Biological Networks

• Main Author: Neda Bagheri (Ed.) (auth)
• Other Authors: Rudiyanto Gunawan (Ed.) (auth)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2019
• Subjects: Biology, life sciences; Pathway crosstalk; Alzheimer's disease; Bioenergy crops; Model identification; Metabolic networks; Host-pathogen interactions; Single cell; Parameter sensitivity; Tuberculosis; Multivariate statistical analysis; Systems biology; Biological networks; Mathematical modeling; Lignin biosynthesis; Design of experiments
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Networks of coordinated interactions among biological entities govern a myriad of biological functions that span a wide range of both length and time scales-from ecosystems to individual cells and from years to milliseconds. For these networks, the concept "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" applies as a norm rather than an exception. Meanwhile, continued advances in molecular biology and high-throughput technology have enabled a broad and systematic interrogation of whole-cell networks, allowing the investigation of biological processes and functions at unprecedented breadth and resolution-even down to the single-cell level. The explosion of biological data, especially molecular-level intracellular data, necessitates new paradigms for unraveling the complexity of biological networks and for understanding how biological functions emerge from such networks. These paradigms introduce new challenges related to the analysis of networks in which quantitative approaches such as machine learning and mathematical modeling play an indispensable role. The Special Issue on "Biological Networks" showcases advances in the development and application of in silico network modeling and analysis of biological systems.