Energy costs of biological systems for information processing. Free Technical Library News

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Energy costs of biological systems for information processing

25.09.2023

The behavior, physiology, and viability of living organisms depend on a variety of biological processes, including communication between cells and other molecular components. There are many ways to exchange information in biological systems, including mechanical wave transmission and electrical depolarization. Recent studies conducted in the USA were aimed at determining the energy costs of transmitting information between cells.

Scientists from Yale University have calculated the amount of energy that a neuron requires to transmit information. It turned out that this amount is significantly greater than the energy required to erase one bit of information.

"We wanted to understand whether this represents an example of biological effectiveness or whether there are other costs," explained Benjamin Mast, one of the researchers.

Further research by Mast and his colleagues was aimed at optimizing energy costs and understanding why molecular systems use different physical mechanisms for communication. For example, neurons use electrical signals while other cells exchange chemicals.

Scientists sought to determine the optimal mode in terms of energy costs for transmitting one bit of information. All their calculations were based on the transmission of information through a physical channel in which particles and charges move according to cellular physics. In addition, they took into account the effect of the cellular environment on this channel. The use of relatively simple models has made it possible to establish a lower limit on the energy costs required to transmit currents in a biological system.

In general, scientists' calculations have confirmed the high energy costs of transmitting information between cells. These estimates can serve as a starting point to explain the high information processing costs that are recorded in experimental data.

The scientists also developed an illustrative diagram that helps understand in what situations different communication strategies, such as electrical signaling and chemical exchange processes, are most optimal. This diagram may help to better understand the principles of signaling between different cells and organs, and also explain why neurons use chemical signals to communicate at the synaptic level and electrical signals to transmit information over long distances from dendrites to the cell body.

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