Cross-hierarchy systems principles

One driving motivation of systems biology is the search for general principles that govern the design of biological systems. But questions often arise as to what kind of general principles biology could have. Concepts from engineering such as robustness and modularity are indeed becoming a regular way of describing biological systems. Another source of potential general principles is the emerging similarities found in processes across biological hierarchies. In this piece, I describe several emerging cross-hierarchy similarities. Identification of more cross-hierarchy principles, and understanding the implications these convergence have on the construction of biological systems, I believe, present exciting challenges for systems biology in the decades to come. •Cross-hierarchy similarities in biology may emerge as design principles.•Examples of cross-hierarchy similarities include exploratory behavior, Weber's Law, and bow-tie architecture.•Cross-hierarchy similarities may constrain evolved design of biological systems.