Dear workshop community,

We will convene for the Harvard University Applied Statistics Workshop (Gov 3009) TOMORROW on Wednesday (3/27).

The speaker is Michael Levin (Tufts University) who will be presenting his work, "Decision-making without brains: how biological systems process information".

Where: CGIS Knafel Building, Room K354 (see this link for directions).

When: Wednesday, March 27th at 12 noon - 1:30 pm.

Abstract:

The cognitive powers of the brain evolved from much more ancient processes in which cells, tissues, and even molecular networks had to make decisions to optimize their function in a challenging world. In this talk, I will discuss the field of primitive cognition, focusing on a number of examples in which non-neural biological systems process information and make decisions. These include a) cells during embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer, b) unicellular organisms such as slime molds, and c) synthetic organisms. I will also discuss non-neural bioelectricity - an ancient precursor to brain function, which enables collectives of cells to cooperate toward large-scale goals. Implications of our work to crack the bioelectric code extend from regenerative medicine to synthetic bioengineering and even artificial intelligence.

All are welcome! Lunch is provided!

Best,

Connor Jerzak

Applied Statistics Workshop -- Graduate Student Coordinator

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