Explaining a complex living system: dynamics, multi-scaling and emergence |
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Authors: | Irun R Cohen and David Harel |
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Affiliation: | Department of Immunology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel. |
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Abstract: | Complex living systems are difficult to understand. They obey the laws of physics and chemistry, but these basic laws do not explain their behaviour; each component part of a complex system participates in many different interactions and these interactions generate unforeseeable, emergent properties. For example, microscopic interactions between non-living molecules, at the macroscopic level, produce a living cell. Here we discuss how to explain such complexity in the format of a dynamic model that is mathematically precise, yet understandable. Precise, computer-aided modelling will make it easier to formulate novel experiments and attain understanding and control of key biological processes. |
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Keywords: | biological modelling reactive animation emergence properties reactive system |
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