Q-and-A on network reliability model of aging

1. How does studying someone's individual characteristics of aging relate to studying the mortality rate?

Mortality rate describes the probability of dying. Declining vigor of individual is modeled by their 'increasing chance of dying".

2. Is yeast being studied instead of using an actual human cell?

Yeast cells are used as models for human cells.

3. Is NRMCA the program we will be using to study cells?

NRMCA is a model. We will have to write codes based on NRMCA for simulations.

4. What does it mean to be an emergent property of gene networks? ex. "Our central hypothesis is that cellular aging is an emergent property of gene networks (pg. 2)".

The question is basically what is an emergent property. It is a concept that has not been well-defined. It is generally agreed that emergent property is a property found at higher system level, but not at its component levels.

5. "The age of the network is determined by the minimal age of the modules" - does this mean that we are studying the age of network but that is determined by the components making up this network? Thus we are not studying specific cells but instead networks of cells.

Networks are made of essential modules in NRMCA, each module contain one essential genes and n number of non-essential genes. A network is equivalent to a cell.

6. Does essential genes with fewer interactions are the limiting steps mean that fewer interactions implies a higher mortality rate?

Yes.

7. Which equations are most relevant to my research?

This question needs to be more specific.
 

Vocabulary

1. Stochastically: things occur by chances

2. Stochastic heterogeneity: noises due to random chances

3. Ziemman Function: this is a mathematical function

4. ubiquitous: everywhere

5. SIR2: a gene's name

6. rDNA circles: ribosomal DNA cicles

7. TOR pathway: TOR is a gene's name. TOR pathway refers to its signal cascading pathway.

8. canalization: Literally means all things come together. A metaphorical word for the biological phenomena that different genotypes lead to the same phenotype.