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Causal analysis in complex biological systems

  • US 20070225956A1
  • Filed: 03/27/2006
  • Published: 09/27/2007
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2006
  • Status: Abandoned Application
First Claim
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1. A software assisted method of discovering active causative relationships in the biology of complex living systems, the method comprising the steps of:

  • providing a data base of biological assertions concerning a selected biological system, the data base comprising a multiplicity of nodes representative of a network of biological entities, actions, functional activities, and concepts, and relationship links between nodes indicative of there being a relationship therebetween, at least some of which include indicia of causal directionality;

    simulating in the network one or more perturbations of plural individual root nodes to initiate a cascade of virtual activity through said relationship links along connected nodes to discern plural branching paths within the data base;

    mapping onto the data base operational data representative of a perturbation of one or more nodes and optionally of experimentally observed or hypothesized changes in other nodes resulting from the one or more perturbations; and

    prioritizing said branching paths on the basis of how well they predict said operational data, thereby to define a set of graphs comprising said branching paths potentially explanatory of the molecular biology implied by the data; and

    applying logic based criteria to said set of graphs to reject graphs as not likely representative of real biology thereby to eliminate hypotheses and to identify from remaining graphs one or more active causative relationships.

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