CORE576: An Exploration of the Ultra-Structure Notational System for Systems Biology Research

by Christopher Weir Maier, UNC-SILS MSIS

Tools for managing and interacting with biological data must be able to cope with the dynamic, complex, and information-rich nature of biological research. The Ultra-Structure theory, developed by Jeffrey Long, proposes a new notational paradigm of rules that is specifically designed to cope with complex systems. The approach, which has been applied successfully to the intricacies of business management, may prove useful in the context of biological information systems.

A prototype of an Ultra-Structure system for biology, dubbed CORE576, was developed in Java and PostgreSQL to explore this proposition in the context of a operating mass spectrometry systems biology laboratory. Examples of the system at work are given, and future research directions are given.