BIOINFORMATICS:
Molecular biology has until now mainly focussed on individual molecules, on their properties as isolated entities or as complexes in very simple model systems. However, biological molecules in living systems participate in very complex networks, including regulatory networks for gene expression, intracellular metabolic networks and both intra- and intercellular communication networks. Such networks are involved in the maintenance (homeostasis) as well as the differentiation of cellular systems of which we have a very incomplete understanding.

Nevertheless, the progress of molecular biology has made possible the detailed description of the components that constitute living systems, notably genes and proteins. Large scale genome sequencing means that we can (at least in principle) delimneate all macromolecular components of a given cellular system, and microarray experiments as well as large scale proteomics will soon give us large amounts of experimental data on gene regulation, molecular interactions and cellular networks. The challenge of the 21st century will be to understand how these individual components integrate to complex systems and the function and evolution of these systems, thus scaling up from molecular biology to systems biology. By combining experimental data with advanced formal theories from computer science, "the formal language for biological systems" to specify dynamic models of interacting molecular entities would be essential for:

1. understanding normal behaviour of cellular processes, and how changes may affect the processes and cause disease. It may be possible to correlate genetic properties and symptoms in new and more efficient ways, based on an actual understanding of how various processes interact.

2. Providing predictability and flexibility to academic, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical researchers studying gene or protein functions. In particular, it may save time by reducing the number of experiments needed, if inadequate hypotheses could be excluded by computer simulation.