BCAM Scientific Seminar: The Emerging Roles and Computational Challenges of Stochasticity in Biological Systems

THE EMERGING ROLES AND COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGES OF STOCHASTICITY IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

In recent years it has become increasingly clear that stochasticity plays an important role in many biological processes. Examples include bistable genetic switches, noise-enhanced robustness of oscillations, and fluctuation-enhanced sensitivity or "stochastic focusing".. Numerous cellular systems rely on spatial stochastic noise for robust performance. We examine the need for stochastic models, report on the state of the art of algorithms and software for modeling and simulation of stochastic biochemical systems, and identify some computational challenges.