论文标题
非平衡统计物理，暂时表观遗传景观和细胞命运决策动力学
Non-equilibrium statistical physics, transitory epigenetic landscapes, and cell fate decision dynamics
论文作者
论文摘要
统计物理学为分析许多复杂系统提供了有用的观点。它使我们能够将微观波动与宏观观测联系起来。发育生物学，但更普遍地是细胞生物学，是显然稳健行为从高度复杂和随机的亚细胞过程中出现的例子。在这里，我们试图在不同的理论观点之间建立联系，以获得对干细胞和发育生物学核心的细胞命运决策过程类型的定性见解。我们讨论有关经典瓦丁顿或表观遗传景观的动力学系统以及统计力学的观点。我们发现，需要采用非平衡方法来克服经典平衡统计热力学或统计力学的某些缺点，以阐明生物学过程，这些过程几乎远离平衡远不均衡。
Statistical physics provides a useful perspective for the analysis of many complex systems; it allows us to relate microscopic fluctuations to macroscopic observations. Developmental biology, but also cell biology more generally, are examples where apparently robust behaviour emerges from highly complex and stochastic sub-cellular processes. Here we attempt to make connections between different theoretical perspectives to gain qualitative insights into the types of cell-fate decision making processes that are at the heart of stem cell and developmental biology. We discuss both dynamical systems as well as statistical mechanics perspectives on the classical Waddington or epigenetic landscape. We find that non-equilibrium approaches are required to overcome some of the shortcomings of classical equilibrium statistical thermodynamics or statistical mechanics in order to shed light on biological processes, which, almost by definition, are typically far from equilibrium.
