Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Emerging Technologies and Advanced Tools for Decoding Metabolomics Data Analysis
Published on: November 10, 2023
Opportunities at the Interface of Network Science and Metabolic Modeling
Varshit Dusad1, Denise Thiel2, Mauricio Barahona2
1Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Metabolism plays a central role in cell physiology because it provides the molecular machinery for growth. At the genome-scale, metabolism is made up of thousands of reactions interacting with one another. Untangling this complexity is key to understand how cells respond to genetic, environmental, or therapeutic perturbations. Here we discuss the roles of two complementary strategies for the analysis of genome-scale metabolic models: Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) and network science. While FBA estimates metabolic flux on the basis of an optimization principle, network approaches reveal emergent properties of the global metabolic connectivity. We highlight how the integration of both approaches promises to deliver insights on the structure and function of metabolic systems with wide-ranging implications in discovery science, precision medicine and industrial biotechnology.
Related Concept Videos
Introduction to Metabolism
What is Metabolism?
Overview of Metabolism
Plant Metabolism
Sunlight, the primary source of energy in plants, is first absorbed by the chlorophyll pigments present in their leaves. Plants then use this energy to carry out photosynthesis, where water is oxidized into oxygen and carbon dioxide...
Model Approaches for Pharmacokinetic Data: Physiological Models
Regulation of Metabolism
Mechanistic Models: Overview of Compartment Models

