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Updated: Jun 9, 2025

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Determining Genome-wide Transcript Decay Rates in Proliferating and Quiescent Human Fibroblasts
Published on: January 2, 2018
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A physically inspired approach to coarse-graining transcriptomes reveals the dynamics of aging
Tao Li1, Madhav Mani1,2
1Department of Engineering Science and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States of America.
Plos One
|October 29, 2024
Summary
We introduce a physics-inspired method using the Renormalization Group to analyze aging patterns in single-cell RNA sequencing data, revealing multiscale gene expression dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Computational Biology
- Theoretical Physics
Background:
- Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) advances molecular-scale aging studies.
- Understanding age-related gene expression patterns and mechanisms in transcriptomes remains challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel data-analysis approach for extracting deeper insights from scRNA-seq data.
- To quantitatively describe multiscale aging patterns in gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Applying a physics-inspired framework based on the Renormalization Group.
- Treating the genome as a many-body interacting system.
- Hierarchically analyzing gene expression across multiple scales.
Main Results:
- Developed a quantitative language to study multiscale aging transcriptomes.
- Demonstrated the utility of theoretical physics concepts in analyzing complex biological data.
Conclusions:
- The Renormalization Group approach offers new biological insights into aging.
- This framework enhances the analysis of high-dimensional scRNA-seq data for aging research.
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