With the development of high-throughput techniques like genomics and proteomics, researchers are now able to examine cells as systems. These are not only does this produce a completely novel set of logistical challenges, but it also forces a philosophical reevaluation of the idea of cells as a grouping of distinct biological components. What are we going to do with this growing list of cellular components and their characteristics? These lists, as useful as they are, essentially provide us with the chemicals which make up cells and each one's unique chemical properties. How can we now translate these exhaustive lists of chemical constituents into the biological characteristics.