#38 · Systems biology

Sloppy parameters and approximate least-action paths in single-cell state transitions

The three items share a quantitative framing of biological state: each formalizes how a system's states, inputs, or trajectories are constrained. The chemotaxis study models E. coli Tar/Tsr chemoreceptors under the MWC framework and reports that channel capacity at low chemoattractant concentrations is bounded by a ceiling set by baseline activity. The single-cell preprint applies Fisher information to cell-state transitions and finds sloppy parameter structure together with approximate least-action paths, which bears directly on action confinement. The zebrafish study uses a three-state hidden Markov model to jointly model larval swimming and ARTR calcium imaging, linking neural and behavioral states. The newer elements are the application of Fisher-information sloppiness and least-action analysis to single-cell transitions, and joint probabilistic state modeling across neural and behavioral readouts. The thread is most developed in the two preprints.