This new journal aims to address the need for more dialogue between medicine and systems biology by commissioning reviews, publishing opinion, and by inviting 'pedagogic material' in the field of systems biology and medicine. The first issue includes reviews on a diverse range of topics, including stem cell differentiation, dynamics of MAPK signalling, systems biology of cancer, NF-κB signalling, quorum sensing in bacteria and eukaryotic chemotaxis. The reviews are clearly written by experts in the field and are well-illustrated. The reviews explain many difficult concepts, such as multiscale modelling or the role of positive and negative feedback on system dynamics. What I found particularly interesting and useful was the reviews of areas, such as the lung physiome or modelling of the eye, which are less familiar to a systems biology audience. The journal will be a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in the application of systems biology to medicine.