Symbolic systems biology: Hybrid modeling and analysis of biological networks

Abstract

How do living cells compute and control themselves, and communicate with their environment? We describe the modeling and analysis of dynamic and reactive biological systems involving both discrete and continuous behaviors, to help begin to answer that question. Continuous components arise as differential equations specifying how the concentrations of various molecular species evolve over time. Discrete components of models of biological systems arise from state transitions (eg. from healthy to abnormal states), abstractions and approximations, nonlinear effects, and the presence of inherently discrete processes, often observed in systems governed by one or a few molecules. Once a hybrid model is obtained, analysis techniques such as those described in this and previous HSCC workshops can be usefully applied to help uncover structure in the dynamics of biological systems of interest. © Springer-Verlag 2004.