Systems biology, big science and grand challenges

Abstract

Systems biology is currently one of the most prominent large-scale endeavours in the life sciences, so it might be considered to be a good example of ‘big science’. Further analysis shows, however, that although systems biology does make use of huge quantities of data, requires large amounts of funding and is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative, in other respects it does not fit comfortably under the heading of big science. I suggest that we need to adopt new policy categories if we want to understand the dynamics of the contemporary life sciences. The term ‘New Biology’ has been used to identify recent changes. New Biology involves the integration of many different disciplines, and, importantly, it is oriented towards addressing major societal needs or ‘grand challenges’. I ask: if ‘big science’ was the language of the twentieth century, are ‘grand challenges’ the language of the twenty first? I end by arguing for the increased involvement of the social sciences and humanities in the formulation of grand challenges.