An abstraction of intercellular communication

  • Authors:

  • Thomas E. Portegys

  • Affiliations:

  • Illinois State University, Campus Box 5150 Normal, Illinois

  • Venue:
  • ICAL 2003 Proceedings of the eighth international conference on Artificial life
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

Multi-cellular organisms exhibit many mechanisms of intercellular communication for control and developmental purposes. Neurotransmitters, hormones, and signals mediating such processes as apoptosis and angiogenesis are but a few of these mechanisms. An abstraction of intercellular communication is presented here to provide a basis for constructing artificial life forms and self-organizing systems. Although the investigational vehicle is a cellular automaton, a cell in this context can be viewed in a broader sense. An intercellular signal is defined as a parameterized entity, a powerful paradigm that expresses not only lateral but also hierarchical and even recursive control structures. "Game of Life", Turing machine and other examples are included.