IUBMB & FEBS Congress: "From Single Molecules to Systems Biology " 2012

The theme of the 22nd IUBMB & 37th FEBS Congress is “From Single Molecules to Systems Biology”. Based on recent spectacular advances in the "-omic" disciplines and in information technology, multidisciplinarity and integration have become the key features of post-genomic and proteomic research. Genes, gene products, their regulatory networks and their interactions with their environment must be analyzed not only at the molecular level, but also as components of higher order structures, metabolic pathways or entire cells and organisms. This branch of research, termed “Systems Biology”, combines concepts from molecular biology, engineering sciences, mathematics and information technology in a holistic approach to complex biological systems such as living cells. Hence, close collaboration between biologists, biochemists, physiologists, chemists, physicists and mathematicians is essential in order to expand the molecular studies into the characterization and modeling of the complex interactions of genes, proteins and metabolic processes. Presently, biosciences are heading for another revolution: the in-silico simulation of complex life processes.