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FURM is basic research. The project's goals are aggressive and
even if it succeeds, it is likely to change drastically as we
develop it. In addition, it is clear that there are many
related research paths to be explored. Some of those paths
involve the application of techniques that are successful in
other disciplines (like fuzzy systems), some involve building
bridges between seemingly incommensurate techniques (like
between mathematical modeling and agent-based modeling), and
some involving esoteric topics (like automata theory). As such,
it's difficult to tell where it will end up or what might spin
off of work being done on it.
However, the goals are clear enough to derive near- and
medium-term objectives and requirements. The management of the
project toward those objectives will follow the same philosophy
as the FURM method, itself. It will be integrative, extensible,
and open-ended. The point is not to dive down deep and develop
any one technique, model, or technology. The point is to
provide as much context and navigability to the practice of
biological modeling as possible. This means pointing out and
facilitating the relationships between the many different tools
and methods used and discovered by biological modelers. The end
result will be a web or network of techniques
that improve the efficacy and efficiency of a modeling effort,
regardless of the particular domain.
The current near-term objective is to use FURM (as it stands)
to continue developing the ISL so that it can adequately
account for, and possibly predict, the dynamics of the liver as
it processes incoming blood. The milestones toward that
objective consist primarily of building a mechanism for
searching and analyzing the space of possible
models of liver dynamics and structure (biotic and abiotic,
healthy and diseased). If FURM can bring the ISL to this
point, then it will have demonstrated its usefulness and
feasibility.
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