Signal Propagation and Information in Microscale Biological Applications (SIMBA)

通信工程传统上是基于使用电磁信号来传输信息。受活细胞信号传导的启发，分子通信领域出现了利用化学分子来模拟信息传输。分子通信在信号的处理方式和它们在空间中的传播方式上是完全不同的，但是仍然有可能应用通信工程工具和技术来设计分子通信系统并优化它们的性能。分子通信工程社区的最新技术集中在类似于传统通信技术（如互联网）的合成系统的设计上。然而，分子信号在活细胞如何收集和共享信息以做出决策中起着关键作用，因此将分子通信分析直接应用于生物信号传导有许多潜在的机会。这需要一种综合的方法才能有效，因为可用信息的数量和小区使用这些信息的方式与现代电信网络中使用数据包的方式截然不同。拟议的SIMBA项目（微尺度生物应用中的信号传播和信息）将建立一个通信工程框架，用于描述和控制细胞信号、行为和决策。它将弥合分子通信工程领域与生命科学中分子信号的理解之间的差距。特别是，该项目将促进信号传播和通信理论中的基本概念的应用，以理解生命微观系统中响应的不确定性和多样性。这种理解将激发我们“倾听”和“交谈”活细胞的新方法，从而支持包括健康诊断工具开发和促进药物发现在内的新研究。该项目的实施包括分析、模拟和实验方法的结合。一个新的数学框架将通信功能划分为多个层，这将为所有其他任务提供基础。导出的结果将描述细胞行为的变化如何受到产生和接收噪声信号的物理缺陷的影响。该框架将应用于细菌信号和器官芯片系统的跨学科案例研究。细菌案例研究将模拟在具有不同颜色S. coelicolor细菌突变体的环境中出现的抗菌素耐药性。器官芯片案例研究将模拟肝脏和胰腺细胞之间的代谢调节，正如在实验微流控平台上观察到的那样。通过应用所提出的框架得出的预测将通过模拟和实验结果进行测试。案例研究将展示拟议框架的灵活性，并导致学术界和工业界的进一步参与。

Communication engineering is traditionally based on using electromagnetic signals to transmit information. Inspired by signalling in living cells, the field of molecular communication has emerged to model information transmission using chemical molecules. Molecular communication is radically different in how signals are processed and how they travel over space, but it is still possible to apply communication engineering tools and techniques to design molecular communication systems and optimise their performance.The state-of-the-art of the molecular communication engineering community focuses on the design of synthetic systems akin to traditional communication technologies such as the Internet. However, molecular signalling plays a key role in how living cells collect and share information to make decisions, so there are many potential opportunities to directly apply molecular communication analysis to biological signalling. This requires an integrated approach to be effective, because the quantity of information available and how cells use that information is quite distinct from how data packets are used in modern telecommunication networks.The proposed SIMBA project (Signal Propagation and Information in Microscale Biological Applications) will establish a communications engineering framework for describing and controlling cell signalling, behaviour, and decision-making. It will bridge the gap between the field of molecular communication engineering and the understanding of molecular signalling in the life sciences. In particular, the project will facilitate the application of fundamental concepts in signal propagation and communication theory to understand the uncertainty and diversity of responses in living microscopic systems. This understanding will inspire new ways for us to "listen" and "talk" to living cells, thereby supporting new research including the development of health diagnostic tools and facilitating drug discovery.The project's implementation includes a combination of analytical, simulation, and experimental approaches. A new mathematical framework that divides communication functionality into layers will provide the foundation for all other tasks. Derived results will describe how variations in a cell's behaviour are influenced by the physical imperfections of generating and receiving noisy signals. The framework will be applied to interdisciplinary case studies of bacteria signalling and organ-on-a-chip systems. The bacteria case study will model the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in an environment with different mutants of the S. coelicolor bacterium. The organ-on-a-chip case study will model metabolic regulation between liver and pancreatic cells, as observed in an experimental microfluidic platform. Predictions derived by applying the proposed framework will be tested against simulations and experimental results. The case studies will demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed framework and lead to further engagement within academia and with industry.