A perspective on bridging scales and design of models using low-dimensional manifolds and data-driven model inference

Jesper Tegnér, Hector Zenil, Narsis A Kiani, Gordon Ball, David Gomez-Cabrero

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Systems in nature capable of collective behaviour are nonlinear, operating across several scales. Yet our ability to account for their collective dynamics differs in physics, chemistry and biology. Here, we briefly review the similarities and differences between mathematical modelling of adaptive living systems versus physico-chemical systems. We find that physics-based chemistry modelling and computational neuroscience have a shared interest in developing techniques for model reductions aiming at the identification of a reduced subsystem or slow manifold, capturing the effective dynamics. By contrast, as relations and kinetics between biological molecules are less characterized, current quantitative analysis under the umbrella of bioinformatics focuses on signal extraction, correlation, regression and machine-learning analysis. We argue that model reduction analysis and the ensuing identification of manifolds bridges physics and biology. Furthermore, modelling living systems presents deep challenges as how to reconcile rich molecular data with inherent modelling uncertainties (formalism, variables selection and model parameters). We anticipate a new generative data-driven modelling paradigm constrained by identified governing principles extracted from low-dimensional manifold analysis. The rise of a new generation of models will ultimately connect biology to quantitative mechanistic descriptions, thereby setting the stage for investigating the character of the model language and principles driving living systems.This article is part of the themed issue 'Multiscale modelling at the physics-chemistry-biology interface'.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS- ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SERIES A MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES
Volume374
Issue number2080
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Nov 2016

Keywords

  • Review
  • Journal Article

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