The dawn of interoperating spatial models in cell biology

Spatial simulations are becoming an increasingly ubiquitous component in the cycle of discovery, experimentation, and communication across the sciences. In cell biology, many researchers share a vision of developing multiscale models that recapitulate observable behaviors spanning from atoms to cells to tissues. For this dream to become a reality, however, simulation technologies must provide a means for integration and interoperability as they advance. Already, the field has developed numerous methods that span scales of length, time, and complexity to create an extensive body of effective simulation approaches, and although these approaches rarely interoperate, they collectively cover a large spectrum of knowledge that future models may handle in a more unified manner. Here, we discuss the importance of making the data, workflows, and outputs of spatial simulations shareable and interoperable; and how democratization could encourage diverse biologists to participate more easily in developing models to advance our understanding of biological systems.