Life and computers : the challenge of a science of organization

Systems biology emerged in response to the very high throughput and abundance of data linked to the molecular aspects of cell biology. These data reinforced the need to understand how a system made up of an incredible diversity of molecular assemblies interacting with each other asynchronously and autonomously could manifest coherent behavior. Systems biology aims to develop and integrate new experimental and mathematical approaches in the search for principles that would make the nature of cellular phenotypes more intelligible, improving our ability to control them. This pursuit is certainly motivated by the practical need to prevent dysfunctions and combat pathologies. But Prof. Walter Fontana's approach also reflects the need for a theoretical perspective that is indispensable for thinking about the complexity of the cell and the organism, and by extension, evolution itself.

In his lecture at the Collège de France, Prof. Walter Fontana will therefore adopt a different perspective from that traditionally used in the field of "bioinformatics", which is often confined to the analysis of large datasets. Computation will be approached from two angles. On the one hand, the theory of programming language as a formal framework for modeling complex dynamic systems relevant to biology. Secondly, computation as a natural and physical phenomenon that is an integral part of biological systems.