A model for developmental systems. I: Generating word without any operating system (Q913692)

A model is presented for developmental systems consisting of elements subjected to some six operations grouped in a generating word, which is the analogue of the program of a computer and of the genetic code contained in the DNA molecule. The generating word can have feedback or not. It can be represented by a graph or by a matrix. The proposed model makes it possible to investigate the behaviour of the system after partial destruction, the consequences of a change of one letter in the generating word, and to construct complex developmental systems by combining two simpler systems and quantitatively to evaluate the evolution of the cellular composition and the growth of the system size.