Question: Are you (basically) trying to get a model(s) that will show the effects of what one type of gene will have on others? If that's right, then how would you use it in a practical way? I.e. Finding the properties of a plant or how to increase the life expectancy of an animal.

Chris Needham answered on 19 Mar 2010:

Yes. In a practical way, if we knew for sure how gene regulation worked, then by looking at the network, we could find ways to stop cancer, of make plants more resistant to harsh conditions, or make drugs more effective. For example some drugs work by blocking a protein from binding, and alters the pathways used in the cells, often, the biological system has a number of ways of doing things, and the reaction may use another pathways instead, by looking a networks, we may be able to identify sets of genes to target in order to block a pathway/reaction and make a drug work effectively.