The two articles in this special section focus on the intersection of systems and biology. Biological systems carry out computation and store information with efficiency levels and complexity that far exceeds those of synthetic computer systems. Consider, for example, that biological neural networks are estimated to offer at least four orders of magnitude with better ops/Joule than synthetic neural networks, or the storage advantages offered by molecular and DNA substrates, or the fact that sophisticated molecular pathways and mechanisms permit biological systems to interface with the most efficient sensing systems that we know of. At the same time, advancing our understanding of complex biological systems rests on continued scaling of the computational capabilities of high-performance and efficient computer systems, hardware, and software.

中文翻译：

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生物学和系统相互作用

本专题中的两篇文章重点介绍了系统与生物学的交集。生物系统执行计算和存储信息的效率和复杂性远远超过合成计算机系统。例如，考虑到生物神经网络估计提供至少四个数量级的操作数/焦耳比合成神经网络更好，或者分子和 DNA 底物提供的存储优势，或者复杂的分子途径和机制允许的事实生物系统与我们所知道的最有效的传感系统交互。同时，推进我们对复杂生物系统的理解取决于高性能和高效计算机系统、硬件和软件的计算能力的持续扩展。