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Yes and no. Yes, there are general tissue-level anatomical structures that have consistent, predictable topologies. No, there's not a standard way to map these

Yes and no. Yes, there are general tissue-level anatomical structures that have consistent, predictable topologies. No, there's not a standard way to map these onto a cell scale coordinate system easily. When you are talking about cell-level anatomy, you can almost think of things as being slightly disordered, with the disorder increasing the smaller in scale you go. Most tissues have constant turnover of cells, further complicating the concept of a coordinate system. Some examples where there is a consistent (almost) unchanging anatomy would be in neurons and stem cell germ layers.For germ layers, simple 3D coordinates would work. If you could figure out a coordinate system that works for neurons, you would get a Nobel prize. Sorry I couldn't help you more. What exactly are you hoping to do with said library?

JabavuAdams 13y ago
I'm trying to imagine how you'd tell a cell-scale machine "go to that cell ... that one there", rather than "drive along this chemical gradient", or "bounce around until you match this receptor."
- schrodingersCat 13y ago
  Well that's an even more complicated problem. That would depend on what type of cell you wanted to target and in what tissue. Most tissues are quite heterogeneous and constantly remodeling. Even if you could get the coordinates of a particular cell before it moved, targeting the specific cell (and not the others that are likely to be present in the vicinity)is a problem unto itself. Don't diss diffusion and biorecognition, they're quite effective. In my mind, any robot designed on the scale to target individual cells would have to mostly rely on circulation, diffusion, and chemistry to target a particular cell type. The mechanics are far from deterministic on the nano scale. I highly recommend this book if you're considering a project like this: http://www.garlandscience.com/product/isbn/0815341636 http://www.garlandscience.com/product/isbn/0815341636. If this is for a visualization or a game, I would just fake the coordinate system.
  - JabavuAdams 13y ago
    Thanks!

JabavuAdams 13y ago

I'm trying to imagine how you'd tell a cell-scale machine "go to that cell ... that one there", rather than "drive along this chemical gradient", or "bounce around until you match this receptor."

schrodingersCat 13y ago
Well that's an even more complicated problem. That would depend on what type of cell you wanted to target and in what tissue. Most tissues are quite heterogeneous and constantly remodeling. Even if you could get the coordinates of a particular cell before it moved, targeting the specific cell (and not the others that are likely to be present in the vicinity)is a problem unto itself. Don't diss diffusion and biorecognition, they're quite effective. In my mind, any robot designed on the scale to target individual cells would have to mostly rely on circulation, diffusion, and chemistry to target a particular cell type. The mechanics are far from deterministic on the nano scale. I highly recommend this book if you're considering a project like this: http://www.garlandscience.com/product/isbn/0815341636 http://www.garlandscience.com/product/isbn/0815341636. If this is for a visualization or a game, I would just fake the coordinate system.
- JabavuAdams 13y ago
  Thanks!