Figure 1

Structure, function and behaviour of a bio-model. Structure (blue/left), function (yellow/middle) and behaviour (green/right) of a bio-model. The model relates the (intrinsic) computer representation with the (extrinsic) biological reality. (1) Structure: The biological target system is transferred into a model which can in turn be intrinsically interpreted as a formal system. This establishes a modelling relation between the two systems. If there is a valid mapping between the components of the target system and the formal system, we call the model a competence model. (2) Function: The intention of the model is its use in simulation experiments for explaining biological phenomena observed in biological experiments. (3) Behaviour: The simulation experiments produce results which can be interpreted as the dynamics of the model. This dynamics can be related to the interpreted data of the biological experiments. If the behaviour of the model is similar to the behaviour of the biological system, we call the model a performance model with respect to the corresponding biological phenomena. Explanation is using a competence model in an simulation experiment which makes it a performance model with respect to the biological phenomena to explain.