Genre: Information/Explanation

Stem cells reside in small numbers in most body tissues and control the healing processes subsequent to disease or injury . Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells ( MSCs ) can produce various different tissue types including bone , cartilage and fat . However , the mechanisms by which different tissue types are produced from MSCs is very complex and therefore difficult to understand using intuition alone . Mathematical models provide a means to analyse complex systems such as the mesenchymal stem cell system . Therefore we propose an innovative approach to analyse how bone tissue is produced with the help of mathematical modelling in conjunction with experimentation . In particular we will use mathematical models to examine how gene expression correlates with stem cell activity and , significantly , how this correlation changes with age .