Systems Biology & Organisational Biology
Biological function does not arise from components alone, but from the organisation of relations between them.
This section explores how molecular networks, physiological systems, ecological interactions and emergent structures shape function across living systems. It brings together systems biology, organisational biology, network science and relational approaches to examine how biological wholes maintain coherence, adapt to perturbation and generate properties that cannot be understood by analysing isolated parts alone.
The publications in this area develop conceptual frameworks and theoretical perspectives on biological organisation across scales — from phytochemical networks and metabolic regulation to ecological dynamics and systemic function. Their aim is to clarify how biological components become functional systems through organisation.
At its core, this section asks how life works when we look not only at the parts, but at the structured relations that hold them together.
Scope
This section examines biological organisation as a functional level in its own right.
It brings together publications on molecular and metabolic networks, phytochemical architecture, physiological regulation, ecological interaction and system-level responses to perturbation. The central concern is how biological components become organised into systems capable of stability, adaptation, regulation and emergent function.
The focus extends across several fields: systems biology, organisational biology, network pharmacology, relational phytochemistry, ecology, nutrition and medicine. Common to all of them is a shift from isolated components to structured relations.
Topics include molecular network organisation, phytochemical profiles, extract architecture, emergence, synergy, perturbation, resilience, network collapse, ecological regulation, biochemical variability in food systems and methods for comparing biological organisation across scales.
Guiding Questions
When does a collection of components become a functional system?
Can two biological systems contain similar components but differ in organisation and function?
How does extraction, processing or simplification alter the architecture of a biological system?
How do molecular, physiological and ecological networks maintain coherence under changing conditions?
How can organisational structures be described, measured and compared?
What is lost when living systems are reduced too early to isolated components, concentrations or linear mechanisms?
Selected Publications
The following publications explore these questions through selected essays, perspectives and conceptual frameworks. They focus on biological organisation as a functional dimension that can be described, compared and theoretically developed across scales.