Proteostasis: The network behind the networks

It is difficult to find a biomedical review article or attend a seminar that does not depict a cellular signaling pathway, schematically drawn out to make sense of the complex interactions that underlie a particular biological process. These cartoons usually depict key proteins as solid, static shapes, connected by arrows, usually cascading from a signal to an outcome. Regulatory factors are sometimes shown, forming switches or feedbacks, to complete the network.