How complex systems cope with noise: Balancing centralized and decentralized control
Abstract
All biological systems must cope with variability and unpredictability at the full range of spatial and temporal scales, from molecular noise, to turbulence, and catastrophes [?]. How they cope with this uncontrolled variability depends on the structure of the system. From an evolutionary or design perspective, that very structure emerges in large part from the type of variability the system faces [?]. Although many mathematical biologists are coming to appreciate the range of challenges that these issues raise, the field has yet to see a major synthesis that identifies unifying themes, key challenges, and specific approaches to address stochasticity across the full range of biological organization. Building on a successful ARO-sponsored workshop held at the University of Utah in December of 2015, ÒMathematics and the Quest for Fundamental Principles of Biology" this proposal lays out the scope and strategy to create this broad synthesis. We will use this as a jumping-off place for our own specific research, and describe three particular directions that we will pursue (ants, stress, and the tragedy of the commons/information control). Our research falls into two main phases. First, we will synthesize the conceptual and mathematical literature on how biological systems at all levels of organization deal with the joint challenge of stochasticity and control. Second, we will apply those ideas to three areas of central concern in our group: Ants, stress, and the role of information in controlling the tragedy of the commons. Our ultimate goal is to propose new mathematical methods to address them. The Biomathematics Program has a particular focus on Fundamental Laws of Biology. This proposal builds on ground-breaking work at a workshop conference funded by this Program in December, 2015, which laid out the creative new directions that have challenged us to rethink basic assumptions about both mathematics and biology. The theme of coping with and capitalizing on stochasticity emerged from that workshop. This proposal seeks precisely to identify and mathematically study the fundamental principles of structure and function which deal with variability, unpredictability, and noise. Among those principles is understanding how biological systems, such as cells, solve the inverse problems that characterize the challenges of remaining alive in a world with incomplete and noisy information. The decentralized algorithms used by complex biological systems could provide robust alternatives to classical methods. At their core, these approaches and questions require multi-scale methods to link how individual agents gather, share, and act on information as part of a larger collective.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1710070
Entities
People
- Frederick R. Adler
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Utah