An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits (Chapman & Hall/Crc Mathematical and Computational Biology) by Uri Alon
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Book Reviews of An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits (Chapman & Hall/Crc Mathematical and Computational Biology)
Book Review: Excellent serious book about biology -- no chemistry needed.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book for learning about how biology works. I've been wanting to learn a bit more about biology, and I've read many of the popularized science books on the subject. Most serious biology books require a pretty good understanding of organic chemistry. (At first that didn't seem like a problem, after all organic chemistry is just regular chemistry with a bunch of carbon atoms lying around, but the jargon gets so dense that you lose track of what's going on.) This book offers an entirely different perspective on biology that is much more accessible to someone with a general interest in science.
This book looks at biology from the perspective of how genes and proteins interact at a network level, rather than a chemical level. It's a lot like learning electronics -- you can understand a lot about a transistor without knowing how semiconductors work. After explaining the operation of some of the most common network "motifs" the author talks about why those motifs were favored by evolution, in particular what makes them robust and how can they act to minimize errors. The book leaves you with the very interesting question of what characteristics might be different between an engineered system and an evolved one?
The language of the book is very clear, this is a technical book you could easily read for fun. The math is simple, just a little calculus, and if you don't care about the math you can just look at the diagrams.
Book Review: Excellent stuff!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a macromolecular crystallographer interested in theoretical systems biology, and this book is a real goldmine. It explains all the concepts behind biochemical systems and networks in a clear, lucid language. This book is a pleasure to read, for both biologists and mathematicians alike.Book Review: Clear, rigorous, fascinating
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a Ph.D. student in biophysics. This is the best treatment of systems biology that I've encountered. It treats both the math and the biology with clarity, rigor, and respect. It simplifies without dumbing down. It's beautifully written. If you doubt that systems biology is a real scientific discipline, this book will change your mind. Book Review: Building Mathematical Models of Cells
Summary: 5 Stars
The history of science over the past few centuries is to become ever more specialized. The physicists, becomming ever more concerned with the very large (stars, galaxies, the cosmos) or the very tiny (first atoms, then atomic components, now sub-components. The biologists on the other hand were studying much larger things, such as the cells that make up life. Both sciences developed techniques to facilitate their study.
In recent years, researchers have discovered that sometimes these specialized techniques can be used to develop greater insight into what is happening in other sciences.
In this book, Dr. Alon uses his training in physics to examine certain aspects of biology and to use the terminology and mathematics to describe the way these biological networks work.
The goal of the book is to begin the formulation of general laws that apply to biological networks. This is done by providing a mathematical framework in which some of the design principles of biological systems can help to understand biological networks. In looking at the results, an underlying simplicity not seen before appears in biological systems.
Book Review: Great Job
Summary: 5 Stars
A superb intro to the field. The math is moderate and helpful. Network concepts and their ties to examples and theory are clearly and succinctly presented. This is a textbook but reads easily like a book. Covers key elements while connecting them by at least mention to up-to-date further research. The basics and the grandeur of systems biology. I am trying to remember now anything on the negative side and cannot.