Biology
Some biological processes occur—or can be simulated—by cellular automata.
Patterns of some seashells, like the ones in Conus and Cymbiola genus, are generated by natural CA. The pigment cells reside in a narrow band along the shell's lip. Each cell secretes pigments according to the activating and inhibiting activity of its neighbor pigment cells, obeying a natural version of a mathematical rule. The cell band leaves the colored pattern on the shell as it grows slowly. For example, the widespread species Conus textile bears a pattern resembling Wolfram's rule 30 CA.
Plants regulate their intake and loss of gases via a CA mechanism. Each stoma on the leaf acts as a cell.
Moving wave patterns on the skin of cephalopods can be simulated with a two-state, two-dimensional cellular automata, each state corresponding to either an expanded or retracted chromatophore.
Threshold automata have been invented to simulate neurons, and complex behaviors such as recognition and learning can be simulated.
Fibroblasts bear similarities to cellular automata, as each fibroblast only interacts with its neighbors.
Read more about this topic: Cellular Automaton
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