Abstract
Integrative physiology and systems biology: reductionism, emergence and causality
Highlights
Systems biology. . .is about putting together rather than taking apart, integration rather than reduction
Francis Crick's ‘Central Dogma,’ which states that DNA encodes mRNA and mRNA encodes protein, has provided a conceptual basis for the biomedical sciences for more than 50 years [2]
Emergence, defined as ‘the arising of novel and coherent structures, patterns and properties during the process of selforganization in complex systems’ [3], is arguably a defining characteristic of higher organisms: the Cartesian premise that the whole is no more than the sum of its parts is hard to defend when considering the physiology of complex eukaryotes
Summary
Systems biology. . .is about putting together rather than taking apart, integration rather than reduction. Cellular differentiation and the development of specific physiological functions are clearly determinist processes; the extraordinarily consistent development of Correspondence: mike.grocott@soton.ac.uk 1Integrative Physiology and Critical Illness Group, Division of Clinical and Experimental Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK 2Anaesthesia and Critical Care Research Unit, University Hospital Southampton, NHS Foundation Trust, CE.93 Mailpoint 24, E-Level Centre Block, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the article intricate phenotypes in humans and other highly evolved species cannot conceivably be the result of stochastic processes.
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