Beyond Continuity: Simulation-free Reconstruction of Discrete Branching Dynamics from Single-cell Snapshots
arXiv:2605.00545v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Inferring cellular trajectories from destructive snapshots is complicated by the challenges of stochasticity and non-conservative mass dynamics such as cell proliferation and apoptosis. Existing unbalanced Optimal Transport (OT) methods treat mass as a continuous fluid, performing inference at the population level. However, this macroscopic view often fails to capture the discrete, jump-like nature of birth-death events at single-cell resolution, which is essential for understanding lineage branching and fate decisions. We present Unbalanced
This paper addresses a fundamental challenge in single-cell biology by proposing a simulation-free method to reconstruct discrete branching dynamics, moving beyond continuous fluid models which were previously a limitation.
Understanding single-cell lineage branching and fate decisions with higher resolution and without continuous approximations is crucial for advancing treatments and synthetic biology applications.
The ability to reconstruct discrete, jump-like birth-death events from snapshots without extensive simulation fundamentally changes the approach to analyzing cellular trajectories, offering more accurate biological insights.
- · Synthetic biologists
- · Pharmaceutical R&D
- · Computational biologists
- · Biotech companies
- · Developers of simulation-heavy reconstruction methods
More accurate models of cellular differentiation and disease progression will be developed.
This could accelerate the design and testing of new therapeutics and interventions based on cell fate modulation.
Eventual impact on personalized medicine through a deeper understanding of individual cellular responses and trajectories.
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