Signal transduction in biological systems and its possible uses in computation and communication systems

Abstract

Cellular signal transduction is crucial for cell communications and is described by signaling pathway networks that sustain the biological functions of living cells. The robustness of the molecular mechanism of cellular signal transduction forms an important inspiration in the design of future communication networks based on the information processing mechanisms of cellular signal transduction. This chapter discusses some important aspects of the computational issues on cellular signal transduction: (1) How to formally represent kernel information of cellular signal transduction; (2) How to get a fixed point from a pathway network with feedbacks; and (3) How to encode information in signal transduction pathways by error-correcting codes, such as to increase the fault tolerance of the system, while at the same time conform to the unstructured nature of such pathways. The results obtained provide a basis for innovative future communications networks, with biological signaling pathway networks acting as references for systems with improved performance in factors like robustness. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.