05.01 Networkology – Beyond Networks: The Evolution of Living Systems
Channel: Johannes Jaeger
Date: 04/05/2020

Module 5 of "Beyond Networks" gets into the nitty-gritty of the course, covering network analysis and mechanistic explanations. In this first lecture, I show how formal systems can be naturally represented as network graphs. I introduce a number of measures to characterise global and local network structure, such as degree distributions, path lengths, and cluster coefficients. I briefly discuss scale-free and small-world networks, power laws, and fat tails, to demonstrate the use of network analysis. The lecture ends with the challenge to decompose networks into functional parts to understand their behaviour and function.

For an easy-to-read introduction to the science of networks, read Albert-Lázló Barabasi's "Linked: The New Science of Networks" (2002). For a more technical introduction, consult Mark Newman's comprehensive "Networks: An Introduction" (2010). 

Most of the content of this lecture is also covered in a review by Barabasi & Oltvai, published in 2004 in Nature Reviews Genetics (Vol. 5: p. 101). The original paper on small-world networks by Watts & Strogatz (1998; Nature, Vol. 393: p. 440) is also worth reading.