Cell signalling is a key area in biology
which deals with how cellular processes in biological organisms
may be regulated by signals from other cells or cues from the
environment. Investigating how
cell
signalling is carried out in the human body and what happens
if components of the signalling pathway are defective is
critical in understanding how diseases such as cancer develop
and spread through the body. Abnormalities
in
cell-signalling pathways have been
implicated in the progress of many other diseases and illnesses,
such as cholera, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. This is one
reason why pharmaceutical companies have concentrated a lot of
resources on the development of drugs that target key components
of signal pathways, and kits and assays for detection of
diseases.
CSNs contain molecules with which they
respond to and transduce signals. As input-output
systems,
CSNs may be likened to computers
– their biochemical reactions to appropriate electronic
circuits. The aim of the
ambitious
ESIGNET project is
to develop software to evolve
biological
CSNs in silico.