Stem cell decision making and critical-like exploratory networks

A sound theoretical or conceptual model of gene regulatory processes that control stem cell fate is still lacking, compromising our ability to manipulate stem cells for therapeutic benefit. The complexity of the regulatory and signaling pathways limits development of useful, predictive models that employ solely reductionist methods using molecular components. However, there is clear evidence from other complex systems that coarse-grained or mesoscale models can yield useful insights and provide workable models for the prediction of some emergent properties such as cell phenotype.