2004 Volume 54 Issue 6 Pages 531-539
Computational biology is integrative in several ways. Functionally, computational models are valuable for integrating the many interacting processes within biochemical networks and the many interacting physiological subsystems within the cell. Structurally detailed models provide a way of integrating across scales of biological organization from molecule to organism. Data integration across diverse laboratory and clinical measurements is another unique strength of computational biology. We describe examples of all three categories of integration by using recent advances in modeling cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and whole-heart electromechanics in health and disease.