Systems biology: the next step

"Systems biology" describes the integration of data from many sources, such as DNA sequence, gene expression, functional analyses, metabolite profiles, genotype and phenotype, to produce as comprehensive an understanding as possible of a biological process or processes. This represents the next logical step in genomics research. The aspiration is that a more profound understanding of how organisms function can help us to tackle major global problems, such as hunger, sustainable fuels and the conservation of freshwater supplies.