB) - Networking chemical biology

Focus on chemical systems biology

Chemical biology and the limits of reductionism - pp635 - 638

Randall T Peterson

doi:10.1038/nchembio1108-635

Chemical biology and systems biology have grown and evolved in parallel during the past decade, but the mindsets of the two disciplines remain quite different. As the inevitable intersections between the disciplines become more frequent, chemical biology has an opportunity to assimilate the most powerful ideas from systems biology. Can the integrationist mindset of systems biology liberate chemical biology from the compulsion to reduce everything to individual small molecule–target pairings?

Full Text - Chemical biology and the limits of reductionism | PDF (414 KB) - Chemical biology and the limits of reductionism

Focus on chemical systems biology

Challenges for the 'chemical-systems' biologist - pp639 - 642

Gabriel M Simon & Benjamin F Cravatt

doi:10.1038/nchembio1108-639

As the field of chemical biology matures, its practitioners are tackling ever more sophisticated biological problems. Chemical approaches, both synthetic and analytical, provide researchers with powerful new technologies to perturb, dissect and even reconstruct complex biological systems. Here we discuss the special challenges and opportunities confronted at the burgeoning interface of chemical and systems biology.

Full Text - Challenges for the 'chemical-systems' biologist | PDF (333 KB) - Challenges for the 'chemical-systems' biologist

Focus on chemical systems biology

Reverse engineering intracellular biochemical networks - pp643 - 647

Eli Zamir & Philippe I H Bastiaens

doi:10.1038/nchembio1108-643

Although much is known about the molecular components of cellular signaling pathways, very little is known about how these multicomponent biochemical machineries process complex extracellular signals to generate a consolidated cellular response. A newly developed theoretical approach for reverse engineering network structure—analyzing how perturbations propagate in a network—can be combined with chemical perturbations and quantitative detection approaches to reveal the causal connections within protein networks in cells. This information indicates the dynamic capabilities of a network and thereby its potential function.

Full Text - Reverse engineering intracellular biochemical networks | PDF (382 KB) - Reverse engineering intracellular biochemical networks

Focus on chemical systems biology

Learning biological networks: from modules to dynamics - pp658 - 664

Richard Bonneau

doi:10.1038/nchembio.122

Abstract - Learning biological networks: from modules to dynamics | Full Text - Learning biological networks: from modules to dynamics | PDF (1,041 KB) - Learning biological networks: from modules to dynamics

Focus on chemical systems biology

Targeting and tinkering with interaction networks - pp666 - 673

Robert B Russell & Patrick Aloy

doi:10.1038/nchembio.119

Abstract - Targeting and tinkering with interaction networks | Full Text - Targeting and tinkering with interaction networks | PDF (433 KB) - Targeting and tinkering with interaction networks

Focus on chemical systems biology

Combination chemical genetics - pp674 - 681

Joseph Lehár, Brent R Stockwell, Guri Giaever & Corey Nislow

doi:10.1038/nchembio.120

Abstract - Combination chemical genetics | Full Text - Combination chemical genetics | PDF (823 KB) - Combination chemical genetics

Focus on chemical systems biology

Network pharmacology: the next paradigm in drug discovery - pp682 - 690

Andrew L Hopkins

doi:10.1038/nchembio.118

Abstract - Network pharmacology: the next paradigm in drug discovery | Full Text - Network pharmacology: the next paradigm in drug discovery | PDF (674 KB) - Network pharmacology: the next paradigm in drug discovery