Cellular Automaton Modeling of Biological Pattern Formation (eBook)

This book focuses on a challenging application field of cellular automata: pattern formation in biological systems, such as the growth of microorganisms, dynamics of cellular tissue and tumors, and formation of pigment cell patterns. These phenomena, resulting from complex cellular interactions, cannot be deduced solely from experimental analysis, but can be more easily examined using mathematical models, in particular, cellular automaton models.

While there are various books treating cellular automaton modeling, this interdisciplinary work is the first one covering biological applications. The book is aimed at researchers, practitioners, and students in applied mathematics, mathematical biology, computational physics, bioengineering, and computer science interested in a cellular automaton approach to biological modeling.

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The recent dramatic advances inbiotechnology have led to an explosion of data in the life sciences at the molecular level as well as more detailed observation and ch- acterization at the cellular and tissue levels. Itis now absolutely clear that one needs a theoretical framework inwhich to place this data to gain from it as much information as possible. Mathematical and computational modelling approaches are the obvious waytodothis. Heeding lessons from the physical sciences, one might expect that all areas in the life sciences would be actively pursuing quantitative methods to c- solidate the vast bodies of data that exist and to integrate rapidly accumulating new information. Remarkably, with a few notable exceptions, quite the contrary situation exists. However, things are now beginning to change and there is the sense that we are at the beginning of an exciting new era of research inwhich the novel problems posed by biologists will challenge the mathematicians and computer scientists, who, in turn, will use their tools to inform the experimentalists, who will verify model predictions. Only through such a tight interaction among disciplines will we have the opportunity to solve many of the major problems in the life sciences. One such problem, central to developmental biology, is the understanding of how various processes interact to produce spatio-temporal patterns in the embryo.