Embryonic Stem Cells as a Module for Systems Biology - Systems Biology: Networks, Models, and Applications - page 312

Systems biology approaches are currently in their infancy. However,
given the continuing accumulation of massive new genomic and pro-
teomic data sets in conjunction with a steady development of powerful
computational hardware and algorithms to analyze these data compre-
hensively, it is not an unreasonable expectation that systems biology
can lead to a better understanding of biological processes, revealing
details at levels as complex as behavior, personality, addiction, neuro-
logical disorders, mental retardation, and sexuality. This in itself carries
many ethical implications, but the potential of medical discovery is
exciting, ensuring that systems biology will become a mainstream area
of research in this century.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by A-Star, Singapore, NIH grants RO1 DK47636
and AI54973 (B.L.) and a grant from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of
America (B.L.). We thank Leonard Lipovich, Lim Sai Kiang (Genome Institute
Singapore), Frank McKeon, Towia Liberman, and Dan Tenen (Harvard Medical
School) for helpful discussions and in some instances reading the manuscript.
We thank all members of the Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Group,
Transcription Group, and Cloning and Sequencing Group at GIS for their
contribution to data and the ideas that drove this chapter.
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