MAC2MIC (DFM.AD004.209)

Thematic area

Physical sciences and technologies of matter

Project area

Structure responsible for the research project

Institutes for complex systems (ISC)

Project manager

GUIDO CALDARELLI
Phone number: 0649913120
Email: guido.caldarelli@cnr.it

Abstract

The recent years have seen spectacular advances in our understanding of complex systems, providing detailed maps of social and biological networks. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to translate the topological findings into dynamical predictions on the system's observable behavior. For instance, to use our understanding of the structure of social networks to predict and prevent the spread of disease or to take advantage of the current interaction maps of genes, proteins and metabolites to gain a grip on life processes, identify novel drug targets and unveil disease mechanisms. Our progress in this direction, however, is hindered by a crucial lacuna: the absence of microscopic models that describe the dynamics of many social and biological systems. Indeed, these systems often behave as a black box - we can observe their macroscopic behavior, but have no direct access to the microscopic exchanges taking place between the nodes. Here, we propose to provide the missing link between macro-observations and the unknown micromechanisms by developing a two-step approach: (i) deriving analytical tools to translate data into microscopic models of interaction dynamics; (ii) applying state

Goals

Studiare la transizione macroscopico/microscopico

Start date of activity

20/07/2018

Keywords

Complex systems, social networks, biological networks

Last update: 20/01/2025