q·quorumlab
EXPERIMENT 01 / SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

A quorum is local.

PAUSEDt = 0.0 model units
01

Microbial arena

THREE COLONIESSEALED CHAMBER
Signal 0 ≥ 2 Expression: dim → amber
02

Environment & cells

72
Changing count starts a new run.
0.35
0.045
0.06
1.00
Smaller depth → less volume. Starts a new run.

Illustrative values in model units.

03

Population readout

Mean signal0.00concentration units
Mean expression0%continuous response
Above 50% expression0%display cutoff only
04

Cell inspector

FOLLOWING

Cell 001

Producer + receiver
0.00
0%
0%

Signal arrives first. Expression follows with a response delay.

05

Before you press Run

01 / 05

Where will expression rise first?

Choose a prediction, then watch the signal field.

Drag card headers to arrange your bench. Resize from a corner.ILLUSTRATIVE • NOT SPECIES-CALIBRATED

Quorum Lab version 0.8.0 beta. Made with GPT-6 Astra. Validated by Fable 5.2. This is a beta version and can contain errors.

SCIENCE BEHIND THE SANDBOX

Evidence & assumptions

This is an illustrative model, not a quantitative reproduction of a specific organism or paper.

What is being simulated?

A signal diffuses in a shallow chamber. Fixed cells secrete it, sense their local concentration, and adjust a continuous expression output. The expression color is an abstract readout, not GFP fluorescence or native bioluminescence.

Assumptions

Parameter units

QuantityModel units
Signal A; half-response KConcentration
Diffusion DLength² / time
Production qSignal amount / cell / time
Loss k1 / time
Flow uLength / time
Expression y; activity HDimensionless, 0–1
Chamber volume12 × 8 × depth, length³

Experimental foundations

How to interpret a run

Changing a parameter explores this model. It does not establish what a particular microbial species will do. A slow response is not proof of bistability, and QS activation does not universally promote biofilm formation.

Signal mass is tracked on a fixed spatial grid using conservative cell-source deposition. Stable internal time steps are independent of the display frame rate. Export includes the setup, event log, and sampled population readouts.