Implementing Toy Models in Microsoft Excel

Abstract

This chapter introduces two important concepts to biologists willing to focus on research using quantitative approaches. First, it illustrates how to evolve from hypotheses and descriptive principles to mathematical formulations. Second, it provides a step-by-step introduction to simulate simple models using Microsoft Excel. I will introduce a biological process, namely, the movement of the nucleus within a cell, as the example to develop our model. Specifically, we will construct a simple, one-dimensional model relying on minimal knowledge of cell mechanics. Then, we will implement the model using Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet software, which I is known to most readers. As Microsoft Excel is familiar, I believe that conducting a simulation in this software will provide a straightforward starting point. This implementation represents a preparation step for the next chapter, where we will follow the same procedure but using Python, which enables more comprehensive modeling. This chapter aims to provide basic tools for biologists to start exploring simple quantitative models. Furthermore, the chapter intends to demonstrate that simulations and mathematical models are not as complicated as they might seem at firsthand. Therefore, this chapter is expected to lay the foundation and motivation for the deeper exploration of quantitative approaches.