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。受活细胞中信号的启发，分子通信领域已经出现了使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空间传播方式上有着根本的不同，但仍然可以应用通信工程工具和技术来设计分子通信系统并优化其性能。分子通信工程界的最新技术重点关注类似于互联网等传统通信技术的合成系统的设计。然而，分子信号在活细胞如何收集和共享信息以做出决策方面起着关键作用，因此有许多潜在的机会将分子通信分析直接应用于生物信号。这需要一个综合的方法是有效的，因为可用的信息量和细胞如何使用这些信息是相当不同的数据包是如何在现代电信网络中使用的。拟议的SIMBA项目（信号传播和信息在微尺度生物学应用）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。它将弥合分子通讯工程领域和生命科学中分子信号理解之间的差距。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，以了解活的微观系统中响应的不确定性和多样性。这种理解将启发我们以新的方式“听”和“说”活细胞，从而支持新的研究，包括开发健康诊断工具和促进药物发现。该项目的实施包括分析，模拟和实验方法的组合。一个新的数学框架将通信功能划分为多个层次，这将为所有其他任务提供基础。衍生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S.腔肠杆菌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，如在实验微流体平台中观察到的那样。通过应用所提出的框架得出的预测将进行测试，对模拟和实验结果。这些案例研究将展示拟议框架的灵活性，并促进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.