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Robustness in Biological Systems: A Provisional Taxonomy

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Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine

Abstract

Biology is a domain of tension: on the one hand, biology is concerned with transformation and the generation of diversity; on the other, biology is concerned with the persistence of improbable structural regularities. The historical sciences in biology, principally evolution, have focused on change. The mechanistic sciences in biology, principally medicine, have focused on stability. Robustness, as a research program, aims to uncover those evolved mechanisms promoting the persistence of regularities. Here I organize mechanisms of robustness into a phenomenological taxonomy, grouping biological mechanisms into principles of robust organization. These include: Redundancy, Purging, Feedback, Modularity, Spatial Compartmentalization, Distributed Processing, and the Extended Phenotype. I present case studies in which mechanisms representative of each principle are described. These case studies serve to illustrate the ubiquity of specialized robustness mechanisms in all complex biosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico

    David C. Krakauer

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  1. David C. Krakauer
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Correspondence to David C. Krakauer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard-MIT (HST) Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, East Bldg. 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129

    Thomas S. Deisboeck M.D. (Assistant Professor of Radiology (HMS, MGH, HST) and Director, Complex Biosystems Modeling Laboratory) (Assistant Professor of Radiology (HMS, MGH, HST) and Director, Complex Biosystems Modeling Laboratory)

  2. Dept. of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Drexel Univ. College of Medicine, 215 N. 15th Street, MS# 111, Philadelphia, PA, 19102-1192

    J. Yasha Kresh Ph.D., F.A.C.C. (Professor, Research Director, Professor of Medicine and Director) (Professor, Research Director, Professor of Medicine and Director)

  3. Cardiovascular Biophysics, Drexel Univ. College of Medicine, 215 N. 15th Street, MS# 111, Philadelphia, PA, 19102-1192

    J. Yasha Kresh Ph.D., F.A.C.C. (Professor, Research Director, Professor of Medicine and Director) (Professor, Research Director, Professor of Medicine and Director)

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Krakauer, D.C. (2006). Robustness in Biological Systems: A Provisional Taxonomy. In: Deisboeck, T.S., Kresh, J.Y. (eds) Complex Systems Science in Biomedicine. Topics in Biomedical Engineering International Book Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33532-2_6

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