Foundations of Systems Biology [Hardcover]

Hiroaki Kitano (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262112663 | ISBN-13: 978-0262112666 | Publication Date: October 15, 2001

The emerging field of systems biology involves the application of experimental, theoretical, and modeling techniques to the study of biological organisms at all levels, from the molecular, through the cellular, to the behavioral. Its aim is to understand biological processes as whole systems instead of as isolated parts. Developments in the field have been made possible by advances in molecular biology--in particular, new technologies for determining DNA sequence, gene expression profiles, protein-protein interactions, and so on. Foundations of Systems Biology provides an overview of the state of the art of the field. The book covers the central topics of systems biology: comprehensive and automated measurements, reverse engineering of genes and metabolic networks from experimental data, software issues, modeling and simulation, and system-level analysis.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hiroaki Kitano is Director of the ERATO Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project of the Japan Science and Technology Corporation and a Senior Researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262112663
• ISBN-13: 978-0262112666
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,375,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars skim it in the library, if that...., August 27, 2002

By 

"bfjf" (NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foundations of Systems Biology (Hardcover)

The sizzle of bioinformatics is fadding, so you're looking to become a player in biology's new buzz: systems biology? Well, don't start your search with this book. The title is misleading: "Foundations of Systems Biology". I was expecting a broad overview of the field with maybe a few key examples and typical approaches of experimental design (both wet-lab and computational). However, this book is nothing more than a thrown together collection of papers that would have a better home torn out of the book and placed in journals. A better (and cheaper) starting place for getting an overview of systems biology would be the SCIENCE issue on systems biology (vol 295 2002) [it even has a nice review by Kitano the editor of this book]. For people looking for current gene network modeling techniques, you might start with "Mathematical modeling of gene networks." Smolen, et.al. Neuron 2000. But save your money and time by not buying this book.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars suckage, July 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Foundations of Systems Biology (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed with what I found in this book. There is a broad range of topics, but the material presented for each topic is extremely thin. In fact, it would appear that each topic is covered by a single chapter modeled after a very short scientific paper. There is very little review of current cutting edge methods. For example, of particular interest to this reviewer was the chapter on large-scale gene expression arrays. What this reviewer found for 1/3 of the chapter on gene arrays was a paper detailing the "DBRF" method in inferring gene array data. At the end of the chapter was a conclusion, "Thus it is shown here that the DBRF method is superior the _predictor_ method." What should have been a chapter on 'foundations', as the title implies, seems to have become a chapter for pushing the agenda of a particular author's field of research.

It may very well be that the 'DBRF' method is superior to the 'predictor' method. That we'll leave up to the reader. But the inclusion of such material would seem to undermine the goals stated in the editorial preface, "Toward System-level Understand of Biological Ssytems." A foundations book, instead of focusing on research of particular groups, should attempt to summarize, dissect, review, compare, and criticize the field.

A more appropriate title for this book would be 'A random collection of speculative essays.' There may still be gems in this book for certain readers, but those wishing to learn about general systems biology should turn elsewhere.

5 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good begining, January 6, 2002

By 

Pawan (Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foundations of Systems Biology (Hardcover)

In my knowledge, this is the first organized effort to present a synoptic view of systems biology. The best part is that all the contributors are themselves active scientists in the field and obviously therefore information presented is very reliable. I would strongly recommend this book for beginners, though I am sure professionals will find it equally interesting.