Emergence of function from coordinated cells in a tissue

Abstract

A basic problem in biology is understanding how information from a single genome gives rise to function in a mature multicellular tissue. Genome dynamics stabilize to give rise to a protein distribution in a given cell type, which in turn gives rise to the identity of a cell. We build a highly idealized mathematical foundation that combines the genome (within cell) and the diffusion (between cell) dynamical forces. The trade-off between these forces gives rise to the emergence of function. We define emergence as the coordinated effect of individual components that establishes an objective not possible for an individual component. Our setting of emergence may further our understanding of normal tissue function and dysfunctional states such as cancer.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 30, 2017
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1621145114

Entities

People

  • Indika Rajapakse
  • Stephen Smale

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Oncology and Biomarker-Based Cancer Detection.
  • Systems Analysis and Design