Applying a causal framework to system modeling

The emerging field of systems biology represents a revolution in our ability to understand biology. Perhaps for the first time in history we have the capacity to pursue biological understanding using a computer-aided integrative approach in conjunction with classical reductionist approaches. Technology has given us not only the ability to identify and measure the individual molecules of life and the way they change, but also the power to study these molecules and their changes in the context of a big picture. It is through the creation of a computer-aided framework for human understanding that we can begin to comprehend how these collections of molecules act as integrated biological systems, and to utilize this knowledge to rationally engineer the future of science and medicine.