Universality and individuality in growth and expression dynamics
Hanna Salman, University of Pittsburgh

Global cellular variables: Fluctuations and homeostasis
Naama Brenner, Technion

How does single cell variability affect population growth?
Ariel Amir, Harvard University

Statistical mechanics for metabolic networks
Daniele DeMartino, IST Austria

The growth of bacteria provides a literal microcosm of the problems faced by all cells and organisms.  Growth requires extracting energy from the available nutrients, and this in turn requires coordinated expression of the genes that code for metabolic enzymes.  During the growth process itself cells have to make multiple decisions, with life-or-death consequences.  These problems of coordination and decision making in turn highlight issues of noise and information flow that recur in many different biological contexts.  In this symposium we will explore these issues, from experiments on the precision and variability of growth to the search for collective behavior in the underlying control networks and the interplay between individuals and populations.