Information Cascade in Yeast Cells
In a study published recently by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, molecular biologist, Dr. Roger Brent and computational biologist Dr. Steven Andrews found trends in the way that cells react to external information. To begin, the article describes that from the moment a cell is created, it is already adept at sensing and responding to each of its neighbors. The study covers disproving multiple hypotheses about the information cascades in which cells communicates. First they posit that cells need to communicate to its DNA what is happening on the surface of the cell and also the magnitude of the external event.
This is similar to the information cascades studied in this course. A group of cells forms a finite network where each neighboring cell is connected. If for instance a cell is in state A and is external forced, they are only going to switch to states B if the forcing (fraction of neighbors) is greater than a set threshold which we defined as q in this class.
The study investigates the methods in which this communication occurs in yeast cells. They give the example of single-celled yeast looking for a mate. Each cell responds to the highest level of mating pheromone in their surrounding and grows in that direction. The researchers found this method of cascading information from cell to cell to be “seemingly ramshackle” as any information transmitted relies on chance collision of molecules.
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2016/10/cells-sense-respond-outside-world.html