Complexity Digest 2004.13 - 11.02

29-Mar-2004

Cancer: Dangerous Liaisons, Nature Bookmark and Share

Excerpts: The cells of multicellular organisms are highly communicative and so can strongly influence one another's behaviour. One line of communication is particularly important in keeping cell growth in check. A single cell destined to become a tissue or an organism can't go it alone (...).Communication,in the form ofdirect contacts between cells, interactions between cells and their surroundings, or the transmission of biochemical signals, is essential. Unravelling these networks ofcommunication has provided gainful employment for biologists, geneticists and mathematicians in their quest to understand how the body forms.