The reductionist approach remains centerpiece in experimental research. This approach has been remarkably successful in identifying key functional components of life. However, living systems are immensely complex, relying not on individual components but rather on constellations of interacting networks, each of which is complex in its own right, composed of multiple components in perpetual interactions among themselves. Even on the basis of the reductionist approach, it is difficult to imagine a molecular or biochemical factor that acts in solo, disconnected from all other interactive factors. Therefore, there has been a growing need for a new way of thinking and experimentation to elucidate the multiple interactive systems contributing to the overall physiology of a living organism.

This need is being addressed by the emerging field of systems medicine. The reductionist approach has provided data points on the individual components of a working biological machine. It is now the goal of systems medicine to connect the points. The advent of whole-genome sequencing, high-throughput screening, and approaches involving proteomics and metabolomics have generated large bodies of data that reveal an enormous complexity in components and interactions. This complexity has been addressed in turn with a combination of mathematical, engineering, and computational tools that have the potential to construct and validate biological phenomena. The approach to unraveling mechanisms underlying cellular function is the foundation of systems biology, an approach that, not unlike reductionism, is poised to not only make significant contributions to biology but also to potentially change clinical medicine under the roof of systems medicine.

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