SCIENCE AT THE EDGE SEMINAR SERIES

Interdisciplinary Physics Seminar

Friday, 06 September 2013 at 11:30 am

Room 1400 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Bldg.

Refreshments at 11:15 am.

Speaker:  Ilya Nemenman, Department of Physics, Department of Biology, and Computational & Life Sciences Initiative, Emory University

Title:  Information Processing in Cellular Signaling

Abstract: 
Signal or information processing and shaping of a response (a.k.a, signal transduction, regulation, sensing) is a common function performed by organisms on all levels of organization. In this talk, we will study information processing in cellular systems to answer questions like: Does the fidelity of information processing matter evolutionarily? What are the fundamental physical limits to the fidelity of information processing set by the intrinsic fluctuations in the cellular biochemical machinery? How close the cells come to these limits? What can they do to improve the performance? After introducing the general theoretical framework, we will address these and related questions in the specific experimental context of mammalian NF-kB signaling.